By Kevin Askeland
MaxPreps.com
SALINAS – It may have been Halloween, but for coach Rich Hammond and the Gilroy Mustangs, it was a little more like Thanksgiving and Christmas wrapped into one.
Hammond and his team can be thankful that Jamie Jensen calls the signals for the Mustangs. The senior quarterback didn’t even throw a pass until the second quarter but finished the night completing 28 of 39 passes for 429 yards and three touchdowns in a 34-28 win over Palma on Friday at the Salinas Sports Complex.
Gilroy can also be thankful for a defensive unit that picked a good time to put together a strong front. After giving up two big plays that allowed Palma to get back into the game, the Mustangs shut down the Chieftans in the final minute by holding on four downs from the 10-yard line. Brandon Elam had the big play for the Mustangs, sacking Palma quarterback David Fales on fourth down at the 19 and allowing Gilroy to run out the clock for the win.
The Mustangs celebrated the win as if they had found a brand new bicycle sitting under the tree on Christmas morning. The victory kept Gilroy undefeated at 8-0 and also marked the fourth straight time the Mustang senior class had defeated Palma.
But the game also had a sense of Halloween about it with plenty of tricks and treats for both teams. Gilroy got off to a slow start, only to find its groove in the third quarter with three touchdowns. Then it was Palma’s turn to rebound as it watched a 14-0 lead disintegrate into a 31-14 deficit, only to close within six points in the final five minutes.
“Maybe it was because of Halloween,” said Hammond. “There were strange plays and fumbles and interceptions and weird calls.”
The difference in the game, however, was the presence of Jensen. The Mustang senior didn’t start the game and due to Palma’s ball-control ability in the first half Jensen didn’t even attempt his first pass until there was 4:50 left in the second quarter. That was enough time, however, for Jensen to lead the Mustangs to their first touchdown of the game and nearly a second just before the break.
“All I can say is that he comes up big in big games,” said Hammond. “If there are any colleges out there needing a big time quarterback, Jamie is a good one to have.”
Jensen completed 5 of 6 passes on the scoring drive for 54 yards, including a 6-yard scoring toss to Dante Fullard that cut Palma’s lead to 14-6.
Gilroy nearly got in the end zone again after an interception by Richard Sotelo gave Gilroy the ball at the 28. But a fourth down pass from the 5 fell incomplete and Palma ran out the clock to maintain the halftime lead.
Jensen, who threw for 4,323 yards and 41 touchdowns last year, was at his best in the third quarter. He led the Mustangs on four straight scoring drives to put Gilroy up 31-14.
The first scoring drive took just two plays as Jensen found Bryan Sanchez down the middle of the field for a 53-yard touchdown.
The Mustang defense forced a punt and Gilroy took the lead three minutes later following an 11-play drive that ended with a 1-yard run by Fullard.
Palma was able to drive deep into Gilroy territory on the ensuing drive thanks to a 36-yard pass to Brett Chernetsky. But the drive stalled at the Mustang 15 and Gilroy was able to drive 85 yards on nine plays with Fullard once again working his way into the end zone from the 1.
Jensen threw for 79 yards on the drive, including a 44-yard pass to Sean Hale.
“Our receivers did a good job of taking short passes and turning into 20-yard gains,” said Hammond. “And then sometimes we’d get a cat blocking downfield and turn it into a 40-yard run.”
Jensen finished the third period with a 58-yard pass to Hale down the left sideline, giving him 275 yards passing in the quarter alone. Gilroy scored three plays after the pass to Hale when Jensen hooked up with Fullard on an 11-yard scoring toss.
Just when it looked like Gilroy had a comfortable lead at 31-14, Palma struck back. The Chieftans needed just two plays to answer Gilroy as Fales threw to Bruce Taylor for a 41-yard gain and then connected with Chernetsky over the middle for a 39-yard scoring play that cut Gilroy’s lead to 31-21.
Gilroy was able to lengthen its lead to 34-21 with a field goal by Ivan Lopez, but Palma struck again. This time Fales needed only one play as he hit Chernetsky 20 yards downfield where the Chieftan receiver fought off the Gilroy defender and raced the remaining distance for a 75-yard touchdown with 7:15 to go.
The Chieftan defense came up big, forcing Gilroy into its first punt of the night. Palma then embarked on a time-consuming drive that ate up the rest of the fourth quarter and slowly worked the ball toward the goal line.
The drive was reminiscent of the first half when Palma put together two long drives to take a 14-0 lead. The first march covered 74 yards and ended on an 8-yard run by Matt Donangelo. The other drive began at the Palma 20 after the Chieftans recovered a Gilroy fumble in the end zone. Justin Olivarria capped the drive with a 1-yard run. Olivarria finished the game with 112 yards rushing on 25 carries.
In the final drive, Palma reached the 10-yard line with just over a minute remaining and a full set of downs. On first down, Gilroy’s Tony Travis dropped the Palma runner for a two-yard loss. On second down, Fales threw incomplete over the middle. A third down pass to the corner was just beyond the reach of the receiver.
On fourth down, Fales rolled out to his right and had two receivers in the flat. However Fales was unable to get away from Elam, who hogtied the Palma quarterback at the 19.
The loss drops Palma to 3-1 in Tri-County Athletic League play and 6-2 overall. The two teams combined for 954 yards with Gilroy gaining 557 and Palma posting 397 yards. Fales completed 12 of 21 passes for 248 yards while Chernetsky caught eight passes for 191 yards.
For Gilroy, Fullard caught 13 passes for 125 yards. Hale caught six passes for 147 yards.