APTOS — A missed tackle in the open field. A whiff on a block in the trenches. A forgotten assignment on offense.
Minuscule mistakes the Aptos High Mariners normally mask with explosive runs or tricky play action bombs.
Not this time.
Not against Salinas High.
The Mariners came tantalizingly close to the Monterey Bay League Gabilan division championship on Friday night but the Cowboys were cleaner and more focused when it mattered most, doing just enough to edge Aptos, 31-21, for the program’s first league title since 2014.
On fourth and goal, senior quarterback Brett Reade capped Salinas’ (8-2, 7-0) 15-play scoring drive with a 1-yard plunge to put the Cowboys up 10 with 9:16 remaining.
Aptos (6-3, 5-1) had a pair of possessions down the stretch but both ended on interceptions from Salinas senior safety Kelly Mcdermott.
The Cowboys knelt once following Mcdermott’s second pick and the party was on. Water bottles were emptied into the sky and head coach Steve Zenk got a Gatorade bath. Salinas was on the road but made itself plenty comfy on the Mariners’ home turf, taking numerous photos to celebrate the victory.
“Oh my God, it feels so good, so good,” Reade said. “They came in their first year in (this league) and they were undefeated in league until they got to us. It was a great fight. They deserve to be in this league.”
Aptos joined the MBL-G in the offseason after the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League decided to disband for football last December. The Mariners’ domination of the six other teams in the SCCAL over the last six seasons, it seemed, was too much in the eyes of the decision makers of the now defunct league, leading to the disbandment.
Aptos didn’t skip a beat through its first five games in the brutally tough MBL-G, winning by an average of 27 points.
But on Friday, the roll finally stopped.
It was the Mariners’ first league loss since Oct. 16, 2010.
“Salinas is always the hardest hitting team, in my opinion, and they brought it like always,” said Aptos junior running back Marcos Reyes. “We didn’t execute on the little things. We had the chances to but we’ll be back.”
A week after tying the program’s single-game rushing yards record with 292 yards against Monte Vista Christian, Reyes finished with 122 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 24 carries.
His 7-yard scoring run early in the fourth quarter produced by a Desmond Mendoza strip and recovery brought the Mariners within three points. But Reade marched the Cowboys down the field and dove in from one yard away on fourth down to give Salinas some much-needed breathing room.
The defense did the rest.
“My coach pointed at me and was like, ‘are you the M.V.P?’” Reade said of the decision to go for it at the goal line in the fourth quarter. “I was like, ‘hell yeah.’”
Added Reade: “I got in there. Pay dirt.”
The 6-foot-2, 175-pounder played like the league’s Most Valuable Player, completing 14 of 17 passing attempts for 109 yards and also running for 48 yards and two scores.
Along with Reade, senior running back Richard Cerda ran 10 times for 72 yards and a touchdown, while junior running back Mike Cortez finished with 61 yards on 17 totes.
The Cowboys also got a 1-yard rushing score from senior Drew Schuler to go up 24-14 heading into the intermission.
“Their backs are just heavy,” said Reyes, who also starred at linebacker for Aptos. “The quarterback towered over me but I stayed in there. They hit hard. It was a dog fight, like Coach B says.”
Salinas scored on all four of its possessions of the first half.
Set up by a 79-yard return from Cerda on the opening kick, Reade’s 6-yard touchdown run started the scoring and gave Salinas the initial lead.
Aptos answered on its first possession with a 14-play scoring drive capped off by a 4-yard touchdown run from Reyes.
Salinas senior kicker Adrian Hernandez nailed a 34-yard field goal to make it 10-7 but the Mariners took their first lead of the night on a 28-yard scoring run from sophomore Vaughn Holland with 10:45 left to play in the first half.
The Mariners, however, were shutout for the remainder of the second quarter while Salinas pieced together a pair of touchdown drives to go up 10 at the break.
Aptos looked to have hit its stride offensively coming out of halftime. The Mariners churned out a 17-play, nine-minute drive but were stopped on fourth down deep in Salinas territory and came up empty-handed.
The drive seemed like a microcosm of the Mariners’ night.
Close but no cigar.
“We’re OK,” said Aptos head coach Randy Blankenship. “We lost the damn championship. I don’t like doing that but it’s not like they laid down.”
Indeed.
The Mariners were able to run the ball effectively despite facing eight men in the box.
Sophomore fullback Josh Powell rushed for 89 yards on 11 carries and Holland, moved up from junior varsity a few weeks back, ran for 44 yards on a pair of explosive totes.
The Cowboys, however, were able to make the Mariners one-dimensional with stellar play from their defensive backs. Junior quarterback Hunter Matys completed only two passes and tossed the two picks.
Senior receiver Blake Wheeler, who had close to 10 receiving scores on the year, made only one grab for 11 yards.
“Even though they’re bigger and a lot more athletic, we had our opportunities,” Blankenship said.
Salinas was aggressive in its play calling all night. Zenk and Co. went for it five times on fourth down in the first half and converted each time.
The Cowboys converted three more fourth downs in the second half, including for the final score.
“Bottom line is they executed on the critical downs and we missed a couple of critical downs,” Blankenship said.
Aptos concludes its MBL-G slate on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at home against Alvarez High in a makeup game.
