Aptos High hosted the “San Francisco 49ers High School Takeover” with a football doubleheader Sept. 27. With San Francisco 49ers mascot Sourdough Sam roaming the field and a social media team in place to film the action, two great games took place.
The first one was a down-to-the-wire thriller, as the Mariners girls’ flag football squad came from behind to edge the rival Balers, 18-12, in the early evening show. The nightcap went to visiting Hollister as it excelled in all three phases of the game to pull away from the Mariners football team in the second half en route to a 35-14 victory.
Flag football
After three previous one-score defeats to their non-league opponent, Aptos (8-4) knocked off Hollister (12-4). The Mariners fell behind with 47 seconds remaining but drove the length of the field to tie the contest 12-12 on a 1-yard pass from Ella Porter to Julia Parello as time expired.
In overtime, with alternating possessions, Aptos kept the Balers out of the end zone and then won it as Porter fired a 20-yard aerial to Ellie Marta for the winner.
“The environment was really positive,” Porter said. “There was a lot of energy in the air and we were more hyped up. It really helped me and my team.”
Porter completed 21 of 31 passes for 192 yards for Aptos. Parello hauled in seven throws and Isabel Graff pulled down five passes, including a 6-yard scoring reception.
Each team had to punt on its first two possessions. A Baler interception by Bianca Guerra set up a 16-yard touchdown on a pass from Ava Garcia to Ixiim DeLuna. Aptos replied on its next drive with a fourth-down connection to Graff for a tie.
The contest moved into the second half with a 6-6 score, as shadows began to cover Trevin Dilfer Memorial Field.
Late in the fourth quarter, Hollister’s Jasayla Mariscal made a leaping interception to put the Balers in business on the Aptos 18-yard line. Garcia completed three passes in a short scoring drive, finding Mariscal on a crossing route for a 5-yard touchdown.
With just 47 seconds remaining, the scoreboard read 12-6 in favor of the Balers.
Porter led the Mariners back with a two-minute drill that would make any NFL quarterback proud. She found Graff for an 18-yard completion and Marta for 17 more.
Aptos called time with 13 seconds left. Porter then tossed to Graff for a 23-yard play down to the 1-yard line, and the clock stopped at 1.4 seconds. A short throw to Parello produced the touchdown.
In overtime, the Aptos defense forced three incompletions on Hollister’s possession. With their possession, Porter and Marta connected for the winner.
“I ran a streak,” Marta said. “I saw a large opening and I went for it. I’m proud of my team. It was awesome.”
The bench exploded and the team had a raucous celebration on the field. Sourdough Sam was impressed. Brock Purdy and Deebo Samuel could not have done better.
“Our team played hard,” Hollister coach Jose Perez said. “We know Aptos is a good team. This is the fourth time we’ve played them. It’s hard to beat a good team four times. They executed a little better. They made more plays.”
Aptos, 4-0 in Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League play, returns to league competition with a Sept. 30 game at Scotts Valley. That will complete the first half of the double round-robin schedule.
The Mariners have outscored SCCAL opponents by a cumulative score of 139-20. They will host Los Gatos in a big non-league match Oct. 3. The visiting Wildcats are the only other team to beat Hollister.
The Haybalers are also a league leader. They are 6-0 in Pacific Coast Athletic League Gabilan Division play. On Set. 30, they will visit King City (5-1), which is tied in second place with Salinas.
Football
The Haybalers cashed in a trio of big defensive and special teams plays to dispatch Aptos in the teams’ PCAL Gabilan Division opener. The score was just 14-6 at halftime but ballooned to 35-6 until a final late Mariners’ scoring drive.
“We were excited coming into the game,” Hollister coach Bryan Smith said. “We played cleaner. We played more physical. Our defense played really well. And we won special teams.”
On the field, the score was deceiving as Aptos battled the Balers quite evenly. But those unique plays do matter in football and that was the deciding factor.
Hollister feasted off a 100-yard interception return for a score, a blocked punt that was covered in the end zone for a touchdown, and a bad snap on a punt that resulted in a 24-yard loss, a turnover on downs and a short field for another score.
“Through three quarters we gave up one defensive touchdown,” Mariners coach Zach Hewett said. “But we found interesting ways to let them in the game, like that 14-point swing on that pick six at the goal line there. That was brutal.”
Ryan Solorio contributed 183 all-purpose yards for Aptos, including 48 yards on five rushes. Gavin McDonald carried the ball eight times for 35 yards and Daniel Suchil had four rushes for 38 yards. The Mariners totaled 154 yards on the ground on 41 carries.
On the first possession of the game, Solorio, who made big plays for Aptos all over the field on both sides of the ball, intercepted a Hollister pass. The Mariners drove down the field but failed on an end-around play on a fourth-and-4 play from the 30-yard line, only gaining two yards.
Aptos forced a Balers punt and a 46-yard completion from Joshua Bermio to Solorio put them in the red zone.
On third-and-5 from the 6-yard line, Hollister defensive back Savion Loza made the play of the game, picking off a pass right on the goal line and returning it up the far sideline for a 100-yard score.
“I saw the receiver going outside and running an ‘out’,” Loza said. “I saw the quarterback looking over. He threw it and I undercut the route and made the catch. I got there quicker.”
Loza dashed up the field, deking a tackler around midfield, and kept running. The Hollister bench and stands exploded as he reached the distant end zone. Instead of 7-0 Aptos, the scoreboard read 7-0 Hollister.
Hollister added a tally on a 13-yard scamper by quarterback Daniel Martinez, with 3:58 before halftime.
Aptos replied with a Solorio masterpiece. At quarterback, the Mariners senior scrambled away from pressure and dodged and outran would-be tacklers through the heart of the defense for a 42-yard touchdown. After a blocked extra point, Aptos trailed 14-6 going into halftime.
A 55-yard kickoff return by the speedy Solorio opened the third quarter. The Mariners moved the ball down to the Hollister 17 but Loza made his second interception of the night to thwart the scoring drive. Again, it was right on the goal line.
Later in the third quarter, special teams plays broke the game open. In a span of 4:41, the Balers’ lead had become 28-6.
Hollister blocked an Aptos punt and Tripp Felice covered the ball in the end zone for a Baler touchdown.
On the next Aptos possession, a high punt snap resulted in a 24-yard loss and a turnover on downs. Two plays later, Hollister scored as Martinez fired a 21-yard pass to a wide-open Aaron Mendoza.
In the fourth quarter, Matthew Stoner scored on a 13-yard pass from Martinez to cap off the scoring for Hollister.
Aptos fought back as Felix Valencia covered a Baler fumble. A short drive was converted via a 2-yard touchdown run by McDonald, and Bermio ran in a successful 2-point conversion attempt that cut the deficit at 35-14.
“We did well,” Baler quarterback Martinez said. “We won all three sides of the ball. Everyone was locked in. Today, we ran a lot to open up the pass. Our offensive line did great. It feels great to win. This is a tough league. Aptos is a great team and they have a great program.”
Hewett reflected on a physical battle in the tough “A League” Gabilan Division in which every week is a battle.
“They play really good defense,” Hewett said. “For 40 years, Hollister plays really nasty defense. They did a really good job of making us earn stuff. We moved the ball in spurts. It was never consistent. Their defensive lineman in particular really took it to us.”
Aptos (3-2, 0-1) next hosts Monterey on Oct. 4 at 7pm. The Toreadores are coming off a 42-6 win at Everett Alvarez.
