(Joseph Ramirez (12) hands the ball off to Abel Ramirez (14) in the third quarter during St. Francis High School’s 41-0 victory over Pajaro Valley High at Carl Conelly Stadium Friday night. Photo by Carlos Torres/For the Pajaronian)
APTOS — Abel Martinez likes to think that the 17 other players that make up the St. Francis High School football team not as teammates, but as something more.
“This is more of a family,” the senior running back said. “I grew up with these kids playing flag football, baseball, t-ball, basketball. Our bond is so strong, nobody can break us.”
The family-like bond showed as his band of brothers completely dominated the Pajaro Valley High School Grizzlies on both sides of the ball en route to a 41-0 victory Friday night at Cabrillo College’s Carl Conelly Stadium.
The game started with a bruising five-yard touchdown by St. Francis senior Andrew Seymour that put the Sharks up 7-0 in the first quarter.
Quarterback Joseph Ramirez ripped a 30-yard run the next drive to put St. Francis up 14-0.
Ramirez and Devin Macleod, both seniors, also hooked up for a pass touchdown in the second quarter that had the Sharks racing to a 20-0 lead by halftime.
Fresh from his touchdown reception, Macleod decided to catch a ball from the opposing quarterback, and did with a leaping interception in the second quarter. The ensuing drive led to a five-yard touchdown run by Aaron Soto that got the Sharks up 26-0.
The dagger came in the third quarter when Ramirez made a few opposing players miss on his way to a 35-yard touchdown that sealed the deal for the Sharks.
Finally, the dynamic duo of Martinez and Ramirez connected on another beautifully executed play-action pass that put the score 41-0.
It’s only August, and St. Francis head coach John Ausman knows that “We’re climbing the mountain, we gotta clean up some mistakes we had on the first quarter, but overall we did well.”
“I give all the credit to all these guys,” he added. “It’s 18 committed dudes, and they’re committed to their teammates and there’s that accountability. We have a great group of seniors that are leading the charge.”
Omar Salazar (28), Cory Lara (20) and a few other Grizzlies recover a punt in the second quarter. Photo by Carlos Torres/For the Pajaronian
Pajaro Valley lost a few key starters earlier this week, which really hindered their scoring opportunities from the get-go.
“We had some untimely injuries on Wednesday and Thursday that really showed up in this game,” head coach Kevin Cordova said after the game. “We’ll have better continuity this week. Their numbers are low, but they executed pretty well.”
Pajaro Valley (0-2) will travel to Felton on Sept. 8 and try to get their first win of the season against San Lorenzo Valley (1-1).
St. Francis (2-0) will keep climbing the mountain and try to maintain their winning streak. They will face off against another cross-town rival in Watsonville High (2-0) at Emmett M. Geiser Field on Sept. 7.
