Hollister football falls short in comeback bid against Carmel

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Suffering its third straight loss, the Hollister High football team fell just short in a bid to force overtime in a 28-21 loss to Carmel High at Andy Hardin Stadium on Oct. 10. 

Down two scores with 1:48 left in the game, it appeared the ball would have to bounce the Balers way more than once for them to get back into the game. And they almost pulled it off, getting to within the final margin with a chance to tie in the waning seconds before running out of luck.

“They don’t give up,” coach Thomas Sullivan said about his team. “They have a big heart.”

As it had done twice in the second half, the Hollister defense had just forced a three-and-out, and its offense ended up with great field position starting at Carmel’s 42-yard-line. 

Senior quarterback Cruz Raquet and his offense took it from there, reaching the end zone using only 33 seconds off the clock in six plays, which included spiking the ball twice to stop the clock without using a timeout. 

Racquet began the drive with an 11-yard-pass to sophomore wide receiver EJ Jimenez. Three plays later he connected with senior wide receiver Jordan Quezada for a 13-yard pass that put the Balers on the 12-yard line. Racquet found Quezada again, this time in the end zone to pull within seven.

The drive was followed by a successful onside kick that was recovered by defensive back Jameson Oswald and set up the Balers on Carmel’s 47-yard line with 1:15 left in the game. 

The Balers managed to move the ball to the 17-yard-line with 45 seconds left in the game. But unfortunately for Hollister, the Padres played tough defense on two Raquet passes into the end zone, leading to Hollister turning the ball over on downs and effectively ending the game.

“We are seeing big improvement every week from these guys,” Sullivan said. “They are working extremely hard and we’re very proud of them.”

Just before their final two possessions of the game, the Balers had a golden opportunity to put some points on the board when Raquet threw three 18-yard passes into the endzone, but the Carmel defenders came up big, forcing a turnover on downs.

On the first attempt, Quezada caught the ball but got hit mid-air and was unable to keep control of the ball as he landed on his back. On the second, sophomore wide receiver Demetrius Frink battled for position but the Carmel defender was able to deflect the ball. 

And, lastly, Racquet threw a laser to senior wide receiver Jacob Jackson but the ball went through his hands as he was entering the end zone.

Jackson was Raquet’s most reliable receiver in the game, catching two touchdowns in the first half and finishing with 155 yards receiving. 

On the Balers first drive in the second half, the defense and special teams also gave the offense great field position starting on Carmel’s 35-yard line. 

With the Padres leading 21-14, Raquet connected with Jackson near the five-yard-line but the senior got tackled as he neared the end zone and fumbled the ball. Carmel recovered the ball in the end zone for a touch back. 

“We just need to take advantage when we have our opportunities [to score],” Sullivan said. 

Defensively, the Balers limited Carmel to 3.5 yards per rush attempt and the longest play they allowed on the ground was 10 yards. 

Carmel hurt the Balers through the air, though, putting up six plays longer than 10 yards, including  40-yard, 30-yard and 71-yard passes for scores.

Senior linebacker Tripp Felice said it comes down to the team remaining disciplined in order to prevent big plays and not getting fooled by a play.

“We’ll think we know what’s going on and then they’ll throw something on the backside,” he said.

Defensive penalties also cost the Balers. Facing a fourth down and four in a 14-14 tie late in the first half, the Padres faked a punt and the Baler defender was called for pass interference. 

“Our guy was in the perfect position for it,” Sullivan said. “The ball went out of bounds and they called  pass interference on us. I have to look at the tape. I didn’t see any pass interference on that.”

Felice said the team is working on limiting penalties.

“We get them where we want them in third-and-long and then we shoot ourselves in the foot,” he said about penalties. “I think that’s the backbone of us losing.”

Four plays later, Carmel capped the drive with a 30-yard touchdown to take a 21-14 lead with 1:06 left in the first half. 

Hollister, with an overall record of 1-5 and 1-3 in league, will travel to Monterey on Oct. 17 to face the Toreadores at 7:30 p.m.

BenitoLink thanks our underwriter, Hollister Rotary, for helping expand the sports coverage around San Benito County. Rotary is a nonprofit organization that conducts humanitarian projects, encourages high ethical standards, and works toward world understanding. All editorial decisions are made by BenitoLink.