Mustangs top Wildcats, stay undefeated
Not much has stood in the way of Jay’s best start in 20 years, especially on Thursday night as the Mustangs turned back upstart Sotomayor 37-15 at Gustafson Stadium.
Senior quarterback Jackson Gutierrez combined for 321 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Mustangs past a team that had given up just seven points and an average of 109.0 yards through the first four games.
The Wildcats were no match for the Mustangs, who held a 511-284 advantage in total yards.
“Everybody inside of the 7611 knows what we are capable of, so every game we go out and fight,” said senior running Jack Mota, referring to Jay’s school address on Marbach Road.
The Mustangs, listed No. 6 in the Expressnews Class 6A rankings, improved to 6-0 overall and 4-0 in District 29-6A.
Jay overwhelmed the No. 7 Wildcats (4-1, 2-1), a second-year program that won just once last year.
“They chose us for homecoming, and we wanted them to regret it,” Mota said.
Gutierrez, who plans to play football at Navy, threw for 204 yards and three touchdowns on 8 of 13 passing. He rushed for 117 yards and had a 1-yard score on 11 carries.
“He’s a huge part of the team,” Mota said of Gutierrez. “He’s one of my best friends, and he’s best friends with everyone, so he has good team chemistry.”
The Mustangs’ first score — Gutierrez’s 39yard pass to Jayden Pritchett — was set up by Micah Roberts’ interception. That happened after Jay opened the game with a three-and-out.
“Our defense did a tremendous job of getting us the ball back, and we capitalized on that,” Gutierrez said. “That changed the momentum of the game.”
Sotomayor opened the season with shutouts against LEE, South San and Stevens before beating Holmes 39-7. Those teams were a combined 317 heading into Friday’s games.
The Wildcats leveled up in competition against the Mustangs, who haven’t been undefeated at this point of the season since 2003, when they won their first nine games. Jay next faces Holmes (1-4) on Thursday at Gustafson Stadium.
“I think we try to focus not on being 6-0,” Gutierrez said. “We have a really special group of people, and I think we just have to keep our momentum rolling. When we do that, I think we are one of the best teams in district.”
Gutierrez accounted for every point in the first half as the Mustangs took a 30-7 halftime lead. They came on touchdown passes of 39, 59 and 10 yards. In addition to his 1yard TD run, he passed for a pair of two-points conversions and rushed for two points.
Mota added a 17-yard scoring run in the third quarter and finished with 143 yards on 21 carries.
“We can’t take our foot off the gas,” Mota said. “We can’t let up even if we think it’s going to be somewhat an easy win. We cannot let up at all.”