Salinas' Bruce Leighton returns a fumble for a touchdown against Menlo Atherton during their playoff football game Friday at The Pit in Salinas.(Photo Juan Villa/The Salinas Californian)
Story HighlightsSalinas will also try to become the first public school team to beat Hollister twice in the same season since 1994.This is the 44th year of football playoffs for the Central Coast Section and Friday night will be the fifth championship game appearance for the Salinas High Cowboys.
Salinas opponent Hollister will be appearing in its 13th CCS title game since 1984. This will also be the fourth time Hollister has reached a section championship game three years in a row 1984 86 (won all three) 1999 2001 (1 2) 2003 2005 (1 2) and 2012 to present (1 1). The Balers were also there in 2009 (lost).
Friday s Division I kickoff is 7 p.m. at Rabobank Stadium.
The timing couldn t be better. Hollister is in its usual playoff state game of mind thinking it can beat any team any place any time. Salinas is coming off one of its best 48 minutes of football I ve seen it play in years.
This will only be the third CCS championship game and the first in 25 years to be held in Salinas and involve a team from Salinas. Last year the CCS D I championship game was held at Rabobank Stadium between Hollister and Milpitas.
You have to go back to 1990 to find the last time a CCS championship game was played in this town with a home town team. Palma beat Watsonville at Salinas High in a D II South final that year. Palma also beat Hollister in a D II title game in 1986 at Salinas High.
And now that the glittering reputation of Rabobank Stadium has reached deep into the San Jose area and combined with the fact that San Jose area community college stadiums are pricing most high school playoff games out of the market Salinas could become a regular site.
The Balers meanwhile have become a regular sight in title games. They are 6 6 in championship games. Depending on how you look at it Salinas is either 3 1 or 2 2.
In 1993 it was discovered a couple of days after Salinas beat Monterey High 17 6 in the D II title game current Alisal High baseball coach Graham Santiago raced 90 yards on his first carry of the game in the fourth quarter for the final score that the Cowboys roster included a seldom used player who was actually a fifth year senior and thus was ineligible.
Monterey was awarded the win by forfeit but Monterey High coach Pete Noble never really embraced the decision. When I brought up the subject to Pete a few years ago he said he d never even seen the winning trophy and hinted strongly that the Cowboys at least in his book should be declared champions. Of course knowing Pete he s going to call me tomorrow and deny ever saying that but maybe then I ll remind him why I kept asking him to speak into my lapel.
Hollister has developed quite a reputation as a team that gets stronger as the season grows longer. Since 1994 when Chris Cameron became coach of the Balers they have reached the CCS playoffs 18 times in 21 years and five times did so with a .500 regular season record. Hollister won at least one playoff game in four of those five years. Twice it went on to win CCS titles with 5 5 records 2012 and 2005.
Salinas will try to do what no team has done to Hollister since 1998 beat the Balers twice in the same season. Salinas will also try to become the first public school team to beat Hollister twice in the same season since 1994.
The Balers have made a holiday tradition out of beating teams in the playoffs they have lost to in the regular season. Five times since 1999 a team that has beat or tied Hollister in the regular season has lost to the Balers in post season.
The stage has been set again after Salinas beat Hollister 17 14 halfway through this season on a 26 yard field goal with 55 seconds to play then hung on for dear life when Hollister missed a 23 yard field goal as time expired.
Here is how Hollister has responded to the challenge of playoff football.
2014 Hollister lost to Alvarez 34 27 in overtime in league play beat Alvarez 26 6 last Friday in the D I semifinals.
2012 Hollister lost to Salinas 26 6 in the regular season beat Salinas 30 13 in the D I semifinals.
2009 Hollister beat Salinas 29 10 in league play beat Salinas again 14 13 in D I semifinal game.
2004 Hollister tied Wilcox 28 28 in non league game beat Wilcox 24 10 in D I semifinal game.
2001 Hollister lost to Alvarez 20 14 in league play beat Alvarez 34 13 in D II semifinal game.
2001 An exception to the rule here Hollister beat Salinas 20 14 in league play Salinas beat Hollister in D II championship game 7 6.
1999 Hollister lost to private school St. Francis of Mountain View 26 7 in non league beat St. Francis 39 34 in D I semifinal.
1998 Last time Hollister lost twice to same team in same season St. Francis beat Hollister 41 7 in non league beat Hollister again in D I opener 40 12.
1994 Salinas is last public school team to beat Hollister twice in same year 27 6 in regular season 28 12 in D II semifinals.
1986 (where it all began) Palma beat Hollister 17 0 in league play Hollister beat Palma 7 3 in the championship game.
Somewhat ironic is the fact that 1994 was Chris Cameron s first year as Hollister coach. He hasn t lost to the same public school team twice in the same year since and as a matter of fact hasn t changed his offense much since then either. According to my records in the 21 years Cameron has been head coach he s had only two quarterbacks who have thrown for more than 1 000 yards Karson Klauer in 2004 and 2005 and Dabo (first name unknown) in 1996.
The old school Balers essentially say You know what we do and who we are now try to stop us.
Salinas vs. Hollister where new wave meets old school Should be a classic way to end the season.
Upward onward
Eight former Monterey County high school players were named to the community college All Golden Coast Conferene frst team. All but one lineman Jon Tuiolosega of MPC and Seaside High was on the offense. They were Michael Turner quarterback Seaside High Hartnell (his 3 280 career passing yards No. 3 in Hartnell history) Jacob Robante running back North Salinas MPC Ronnie Turner receiver Seaside Hartnell (set school single season yardage record with 997 receiving yards) Brandon Pena lineman North Salinas Hartnell Jonathan Servin lineman North County Hartnell Gil Camacho place kicker King City High Hartnell (his 148 career points a Hartnell kicking record) Joe Jakubowsky utility Seaside MPC.
End is near
I ll write the final chapter of this prep football season and mine next week with a tribute of sorts to all those football coaches who have helped aided comforted complained corrected and threatened me (not seriously I think) during my 35 years covering Monterey County football. One more week and you re free to go.
George Watkins is a sports writer for the Californian. He can be reached at gwatkins thecalifornian.com or 754 4264. He can also be followed on Twitter at watkins_salnews.
No comments:
Post a Comment