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Despite taking a three-point lead into the fourth quarter, Hollister football lost 13-10 to North Salinas in its homecoming game on Sept. 26.
“We played three quarters really, really well,” Balers coach Thomas Sullivan said. “I just feel like at the end we just had too many mental errors, too many mistakes, and they cost us.”
Sullivan said the team made mistakes in all three aspects of the game—offence, defense and special teams. Those, however, are correctable, according to Sullivan.
Despite Hollister falling to a 1-3 record, Sullivan said the team showed positives during the game including limiting a “high powered offense” to 13 points.
“We just need to put up a few more points, and we had our opportunities and we didn’t take advantage of those, so those are some of the things we need to work on moving forward,” he said.
Sullivan said senior linebacker Tripp Felice and junior outside linebacker Ben Candelaria “had a hell of a game,” and helped keep North Salinas scoreless in the first half.
On the offensive side, he said his running backs, junior Cole Seymour and sophomore Braiden Hernandez, had big runs that helped the team move the ball. Seymour scored the Balers’ lone touchdown in the first quarter to take a 7-0 lead.
“Losing is never a good feeling,” Sullivan said. “I think we had many opportunities to seize the outcome of the game and we didn’t take advantage of those.”
In two of Hollister’s losses this season, the Balers had a lead going into the fourth quarter. Sullivan said being in close games despite having a losing record is a signal the team is competitive and that the Balers are close to learning how to win games.
He said the team will focus on making sure the players understand their assignments and taking care of the small details.
“If we take care of the little things, the big things will be there for us,” Sullivan said.
Following are the Hollister High homecoming honorees:
Grand Marshals: Kate Berryhill and Matthew Devito
Unified Queen: Jocelyn Correa-MOrales
Unified King: Owen Renz
Freshman Class Princess: Kylie Drew
Freshman Escort: Cadence Smith
Sophomore Class Princess: Grace Garman
Sophomore Escort: Elias Cortez
Junior Class Princess: Kylie Correa
Junior Escort: Andrew Parra
Fall Homecoming Queen Hillary Santamaria (escorted by John Teliha)
Fall Homecoming King: Will be announced at Saturday’s dance
Senior Class Princesses and Escorts:
Kylie Varnes and Eaton Scott
Nola White and Emmaus Bustos
Mia Solorio and Natanael Villegas Zepeda
Alexis Capri and Tomas Ogas
Defensive back Jameson Oswald DB tackles a North Salinas player. Photo by Chris Mora. 
Running back Braiden Hernandez runs up the pocket to gain some yards. Photo by Chris Mora. 
Wide receiver Jacob Jackson runs the football up the field. Photo by Chris Mora. 
Running back Cole Seymour celebrates a touchdown. Photo by Chris Mora. 
Running back Cole Seymour outruns a North Salinas football player. Photo by Chris Mora. 
Leo Miranda attempts to make a tackle. Photo by Chris Mora. 
Defensive back Jameson Oswald tackles a North Salinas player. Photo by Chris Mora. 
Running back Braiden Hernandez finds a pocket. Photo by Chris Mora. 
Hillary Santamaria with Senior Escort, John Teliha. Photo by Chris Mora. 
Hillary Santamaria gets crowned as the 2025 Homecoming Queen. Photo by Chris Mora.
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