CAMPBELL, CA - Gilroy’s Joseph Barnes had 216 rushing yards and five touchdowns to defeat 2nd-seeded Menlo, 38-21, in the CCS Division V Championships. The win clinched an undefeated season for the top-seeded Mustangs.
“I just keep going and going until the buzzer runs,” said Barnes, when asked what led to his big night. “I didn’t even realize how much I ran.”
Menlo (8-5) was driving down the field in the third quarter, down 17-14 in a back-and-forth game, when Christian Rodriguez picked off a deep pass and returned it to midfield. After that, Gilroy (13-0) was able to drive quickly down the short field and Barnes scored from two yards out to extend the lead to 24-14.
“Our front lines are the heart and soul of the team,” said Rodriguez. “We were able to put pressure on the quarterback in the second half, which let the secondary make plays. Then, our offensive line did a great job blocking.”
Menlo wasn’t able to answer on their next drive, punting it back to Gilroy near midfield. Barnes responded with a 41-yard touchdown, which was his fourth of the game and gave the Mustangs a 31-14 lead with four minutes remaining in the game.
With their backs to the wall, Menlo was able to score late, as a deep pass from Emilio Simbeck to Kevin Chen set up a one-yard touchdown sneak from Simbeck.
However, the onside kick failed and Barnes punished Menlo by running in a 50-yard touchdown soon after to close the scoring at 38-21. Brandon Ortiz’ interception sealed the game.
“We really started executing late in the game,” said Barnes. “We were able to run our plays the right way and we played with a lot of heart. The effort was so much better.”
Before Gilroy’s big second half broke open the championship game, the teams looked even in the first half. Menlo fumbled at its own 10-yard line to open the game, but the Knights held Gilroy to a field goal. Soon after, Simbeck hit Aidan Israelski on a shovel pass to take a 7-3 lead.
In the second quarter, Simbeck launched a 33-yard pass to David Schmaier to bring the Knights inside the five-yard line, but the Gilroy defense forced a turnover on downs.
Menlo’s decision to keep the offense out on fourth down cost them, as Gilroy drove 96 yards, fueled by runs from Barnes and Rodriguez, and scored on Barnes’ one-yard leap into the end zone to take a 10-7 lead.
Menlo only took three plays to retake the lead, as Simbeck lobbed a 42-yard pass to Schmaier and finished the drive with a nine-yard strike to Landon Smith, closing the half with Menlo leading 14-10.
Menlo couldn’t sustain the lead with Gilroy’s big defensive stops and Barnes’ explosive runs.
“We were able to make good adjustments for the second half,” said Rodriguez. “On offense and defense, we were getting outplayed, but everyone stepped up.”
“Our defense came out and played with full intensity in the second half,” said lineman Justin Yanez. “We seem to be a second half team. We just wanted it more, so we were able to make plays and get stops.”
Gilroy was able to finish an undefeated season in the Monterey Bay-Pacific league and through the CCS playoffs, coming off last year’s loss in the CCS semifinals to Soledad. Besides Barnes’ contributions, Brandon Weiler passed for 124 yards and the Mustangs defense generated three sacks and two interceptions.
For Menlo, Simbeck had 170 passing yards with two touchdowns, along with 86 rushing yards. Israelski had 44 yards on the ground and Schmaier had 97 yards receiving.
“This feels amazing,” said Barnes. “Going undefeated, winning CCS - it’s a dream. This team plays with all of their heart and we put in work all season. We had a journey.”
SCORING SUMMARY
G - Zamparia field goal
M - Simbeck 9 yd pass to Israelski (Garcia-Mendez kick)
G - Barnes 1 yd run (Zamparia kick)
M - Simbeck 9 yd pass to Smith (Garcia-Mendez kick)
G - Barnes 2 yd run (Zamparia kick)
G - Barnes 3 yd run (Zamparia kick)
G - Barnes 41 yd run (Zamparia kick)
M - Simbeck 1 yd run (Garcia-Mendez kick)
G - Barnes 50 yd run (Zamparia kick)
PLAYER STATS
Gilroy
Rushing: Barnes 33-216, Rodriguez 13-27, Total 51-259
Passing: Weiler 6-15 124
Receiving: Pierce 4-85, Rodriguez 1-32, Total 6-124
Menlo
Rushing: Simbeck 22-86, Israelski 9-44, Total 32-127
Passing: Simbeck 11-21 170
Receiving: Schmaier 3-97, Chen 2-41, Total 11-170
