Gilroy put together a big second half and defeated Pajaro Valley, 48-19, Friday night for its first victory of the season. The host Mustangs (1-3) led just 28-19 at halftime before blowing the game open by shutting out the Grizzlies (1-3) in the second half.
"There was no one individual play that won the game," Gilroy senior linebacker Ricardo Alvarado said. "It was a team effort. The defense actually stopped them and the offense ran the ball down their throat."
The win was especially satisfying for the Mustangs because they were missing a few key players.
"Our running back went down last week with a dislocated shoulder, so a big part of this week was Ricardo Alvarado, the running back for us," Gilroy coach Brian Boyd said. "He stepped in and did a great job."
The Mustangs led just 14-6 at the end of the first quarter and the teams traded touchdowns in the second quarter, leaving Gilroy up by just nine points heading into the break.
"We knew we were going to beat this team," Gilroy senior WR Brendan Holler said. "We had a lot of penalties in the first quarter, but we pushed forward."
“The kids shut them down in the second half," added Boyd. "We had some weak spots in the first half, but we made some adjustments at halftime. We’ve been working hard. We were due for a win. We had to get one under our belt and get some momentum and carry on to league next week.”
Gilroy goes on to play Salinas next week to open Monterey Bay League-Gabilan play.
“I haven’t really seen them this year so I don’t know what they’re like," said Holler, "but we plan to win."
On the opposite side of the field, the Grizzlies were disappointed but still maintained hope.
"Nothing really failed ... just a lot of mistakes," Pajaro Valley quarterback Eddie Medina said. "Poor tackling - that's what got us."
"We didn't play together and we weren't giving it our all in the second half," Grizzlies running back Anthony Cantrell added. "I tried to make big runs and big plays to get them motivated.”
Pajaro Valley opens up play in the Monterey Bay-Pacific Division Friday night when it visits North Salinas.
“We are a young team. They still need time to learn and mature," Pajaro Valley coach Joe Gregorio said. "Little mistakes cost them like tackling and finishing a block. Little things like that matter a lot in a game, but we will get better.”
