Baler JV team continues undefeated season started as freshmen

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Note: Following publication of this article, the Baler JV team defeated Carmel High School by a score of 35-0, continuing their undefeated streak.

In their two seasons at Hollister High School, the players who make up the current Junior Varsity team have a 14-0 record. That includes shutouts against Wilcox and Watsonville as freshmen and against Branham, Alisal and North Salinas in their last five games. 

On Oct. 10,  the Baler JV is set to take on Carmel High School in a home game starting at 5 p.m., an opponent that neither the junior varsity nor the freshman team has faced in recent memory. 

But head coach Marty Martinez said he is not concerned.

“We know Carmel is preparing for us right now,” he said. “But I think our team will keep going the route we are going, to keep playing elite football and dominating every chance we get.”

The lack of a record against the upcoming opponent makes prognostication difficult. 

But in a matchup earlier in the season that bodes well, Carmel (1-4) lost a 48-34 game against North Salinas, a team the Balers had thrashed 43-0 two games ago. 

However, Carmel just won a 22-21 game against Palma, a team that the Hollister JV squad barely defeated as freshmen in one of its most challenging games of that season, by a knife’s-edge 14-13 score. 

Baler right tackle Luciano Lamonda, who Martinez credits as one of the smartest players on the team, is expecting an interesting game against Carmel. 

“So far, they have had a tough year,” Lamonda said. “I know right now they’re 1-4. But Palma’s always a great team, so you can’t underestimate anyone who beat them.”

Having studied the tapes, Hollister fullback Luis Espejo thinks he has found Carmel’s vulnerability.

“I know their defense doesn’t really like to hit,” he said, “and that’s the opposite of what I do. So, I’m going to bring it as much as I can. Hopefully, it comes as a surprise, and I get to do my thing.”

Martinez described the team’s start as “slow but strong” this season, which might be an understatement about their performance. 

In their opening game against Branham, the Balers scored a 49-0 win, with the defense limiting Branham to negative 89 yards. The offense scored four touchdowns, and both the special teams and defense contributed a touchdown, a dominant effort across all units.

The second game, against Wilcox, was not quite as easy. Martinez said the team gave up 16 points in the first five minutes but rallied for a 22-16 win. 

“I think Wilcox was my personal best this season so far,” Hollister left guard Adrian Mimila said. “We did not start well, but then the more we played, the more I picked up. I got my blocks down, and I just executed in the game.”

The next two games were also shutouts, with scores of 56-0 against Alisal and 43-0 against North Salinas. 

According to Martinez, the team only gave up 45 yards in the Alisal game and scored heavily across the special teams, defense and offense. 

North Salinas, he said, looked like a tough team on tape, “but the boys really saw that and they stepped it up a little notch for those guys.”

Espejo described the Salinas team, which the Balers defeated 21-15 in their most recent previous game before Carmel, as their traditional rivals and most significant competition.

“That was our toughest game,” he said. “They definitely brought it, but we still left with the win. We did it with our grit. We work harder than them. We were closer as a team, and I think that we were just smarter.”

According to Martinez, the loss of players like Felix Chavira and Damian Aragon, who were promoted from the freshman team straight to varsity, means that about 60% of the current squad are first-time starters. However, he credits the players’ natural unity and the strong foundation laid by freshman head coach Tyler Townsend for the team’s strength. 

“These boys have been together since they were little,” Martinez said. “It looks like it. And they play like it. They all get along, and when they get out here, they all work as a unit.”

Middle linebacker Jacob Julian Torres said that he is confident of his team’s ability to maintain the winning streak.

“I think that having an undefeated season last year,” he said, “and coming into another undefeated season is a lot of pressure. But we play as a team and we’re always there for each other, no matter what. So I always have to believe that we can do it.”

2024-25 Freshman games

• 09/04 vs Wilcox: 19-0
• 09/14 vs Los Gatos: 27-14 
• 09/26 vs Aptos: 24-8
• 10/03 vs Watsonville: 41-0
• 10/09 vs Soquel: 40-7
• 10/17 vs Monterey: 26-6
• 10/23 vs Palma: 14-13 
• 10/30 vs Everett Alvarez: 0-0 (Forfeit by Alvarez) 
• 11/07 vs Salinas: 35-24

Upcoming games

• 10/10 vs Carmel (home game): 5 p.m. 
• 10/17 at Monterey: 3:30 p.m. 
• 10/23 at Soquel: 7:30 p.m. 
• 10/30 vs Aptos (home game): 5 p.m. 
• 11/07 vs Palma (home game): 5 p.m. 

Related story

BalerJunior Varsity Football Goes Undefeated For the Season

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