Gilroy High
’s Justin Sweeney rushed for 172 yards and two touchdowns on 21
carries in Gilroy High’s 23-21 victory over Burlingame Friday at
Mustang Stadium.
Gilroy High’s Justin Sweeney rushed for 172 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries in Gilroy High’s 23-21 victory over Burlingame Friday at Mustang Stadium.
But it was Sweeney’s fourth-quarter interception of highly-touted Burlingame quarterback Drew Schiller that was the game’s turning point.
With the Panthers driving for the potential go-ahead score late in the game, Sweeney came up with a pick that ended up clinching the victory for the Mustangs.
“That was a huge pick by Justin,” Mustangs’ coach Darren Yafai said. “The guy was all over the place.”
Up against a Panther offense with four all-league returnees and one of the top quarterbacks in the area, Sweeney and the Mustang D more than held their own.
The athletic Schiller, who has a basketball scholarship to Cal, was just 4-of-8 passing in the first half.
Trailing 7-0, the Mustangs took full advantage of the game’s first blunder. After holding Gilroy to three-and-out on its opening possession, Burlingame fumbled away a punt at its own 34.
After a 24-yard jaunt and a few shorter carries, Sweeney snuck in Gilroy’s first score with three minutes left in the first quarter.
On the Mustangs’ next possession, senior quarterback Peter Mickartz, who was 9-of-12 for 102 yards in his first career start, capped off an impressive drive of his own with a short touchdown sneak. After an efficient 12-play, 57-yard drive, the Mustangs led 14-7.
After taking that lead into locker room, Gilroy exploded out of the gates with a 70-yard kickoff return by senior Marty Sustaita. The Mustangs settled for Neil Martin’s 29-yard-field goal and took a 17-7 lead.
That’s when the Panthers finally let loose Schiller. In an incredible 16-play, 74-yard drive that chewed up nine minutes – pretty much the entire third quarter – Schiller completed 9-of-10 passes and pulled his team to within three with a minute left in the third.
After Burlingame’s time-consuming drive, it took Gilroy just two plays and 22 seconds before Sweeney answered with a 49-yard touchdown along the right sideline.
Burlingame scored its final TD on its next possession to pull within two points, and got the ball back but Sweeney’s interception sealed the game for Gilroy.
Schiller finished the night 13-of-19 for 174 yards.
Valley Christian 41, Hollister-San Benito 0
In the Haybalers’ opener at Valley Christian Saturday, Hollister-San Benito had a big wake-up call in a 41-0 loss.
Valley Christian handed the Haybalers their worst loss in recent history.
It was just the fifth shutout dating back to 2000 for the Balers, but three of them have come at the hands of the Warriors, including a 38-0 loss two years ago.
The last time the Balers surrendered 41 points in a game was in a 41-20 loss at league rival Palma on Nov. 15, 2002.
