Wilcox Chargers

By Dennis Knight

Mercury News

Wilcox quarterback Cory Murphy released the pass and was immediately hit in the midsection by a Salinas defender_ getting the wind knocked out of him.

Murphy never saw Jarrod Lucas make the catch and score, but he heard the roar of the Wilcox crowd _ a sound that he would become quite familiar with as the Chargers offense lit up the scoreboard in a 49-28 victory at San Jose City College.

Wilcox (8-4) will face the winner of today’s Menlo-Atherton/Woodside game in the Central Coast Section Large School final Friday December 5 at 7pm at Foothill college.

“Our offense played well tonight,” said Murphy, who was 5 of 8 for 96 yards and also rushed for 74 yards and a touchdown in eight carries. “We finished plays a lot better than we did last week. This could have been our last game _ so everyone was determined not to go down.”

The Chargers got out of the blocks quickly behind the running of Anthony Herrera. The standout junior runs low to the ground like a fire hydrant with excellent speed. He broke through the line on the Chargers second play from scrimmage and broke into the secondary, where nobody could catch him. He sprinted for a 72 yard touchdown run, setting the tone for the rest of the game.

“My offensive linemen were opening holes bigger than I have ever seen before,” said Herrera, who rushed for 221 yards and a pair of touchdowns in 19 carries. “I think we have one of the best lines in CCS, they were the key to the game.”

Salinas (7-5) fell behind 20-0 before Alvin Jelks got the Cowboys on the board when he cut loose for a 74 yard touchdown run. Jelks, a talented junior, rushed for 176 yards in 21 carries.

Salinas scored 21 points in the third quarter, but Wilcox got a big turnover when Jordan Gibson made his second interception of the day. Ruben Zendejas rushed for a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns for the Chargers.

It will be Wilcox’s first championship game since they lost to Los Gatos in 2000.

“We’re real excited,” Herrera said. “I’ve never even played in a playoff game before this season, now we’re playing for the championship.”