The Gilroy High School student body can now say they were alive
the last time the Mustangs won a league title in football.
The Gilroy High School student body can now say they were alive the last time the Mustangs won a league title in football.
Defeating North Salinas 35-14 Friday night at Garcia-Elder Sports Complex, GHS claimed at least a share of the Tri-County Athletic League championship, the first time the school has finished first in league in 21 years. If the team wins next week’s Prune Bowl at San Benito, the Mustangs would own the honor outright.
The victory also marked only the third since 1996, when Alvarez High opened its doors, that a team has beaten all four schools from Salinas. San Benito accomplished the feat in 1999 and 2000.
“I didn’t even think about that,” said GHS Coach Rich Hammond, who was a part of the coaching staff on those Hollister teams. “Darren (Yafai) said it to me and I just about fell over.”
Yafai was coach of the Mustangs for seven years before Hammond took over.
Late in the first half though, Gilroy’s goals weren’t looking easily attainable. Down 14-0 after two turnovers and enough dropped balls to fill a wishing well, Gilroy snatched back momentum by going 70 yards in two plays – a 50-yard catch over the middle by Travis Reyes and a 20-yard touchdown grab by Sean Hale on a wheel-route. The drive took all of 17 seconds while leaving just 7 on the clock.
“That was big. That brought us back into the game right there,” middle linebacker Michael Cano said. “It gave us some life.”
Coach Hammond agreed saying, “I think that really backed them off and helped us out in the second half.”
Riding high into and out of intermission, the Mustangs outscored North Salinas 28-0 in the final two quarters. Keeping to the theme of two, the defense picked off a pair of passes (Cano and Tony Travis), special teams blocked two punts (Dennis Rathi – which forced a safety- and Richie Sotelo), and the offense scored twice running (Reyes and Danny Contreras) as well as catching (Hale and Contreras).
Quarterback Jamie Jensen had one of his worst statistical games of the season, completing 19 of 42 passes for 329 yards, four interceptions and three touchdowns, but a large number of his mistakes were a by-product of more than ten dropped passes.
“I wish we had gotten those plays, but I was really proud of how our kids responded in the second half,” Hammond said.
Two players that responded best under pressure were Hale (8 catches, 122 yards) and Contreras (two catches for 86 yards and seven rushes for 82 yards), who were able to step up when it mattered most.
“We’re just coming together more as a team,” Contreras said. “We really want it bad right now and I think we’re gonna get [the outright title].”
The last time Gilroy could make that exclusive claim was 1981.
“I think getting that trophy, as good as it felt a couple weeks ago (winning) against Palma, if we can go over to Hollister, be outright champs of the TCAL for the first time in 26 years – I mean, heck, that’s almost as old as I am – and we can walk away with that trophy, I think that would be complete bliss,” Hammond said.
“We’ll step back and appreciate it then,” the coach continued. “A big part of me wants to appreciate it now and then there’s another part me that says we gotta make sure we go out and take care of it next week.”
A win would also secure Gilroy a home game in the Central Coast Section playoffs, something not lost on seniors such as Cano and Travis.
“That’s what we’re fighting for, fighting for that trophy,” Cano said.
Travis agreed that the team still isn’t satisfied.
“[The hard work] has paid off,” he said. “It’ll pay off better if we win next week though.”
