GILROY—The familiar sounds of pads crunching and helmets clashing echoed throughout the Garcia-Elder Sports Complex on Friday evening. That sound could only mean one thing: Mustang football is back.
Gilroy, appropriately wearing their new camouflage uniforms, was back in action following the mandatory two week California Interscholastic Federation dead period. The Mustangs are preparing for battle and determined to make it to this year’s Central Coast Section playoffs after falling just short last season.
“I’m pretty excited,” Matthew Castillo, senior captain and strong safety said. “I’m just out here trying to make everybody better, hoping that everybody is out here for the same common goal: to win the CCS, win the division. Everybody came out here hard and ready to work.”
Castillo is just one of four captains with at least two-years experience at the varsity level. Other’s with the “C” on their jersey this year include seniors Darius Alexander-Jones, Devin Nguyen, Jakob Method and junior Noe Garcia.
“We want to go to work; we’re moving forward,” Mustangs coach Brian Boyd said. “We’ve got five good leaders, but you don’t have a “C” on your chest to lead. The five that we have will lead these kids to the playoffs.”
Both Alexander-Jones and Garcia suffered injuries last season, but are cleared and ready to play. Garcia said he’d wanted to get back on the field since walking off it last season and that he’s fired up for the season.
“I was excited to come out here—I couldn’t wait,” the junior middle linebacker/offensive lineman said. “I was ready just to hit someone; all the anger was built up ready to go. I love the sport.”
Also returning for the Mustangs is junior quarterback—and last year’s Monterey Bay League Pacific Division Sophomore of the Year—David Montes, looking stronger and faster than ever as he ran QB keeper drills past the defense.
“He’s put on some speed,” Boyd said. “We wanted him to do it last year, but he didn’t have to. I think he’s realizing he has to do it a bit more.”
This season is one of transformation for the Mustangs, who Boyd said, will focus more on team building and bonding than in years past—something they’ve already started to do. Gilroy graduated a lot of seniors last season, but is still returning a healthy core in addition to some fresh faces. Then, of course, there are the new uniforms.
“It’s kind of a mission statement,” Boyd said. “The look is going to be a little bit different to fit with the theme of getting the stadium back, but the product on the field we’re hoping is going to be a little bit better. It’s going to be a lot of the same look offensively and defensively. Defensively we’re going to be aggressive and offensively we’re going to go at it.”
Gilroy will open its season on the road at 7 p.m. Sept. 5 at Live Oak. The Mustangs are out for revenge, having narrowly lost, 52-41, when the two teams met last season. It was a clash of the two running backs—Gilroy’s Brandon Boyd and Live Oak’s Trevor Bearden—both of which have since graduated.
The road to the CCS playoffs starts on Week 1 and Brian said his team is not taking the Acorns lightly.
“We’re going to take it one game at a time,” the GHS coach said. “We’re moving forward with the task at hand week to week starting out with Live Oak—we want Live Oak bad. …It should be a good game, it’s always a battle. We’re looking forward to it.”
