GHS tries to stay positive after 49-0 loss to Oak Grove
Gilroy – Rich Hammond remembers his junior year at San Benito High School when the ‘Balers were blasted 42-0 by Live Oak. San Benito turned things around to make the playoffs.
He remembers his first year coaching when the ‘Balers started 0-4. They recovered to finish 5-5 and qualify for the playoffs.
That was the Hammond’s message to Gilroy High at practice Monday, three days after the Mustangs were beaten 49-0 at Oak Grove.
Nobody could remember the last time GHS had lost that decisively. Assistant coach Craig Martin thinks it may have been back in 1997, but he admits he isn’t sure.
“Selective memory loss,” he suggested.
Hammond had a different suggestion to his players — quit playing scared. Yes, you have a difficult nonleague schedule but those are the cards you were dealt. So deal with it and make the best of the situation, which at this point of the season is far from dire. Still, Hammond had a terse message for his players Friday after the loss.
He told them that Oak Grove was good, but that there are three tougher teams on the schedule in coming weeks. One is set to visit Gilroy at 7:30pm Friday. Serra (2-1) showed just how good it was during its only loss of the season. Of course, that loss came against powerhouse De La Salle. The Padres went toe-to-toe with the Spartans, the No. 5 ranked high school in the country according to USA Today, for more than three quarters before falling 40-28.
“We’ve got a decision to make,” Hammond said. “We can get better and play to our potential. If we do that, we’ll be in all our ballgames. If not, we’ll be blown out.”
Hammond told his team that if it plays four quarters of football it can beat Serra. Hammond believes it. He wants his players to believe it. He reminded them of how California-Berkeley responded after getting swamped by Tennessee in the Bears’ opener. Cal handled Minnesota easily the following week. He reminded them of how the 49ers came back a week after losing to the Arizona Cardinals to beat the St. Louis Rams.
The point he was trying to make it that it is a long season and the league portion hasn’t even begun. At the same time, though, he let them know that if they play scared, or if they don’t play a full four quarters of football, they will not be successful with their schedule.
“We either get back on track or we’re heading down a road we don’t want to head down,” Hammond said. “This week, our focus is getting better every day. This (game against Serra) will be a good character test for us.”
Hammond said he was happy with practice Monday. Also, it appears that senior running back Paul Gonzales, who saw limited action last Friday because of a hip injury, will be good to go full-time against the Padres.
“We took a big step,” Hammond said of Monday’s practice. “The pace and tempo was the best it has been all year. It was the first time all year I noticed a sense of urgency. The good teams are resilient. They overcome whatever comes up. Our guys have to figure out how to overcome that.”
Hammond isn’t giving up on the season and he doesn’t want the Mustangs (1-2) to, either. At the same time, he wants more consistency, intensity and focus as they point to the remaining seven games on the schedule.
