A return to the Division I title game might be too much to ask
of Balers
HOLLISTER — After battling through injuries and inconsistencies for two years, which had led to a pair of disappointing seasons in 2007 and 2008, an experienced, senior-heavy squad fell on the short end of a 28-10 game against Milpitas in the Division I championship last December.
The final image of the San Benito Haybalers in last season’s title game was understandably bittersweet, a mix of emotions and thoughts as players reflected on just how far they had come, what they had gone through and experienced, and just how close they came to what would have been an improbable turnaround season.
But to take that lasting image — and everything that was wrapped up with it — into the 2010 season would almost be unfair. Of the 73 players listed on the varsity roster at the beginning of last season, the Balers lost 35 to graduation, or roughly 48 percent of the team.
“I always think you have to look at everything new,” San Benito head coach Chris Cameron said. “It’s a new slate.”
That statement may hold more weight than any other team in the Tri County Athletic League this season. After compiling a 10-3 overall record last year and a 4-2 mark in the TCAL, San Benito earned 14 all-league selections but will return only one of them in first-team defensive lineman Marcos Silva.
“There’s a lot of pieces that need to fall into place,” said Cameron, whose teams in the past have always been strong on the defensive side, and who’ve always embodied the term “smash-mouth football.”
But what was lost on defense won’t be easily replaced at all. Gone is the TCAL’s Defensive MVP in Michael Murphy, as are his fellow linebackers in Taylor Coustette, Robert Pinedo, Isaak Ramos and Larry Mendoza, a core that helped provide the Balers with the league’s top defense — just 154 points in 13 games.
On the offensive side, starting signal-caller and first-team quarterback Trevor Fabing graduated, as did running back Nick Acosta and offensive lineman Courtland Thompson, both of whom were first team all-league selections as well.
Fabing’s presence behind center provided an apprently seamless transition for San Benito’s triple-option attack last year, which was newly installed at the beginning of the season. Coaches and players have said the learning curve of the new offense was lessened this year, though, as the bulk of San Benito’s returning players fall on the offensive side of the ball.
One returning player, Tyler Decker, saw limited action during last season’s 13-game slate while sitting behind the starter Fabing, but he did help lead San Benito to a pair of postseason victories last season, including a 13-9 victory over Independence and a 14-13 win against Salinas.
It was Decker’s only two games of the season, and his final stats were sparse as a result. He finished with 46 carries for 118 yards and two touchdowns, while also throwing for 68 yards on 3 of 12 passing with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
But Decker appeared to take a step forward last season when, as a junior, he helped orchestrate a come-from-behind win against Salinas in the Division I semifinals.
With San Benito trailing 13-0 at halftime, Decker hooked up with James Flook for a 29-yard touchdown pass early in the third quarter, then found wideout Andre Cornell for a 42-yard touchdown pass later in the quarter, leading the Balers to a one-point victory.
Decker will be the starting QB for San Benito this season. His backup was not announced at press time.
Whether the lack of returners will influence San Benito in the win-loss column remains to be seen, though. The team will open its 2010 campaign on Friday night at Hill.
