• Last year’s overall record: 6-4
• Last year’s league record: 3-3 (4th in Monterey Bay League Pacific division)
• Coach: Ron Myers
• Last year’s MaxPreps state rankings: 697th
• Key losses: Evan Delozier; one of the best all-around athletes in the county last fall, the bulldozing runner was one of the Wildcatz’s top rushers and linebackers…Brayden Arnold; Watsonville top defensive back last season in both pass coverage and in run support…Johnny Bravo; was an underrated offensive weapon and a real surprise on defense late in the season.
• Key possible returners: Matthew Barcelo (Sr.); figures to be the lead back in Myers’ run-heavy double-wing offense…Andres Galvan (Sr.); earned an All-MBL-P First Team nod as an offensive lineman last season…Esteban Reyes (Sr.); the linebacker will be entering his third varsity season and is in line to become the leader of the Watsonville defense this fall.
• Notes: Last season was Watsonville’s first winning season since 2009, which was the same season in which it won its last league title and earn its most recent trip to the Central Coast Section playoffs…With more than 35 seniors on its roster, Watsonville will have no issues with numbers or experience this season…Watsonville (2,153 students) will be the third-largest school in the Pacific Coast Athletic League Mission division in terms of enrollment. Alisal High (2,821) is the biggest and North Salinas High (2,191) has the second-most students.
PRESEASON
Pajaro Valley High
• When: Aug. 24
• Where: Emmett M. Geiser Field
• Last year’s MaxPreps state rankings: 1,012th
• Last year’s overall record: 1-9
• Last year’s league record: 0-6 (Last in MBL-P)
• Coach: Kevin Cordova
• Notes: This year’s meeting will be the 13th time the two schools have battled, but it will be the 12th iteration of the Belgard Kup Game rivalry. Watsonville won last year’s meeting, 30-0, and holds a 9-2 advantage in the rivalry series…The Grizzlies are heading into the second year under Cordova…Pajaro Valley has not finished with a winning record since the 2007 season…The Grizzlies could have their starting quarterback, Max Arevalo, and running back, Mauricio Suarez, back from last season.
Santa Cruz High
• When: Aug. 31
• Where: Santa Cruz High
• Last year’s MaxPreps state rankings: 838th
• Last year’s overall record: 5-6 (CCS Division V qualifier)
• Last year’s league record: 5-1 (Mission Trail Athletic League Coastal division co-champion)
• Coach: Jesse Trumbull
• Notes: Santa Cruz won its first league title in more than two decades last season…Quarterback Abram Soriano and the Cardinals’ top three rushers (Johnny Soto, Taj Carpenter and Adrian Flores) are all gone. Five-foot-10, 145-pound back Nathaniel Loza is the only retuning skill position player who saw a significant amount of touches last season…Watsonville and Santa Cruz have battled for more than a century. Watsonville holds a 57-38-5 advantage in the all-time series and has won five of the last six meetings.
St. Francis High
• When: Sept. 7
• Where: Emmett M. Geiser Field
• Last year’s MaxPreps state rankings: 715th
• Last year’s overall record: 8-2
• Last year’s league record: 5-1 (MTAL-Coastal co-champion)
• Coach: John Ausman
• Notes: Sharks are fresh off winning their first-ever league championship. They also set the program record for most wins in a single season…St. Francis will return its sizable 20-player senior class, which includes running backs Devin McLeod, Andy O’Rourke, Abel Martinez and Andrew Seymour, whom combined for 1,986 yards and 20 touchdowns on the ground…Watsonville and St. Francis have played only once in varsity football. The Wildcatz won 29-12 in 2011.
Burlingame High
• When: Sept.14
• Where: Burlingame High
• Last year’s MaxPreps state rankings: 255th
• Last year’s overall record: 6-5 (CCS Open Division III qualifier)
• Last year’s league record: 1-4 (T-4th in Peninsula Athletic League Bay division)
• Coach: John Philipopoulos
• Notes: Burlingame is one of the most consistent programs in the CCS, finishing with a winning record in five straight seasons and making the playoffs in every season since 2009…The Panthers will have to replace quarterback Carlo Lopiccolo, running backs Alec Meredith and Savaun Brown and receiver Dimitri Rally. Those four combined for 32 touchdowns last season. Running back Youcef Benchohra and defensive stalwart Dylan Neeley, who led the team in tackles (87) and tackles for loss (19) and was second in sacks (5), do return.
PCAL-MISSION
North Salinas High
• When: Sept. 28
• Where: Salinas Sports Complex
• Last year’s MaxPreps state rankings: 709th
• Last year’s overall record: 1-9
• Last year’s league record: 0-7 (last in MBL-Gabilan)
• Coach: Ben Ceralde
• Notes: Ben Ceralde is the new head coach of the Vikings. A North Salinas alumnus, Ceralde takes over for Darren Spence, who stepped down after a 1-9 season last fall…North Salinas went 2-11 in the MBL-Gabilan division over the last two seasons…The Vikings will have to start from scratch after graduating nearly every offensive weapon from last year’s squad…Watsonville last played North Salinas in 2013. The Vikings won that meeting, 45-10, avenging a 65-50 loss from the year before.
Carmel High
• When: Oct. 5
• Where: Emmett M. Geiser Field
• Last year’s MaxPreps state rankings: 470th
• Last year’s overall record: 6-4
• Last year’s league record: 4-2 (T-2nd in MTAL-Mission)
• Coach: Golden Anderson
• Notes: The Padres last season missed the playoffs for the first time since 2006…With their top two rushers (Luke Melcher and Dakota Mornhiweg), their best receiver (Rashaan Ward) and their starting quarterback (Kai Lee) returning, Carmel will be one of the more talented teams in the division.
Scotts Valley High
• When: Oct. 12
• Where: Scotts Valley High
• Last year’s MaxPreps state ranking: 458th
• Last year’s overall record: 7-5 (CCS Division V semifinalist)
• Last year’s league record: 4-2 (T-2nd in MTAL-Mission)
• Coach: Louie Walters
• Notes: Scotts Valley is the smallest public school in the division, with an enrollment of 802 students, according to the 2017-18 CBEDs…The Falcons made the playoffs for the third straight season in 2017…Scotts Valley lost nearly every key contributor from last year’s team to graduation. Quarterback and defensive back Kyle Rajala, an all-league selection on defense, is one of few skill position players returning…Watsonville last played its old Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League partner in 2016. The Falcons won that game, 31-0. It was part of a four-game losing streak against the Falcons that dates back to 2004.
Alisal High
• When: Oct. 19
• Where: Emmett M. Geiser Field
• Last year’s MaxPreps state rankings: 481st
• Last year’s overall record: 7-5 (CCS Division IV semifinalist)
• Last year’s league record: 5-1 (MBL-Pacific runner-up)
• Coach: Cesar Chaidez
• Notes: Everything came together fo
r the Trojans last season, as they finished 7-5 overall and placed second in the MBL-Pacific division. It was their first winning season since 2012… lineman Isaac Duenas and Israel Corona, whom earned all-league first-team honors last season, lead a 21-player senior class under Chaidez…With an enrollment of 2,821, Alisal is the largest school in the division…Watsonville and Alisal have played each of the last four seasons. The two squads have alternated wins after Watsonville won the first in 2014.
Soledad High
• When: Oct. 26
• Where: Soledad High
• Last year’s MaxPreps state rankings: 487th
• Last year’s overall record: 7-4 (CCS Division V qualifier)
• Last year’s league record: 5-1 (MTAL-Mission champion)
• Coach: Eric Rodriguez
• Notes: Eric Rodriguez is the new head coach of the Aztecs. An assistant coach at Soledad and King City since 2010, Rodriguez takes over for Frankie Berlanga, who stepped down after seven years at the helm. Berlanga led the program to a pair of league titles and a CCS crown…The Aztecs will be without their quarterback (Robbie Santa Ana) and their top rusher (Emanuel Ortega), among others. They do, however, return stud receiver Angel Olivas, who caught 40 passes for 840 yards and 11 scores.
Monte Vista Christian
• When: Nov. 2
• Where: Emmett M. Geiser Field
• Last year’s MaxPreps state ranking: 529th
• Last year’s overall record: 4-6
• Last year’s league record: 2-5 (Sixth in MBL-Gabilan)
• Coach: Jubenal Rodriguez
• Notes: Jubenal Rodriguez is the new coach at M.V.C. Last season he led the Gilroy High program to the CCS Division V championship and a perfect 13-0 record. He was brought aboard after M.V.C. let go of Bruce Dini just weeks after he completed his first season with the Mustangs…M.V.C. graduated its quarterback (Sean White) and top running back (Cody Paresa), but has several weapons back, including receivers Nick Bautista and Daniel Brierley…Watsonville and M.V.C. have not met in varsity football since 2014. The Mustangs won that game, 27-6. Watsonville last beat M.V.C. in 2009 en route to the program’s last league title.
• Editor’s Note: This is the final entry of a six-part weekly series that took a quick look at each local high school football program’s schedule. For the previous five entries, visit pajaronian.com.
