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Undefeated at 7-0 after its 42-7 win against Monterey on Oct. 15, Hollister High School’s junior varsity football team is looking to build on the unbeaten record of its 2025 predecessors, who finished 10-0.
The team’s success is predictable, in some ways. Many of the players were on an undefeated Hollister Rebels team that won the 2024 Monterey Bay Youth Football Super Bowl. And last year, as freshmen, they finished 8-1, dropping one league game to Palma High School.
“Things are going excellently this year,” said Hollister head coach Marty Martinez. “The boys have all bought in. They’re playing really good football. They’ve got great leaders. And they’re hungry—they don’t want that one loss on their record this year.”
The memory of the 13-7 loss to Palma as freshmen, according to the coach and his team, was clearly on their minds when they met Palma again on Oct. 9, ready to win.
“We had a lot of motivation going into that game,” Baler JV right guard/defensive end Edgar Alvarez said. “Last year, we made a couple of mistakes. They sent us home crying last year. We carried our feelings from that game because we didn’t want to feel that way again.”
Turning the tables around in the more recent game, the Balers walked away with a 21-14 victory.
“That was a great feeling,” said Hollister JV quarterback Cadence Smith. “We lost to them last year by a touchdown, where we actually got stopped on the 2-yard line. We came out this year, ready to hit, ready to roll, and we came out and won by a touchdown.”
Equally pleased by the victory, Martinez described the Palma game as the toughest so far.
“They’re always a great team,” he said. “They are pretty much our equal all the way around. It was a close game, but our boys really ground it out.”
Many of this season’s games have ended in lopsided victories, including a 74-0 win against Soledad, a 47-0 win against Everett Alvarez, and a 62-6 win against Alisal. Even the matchup against Wilcox, which Martinez described as a “tough game,” ended 42-14.
“We’ve had some really big scores,” he said, “and we are winning with special teams and defense and offense, on all three phases of the game in every single game we play. That’s pretty much been the key to success, and we want to be tested while playing our best.”
One of the biggest surprises, Martinez said, was that they still achieved this level of success after losing several key players to varsity at the start of the season.
“A lot of the sophomores that were starters at freshman level got called up,” he said. “The next guys in line stepped up and handled it. And they performed really well, because they were all really good players to begin with.”
Of the two remaining dates on the schedule, Martinez said the team’s next home game, against Salinas High on Oct. 29, will be the most challenging one yet.
“We look forward to that kind of game,” he said. “Just like Palma, those two are the best in the league. So they’re true equals of ours, and we are really looking forward to competing against them.”
Baler JV linebacker Javier Guerrero said it’s the game he’s been most eager to play.
“Our team strength is that we’re some hard hitters,” he said. “And we will be the same aggressive team against Salinas that we always are. You can have the best skills on your team, but you’re not going to beat us because we want to go out there and hit.”
With the JV team carrying the banner for the school following the varsity season’s cancellation, Hollister JV running back Jedediah Briones said there is a degree of pressure when he feels the eyes of the spectators watching the team more closely.
“I felt like we are expected to do so much better,” he said. “But our team’s pretty well put together, so in every game, we just go out there and execute. Right now, everyone is communicating, doing their job and focusing on what they have to do during the game.”
Martinez said the team has enjoyed the chance to play evening games under the lights, but otherwise, he thinks the team has adapted well to the pressure of representing the school.
“It’s definitely different,” he said. “And they seem to have more fun playing. But we’ve made it a point to put our heads down and concentrate on our team. It’s what we’ve been doing since day one, just getting ready to play football.”
With the final game against North Salinas High School on Nov. 6, Smith said he is already looking forward to an undefeated season, that is if the team does not become overconfident.
“We can’t get too big of a head,” he said. “We know we’ve got to keep working hard, keep going at it. But I feel enthusiastic, like we’re the big dogs now and we should be able to go out and win games.”
Remaining games
Oct. 24 – Away: Harbor High School, 5 p.m.
Oct. 29 – Home: Salinas High School, 6:30 p.m.
Nov. 6 – Away: North Salinas High School, 5 p.m.
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