'Baler cornerback Bryan Gutierrez makes a diving interception on a tipped pass Friday night against Gilroy. San Benito lost the annual Prune Bowl, 47-0.
San Benito senior defensive lineman Sam Doty said there is an emotional feeling that sweeps over you once you've played your final game, once the final horn sounds and you finally realize that it is, in fact, over.
And unfortuntaley, it doesn't take too long.
"That feeling came," Doty said minutes after Friday's annual Prune Bowl at Gilroy. "It sucks. Putting in all that work since sophomore year, it takes a lot out of you."
For San Benito, there is no next week, no upcoming opponent. It was not the way they wanted to end their season, not in this fashion.
Gilroy quarterback Jamie Jensen nearly broke his own section record for passing yards Friday night, completing 30 of 36 passes for 470 yards and three touchdowns, and the Mustangs kept a firm handle on the VFW Memorial Trophy en route to a 47-0 victory over San Benito in the 52nd Annual Prune Bowl.
Jensen set the Central Coast Section record in last year's 52-27 Prune Bowl win when he threw for 486 yards, and paced a Mustang team which was finally able to get their hands on the prized trophy after five straight years of San Benito dominance.
"It was not the game or the season I would have liked for my senior year," said running back Mitchell Cook, who finished with 11 carries for 37 yards. "Gilroy is a really good football team … But I'm proud of all the seniors and all the teammates I played with."
San Benito finishes their season at 1-5 in the Tri-County Athletic League, 3-7 overall. Gilroy, at 5-1 in league, finished in a three-way tie with North Salinas and Palma for first place in the TCAL.
San Benito needed to score early on Friday night not only to keep pace with Gilroy's high-flying offense, but also to set the tone on a Mustangs team that was fresh off a 42-12 loss to North Salinas last week.
But after starting the game from their 4-yard line, the 'Balers fumbled the ball on the first play from scrimmage, and Gilroy place-kicker Ivan Lopez converted a 22-yard field goal four plays later.
"Defensively, we came in and played real well on that series," San Benito head coach Chris Cameron said. "We did a good job, but we just didn't get that tempo that we wanted."
On their second drive, San Benito began to move the ball downfield when running back Jeff Bernaldez found 17 yards on the ground and quarterback Trevor Fabing hit Felipe Davila for a long pass - the play netted San Benito only 10 yards after a holding penalty on the 'Balers, though.
Two plays later, however, Fabing's pass was deflected into the air and Mustang defensive back Tony Travis pulled it down, setting Gilroy up near midfield.
Jensen went right back to work, hitting Juan Delgado for a 28-yard pass on the first play, then connecting with Delgado eight plays later on a 12-yard touchdown pass to put Gilroy up 9-0 with 4:35 remaining in the first quarter.
"I thought we did a good job getting going on the second drive," offensive coordinator Bryan Smith said. "Our defense did a great job. We were able to come back and move the ball downfield, but then a flag, a tip ball and an interception. That killed the momentum. I thought we had a good thing going, but it's tough to get re-started again."
On the night, San Benito committed six turnovers.
The 'Baler defense managed to force both of their turnovers in the second quarter when Devin Quintana picked off a Jensen pass and returned it 30 yards to the San Benito 40-yard line, while linebacker Taylor Coustette deflected a Jensen pass on the very next series and Bryan Gutierrez made a diving interception.
But Gilroy added 17 points in the second quarter, nonetheless. Lopez split the uprights on a 24-yard field goal to make it 12-0 Gilroy, while the Mustangs played role-reversal when wide receiver Dante Fullard threw a seven-yard touchdown pass to the quarterback Jensen in the left corner of the end zone.
Gilroy tacked on another score with 1:37 left in the half when Jensen found Richie Sotelo on a 26-yard vertical route down the right sideline.
"Defensively, we had a good game plan and our kids worked at it really hard all week long," Cameron said, "but we just didn't have enough to make it all happen tonight, in terms of what they were doing. That's a good football team, real good team."
Gilroy displayed their dangerous catch-and-run ability to a "T" on the second play of the third quarter, when Jensen hit Fullard on a short slant route that quickly turned into a track meet as Fullard sprinted 68 yards to paydirt.
Sotelo added a three-yard rushing touchdown later in the quarter, and also returned a partially-blocked punt 25 yards to the end zone in the fourth quarter that put Gilroy up 47-0.
"I played my hardest both ways today," Doty said. "I gave it all out on the field, and I can tell you that I looked in the eyes of each lineman, each guy on my team, and they all left it out on the field and played their hardest."
TEAM 1 2 3 4 F
SB 0 0 0 0 0
GL 9 17 14 7 47
SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
KICK (10:37) - GL, Ivan Lopez 22-yard field goal is good; 3-0, Gilroy.
PASS (4:35) - GL, Jamie Jensen to Juan Delgado, 12-yard touchdown, PAT (Ivan Lopez) failed; 9-0, Gilroy.
Second Quarter
KICK (10:37) - GL, Ivan Lopez 24-yard field goal is good; 12-0, Gilroy.
PASS (7:18) - GL, Dante Fullard to Jamie Jensen, 7-yard touchdown, PAT (Ivan Lopez) is good; 19-0, Gilroy.
PASS (1:37) - GL, Jamie Jensen to Ritchie Sotelo, 26-yard touchdown, PAT (Ivan Lopez) is good; 26-0, Gilroy.
Third Quarter
PASS (11:04) - GL, Jamie Jensen to Dante Fullard, 68-yard touchdown, PAT (Ivan Lopez) is good; 33-0, Gilroy.
RUSH (1:29) - GL, Ritchie Sotelo, 3-yard touchdown, PAT (Ivan Lopez) is good; 40-0, Gilroy.
Fourth Quarter
PUNT RET (3:03) - GL, Ritchie Sotelo, 25-yard touchdown return, PAT (Ivan Lopez) is good; 47-0, Gilroy.
STATS
PASSING
Trevor Fabing, SB - 7 of 15, 50 yards, 2 INT
Jamie Jensen, GL - 30 of 36, 470 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT
The Gilroy Mustangs held a 41-0 lead at one point late, but the game ended on a positive note for the San Benito Haybalers Friday night at the Garcia-Elder Sports Complex in Gilroy.
Haybaler quarterback Greg Vasquez hit Mark Gaspar for a five-yard touchdown pass late in the game, putting San Benito on the scoreboard.
"That was pretty special," San Benito head coach Luis Espinoza said of the touchdown catch by Gaspar, who was previously in San Benito High's Life Skills class. "As a coach, it was one of the greatest things."
Gaspar finished the game with two catches for 13 yards.
San Benito finishes their season 1-5 in the Tri-County Athletic League, 2-6-2 overall.
"Offensively, we couldn't put anything together. Defensively, they were faster than us and they were the better team," Espinoza said. "On a positive note, even when we were down 41-0 … the guys didn't give up and they kept playing. They did a good job.
"They played their hearts out."
Frosh Note:
Gilroy 14, San Benito 14
The San Benito freshman team battled back from two deficits Thursday and finished their season with a 14-14 tie against the Gilroy Mustangs at the Garcia-Elder Sports Complex.
Trailing by one score, Haybaler quarterback Ryan Di Salvo hit Lucas Haro for a 30-yard touchdown pass that tied the game at 8-all.
After the Mustangs reclaimed the lead, San Benito came right back to tie it at 14-14 when signal-caller Ricky Munguia connected on a 40-yard pass to Christian Goldstein.
"The thing that I was proud of was that we were down twice in the game and fought back," San Benito head coach Herb Bocksnick said. "It would have been pretty easy for the kids to hang their head, but they didn't."
The freshman team finishes their season with a 2-3-1 record in the Tri-County Athletic League, 5-4-1 overall.
Andrew Matheson Andrew Matheson is a sports writer for South Valley Newspapers. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 334 or at amatheson@svnewspapers.com.
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