Hilmar racks up over 400 yards on the ground in playoff rout of Los Banos
With one quick flurry of touchdowns the Hilmar High football team seized control of its playoff matchup against Los Banos.
The Yellowjackets needed just 1 minute and 25 seconds to score three quick touchdowns midway through the first quarter to open up a 21-point lead.
The No. 6 seed Hilmar (9-2) was off and running to a dominant 61-27 victory over the No. 11 Tigers in the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division V playoffs at McSweeney Stadium on Friday night.
“It snowballed quickly and we couldn’t respond,” said Los Banos coach Dustin Caropreso, whose team finished with a 5-5 record. “That’s a good football team. They are definitely not a six seed.”
The Hilmar offense marched down on its first possession with the help of a 37-yard run by Broc Perry and a 22-yard touchdown run by quarterback Jason Pimentel to give the Yellowjackets a 7-0 lead with 7:02 left in the first quarter.
It just escalated from there.
Two plays later, Perry intercepted a David Herrera pass and returned it 16 yards for a touchdown.
Los Banos’ Mark Carreiro then fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Hilmar kicker Andres Alves pounced on it at the Tigers’ 42-yard line.
Two plays later, Perry scored on an 8-yard touchdown run and suddenly Hilmar had a 21-0 lead with 5:37 left in the first quarter.
“It was really shocking,” said Hilmar coach Frank Marques. “When we started the season we had a lot of slow starts, we were down a lot of games. To come out like that it was really rewarding.”
The Tigers defense couldn’t slow the Yellowjackets rushing attack.
Perry finished with 121 yards and two rushing touchdowns on 11 carries. Pimentel added 90 yards on the ground on 11 carries from the quarterback spot. Luis Vargas (76 rushing yards, one touchdown) and Blake Westmoreland (69 rushing yards, one touchdown) were also effective on the ground for the Yellowjackets, who opened up a 42-0 lead late in the second quarter.
“Our team has come into the playoffs ready to play,” Perry said. “This was probably the best week of practice we’ve had all season. We were just ready to play.”
The Yellowjackets took advantage of four Los Banos turnovers in the first half.
“I really think once we got our momentum going there was no stopping us,” Perry said.
The Yellowjackets racked up 421 rushing yards as a team.
“We went into it knowing if we didn’t stop them running it would be a long night,” Caropreso said. “They put No. 24 (Pimentel) back there at quarterback and it just gives them another person on top of their running stuff. Their a tough team to stop.”
Los Banos was able to put some drives together later in the game. Receiver J.T. Archutowksi hauled in six passes for 111 yards and two touchdowns.
The Yellowjackets are now 4-0 since making the move to Pimentel at quarterback during the bye week following the loss to Escalon.
Hilmar has outscored its opponents 203 to 27 in those four games.
Next up for Hilmar is No. 3 seed Sonora (6-3), which had a first-round bye. The Yellowjackets defeated Sonora 28-21 on Sept. 10.
“That’s going to be a tough one,” Marques said. “Another rematch, Sonora runs that veer and they get better and better as the year goes on. They’ve got that refined so it’s going to be a fun trip to the mountains.”
Kingsburg 64, Dos Palos 13 — The Broncos fell victim to the Central Section’s new playoff system. Dos Palos’ reward for a perfect 10-0 season was being placed in the Division II bracket as a No. 14 seed.
The jump up in competition was too much for the Broncos as Vikings junior Trace Jackson scored four touchdowns.
The third-seeded Kingsburg (9-2) scored on a punt return and a blocked punt.
Dos Palos’ scores came on a 5-yard run by Julio Garcia and a 64-yard touchdown late by running back Abraham Landino.
Caruthers 15, Chowchilla 14 — All the scoring came in the first half for both teams.
The Tribe (1-10) had a third-quarter drive stall out at the Blue Raiders’ 10-yard line.
Waleed Escheik caught a touchdown pass and Andrew Lopez scored on a touchdown run for Chowchilla’s two scores.
Other Merced Area scores:
Liberty Rach 42, Gustine 19
Rosemont 49, Delhi 13
This story was originally published November 5, 2021 at 11:34 PM with the headline "Hilmar racks up over 400 yards on the ground in playoff rout of Los Banos."
