When you’re the local sports guy, sometimes it’s hard to tell if
an entire town can’t stop talking about a sporting event or if the
subject just becomes a topic of conversation when you enter the
room.
GILROY
When you’re the local sports guy, sometimes it’s hard to tell if an entire town can’t stop talking about a sporting event or if the subject just becomes a topic of conversation when you enter the room.
Either way, it doesn’t matter.
Over 90 percent of the conversations I’ve had with people in town the last two days have centered around Gilroy High School’s gut-wrenching, heart-stopping, nerve-racking – Have I used enough movie review cliches? No, I don’t believe so – visually-stunning, thrill-ride-adventure-that-will-make-you-hold-on-to-your-seat-while-your-head-explodes 40-34 victory over the Los Gatos Wildcats Saturday.
From a Gilroy perspective, the game was as good as it gets.
For those of you who continue to want more coverage – and I think there are plenty of you – here are some Thanksgiving weekend, leftover thoughts from the game:
– Gilroy Coach Rich Hammond has said the road to success for his team will be littered with risk all season. Throwing the ball up for grabs with 13 seconds left, while already in field goal position to win the game, certainly qualifies.
I’m starting to wonder if Hammond actually believes he’s taking the road less traveled or just thinking, “Roads? Where we’re going we don’t need roads.”
– Gilroy’s defense was able to force a turnover on downs on the very first drive of the game – on fourth-and-2, on its own 9-yard line no less. The stop was huge in hindsight considering the game came down to one score.
– Danny Contreras had a monster game as usual, blocking an extra point in the first quarter, running a sweep for a touchdown in the second and returning a kickoff for a score in the third. He did, however, get his bell rung pretty good in the second half by Los Gatos linebacker Kiko Alonso – who is about six inches taller and about sixty pounds heavier. Contreras was practicing Tuesday, though, and is expected to play on Friday.
– Speaking of the University of Oregon-bound Alonso, what an underutilized target on offense. Not that Nick Kalpin wasn’t effective running the ball – 263 yards rushing and 4 TDs is ridiculous – but Alonso, who also plays tight end, only touched the ball once in the first half. He didn’t put his hands on the rock again until the final drive, when he had a carry for 11 yards and a catch for 38 yards, setting up a 3-yard Kalpin touchdown to tie the game 34-all. Even though he is an excellent blocker, Alonso could have done some serious damage to Gilroy’s defense if given the opportunity. On defense for the Wildcats, he was a terror as advertised.
– Amazingly, Los Gatos had eight players going both ways the entire game. The Wildcats were the best conditioned team Gilroy has faced this season, playing almost as fast and strong in the fourth quarter as they did to begin the game.
Here’s what Coach Hammond had to say: “It seemed like they would huff and puff in between plays and when the ball was snapped, they kept coming. I think our kids matched that effort and heart, and I think that’s why the fans saw that (both teams) left everything on the field.”
– Quarterback Jamie Jensen is a pretty good athlete, but some people have been questioning his mobility all year. Maybe it has something to do with that clunky knee brace he wears (which he doesn’t actually need). Regardless, Jensen’s ability to scramble on the final drive of Saturday’s game was imperative to keeping the chains moving for the game-winning score.
I guess the critics need something to pick on even though Jensen has thrown for more yards than any other quarterback in the history of Central Coast Section football.
– Running their funky 4-man diamond formation on offense in the fourth quarter – called “Boom box” by the team because of the Run-D.M.C.-style pose receivers have when standing back to back – Gilroy was able to confuse Los Gatos’ defenders, who were pointing fingers and wondering who to cover. The result was an easy swing pass for a touchdown to Travis Reyes, who came in motion before filling the space vacated by the four receivers.
– Gilroy fans, who filled all of the Mustangs’ side of the stands at San Jose City College and part of Los Gatos’, erupted in applause when sophomore defensive tackle Joaquin Peunte (6’5″, 395) entered the game. They were equally loud when he ran off the field two plays later. This is a clear sign that Gilroy’s fans were tuned-in to almost every detail of the game. Although, Puente is hard to miss.
Correction:
In naming GHS football our “All-Fall team” in the Saturday, Nov. 24, 2007 edition, senior cornerback Peter Guenther and sophomore linebacker Nick Gibson were left off the team roster. The Dispatch regrets this error. Please send corrections to sp****@************ch.com.
