By MARK MOLINA
Staff Writer
SAN BENITO —When you look at the defensive numbers for the San Benito Greyhounds, you will see they have given up 1,000 yards of offense to the opposition during the first three weeks of the season.
Of those yards, only 89 were given up through the air.
Their opponents haven’t been pass-happy teams, but should the Greyhounds need to get into dogfight, they’re confident in the players they have back in the secondary.
“They’re individuals who work really hard and are coached well by their position coaches,” San Benito head coach Dan Gomez said. “The secondary is our last line of defense, so when you have a solid group with experience, it helps your game plan.”
Beyond the defensive line are a bevy of upperclassmen.
At cornerback, seniors Mario Valdez, Jacob Zuniga and junior Carlos Estrada join senior safeties Juan Gonzalez and Smiley Escamilla along with outside linebacker Alvaro Vargas in the defensive back field.
There are a couple of reasons why the group has clicked.
One is simple-team chemistry.
“We’ve all been together for a while now and we just go work hard every single day in practice,” Valdez said. “Our defensive line makes our job easier as well. We trust them so we have to work hard because we know they trust us.”
It also doesn’t hurt to have one of the best offenses in the Valley lining up against you in practice.
The Hounds’ offense averages 480 yards per game over the first three weeks of the season, making the offensive simulations in practice that much more beneficial.
“Our guys always give us good looks when they’re giving us the other team’s offense,” Vargas said. “Of course, they make us work and they push us.”
At the end of the day, the veteran ‘Hounds have bought in to Gomez’s tried and true philosophy that defense wins championships and that being an aggressive ball hawk is second-to-none when it comes to strategy.
“The system helps because it teaches us to be aggressive off the line and that’s basically what we do every day,” Escamilla said. “Just going out there, knowing what we’re doing and staying aggressive is the key to playing in a good secondary.”
This week, the secondary will get its toughest test as they face Brownsville Hanna’s three-year starting quarterback Andy Lopez, who has passed for 657 yards and seven touchdowns en route to a 2-1 record.
“Hanna is a good team who likes to pass the ball and they have some quick receivers,” Escamilla said. “We just have to keep on our zones, our reads and stay on our keys; just go out and play the game.”