Greenfield High went into Friday night’s regular season-opener as the defending Pacific Coast Athletic League Santa Lucia Division champion.
It’s the type of test Watsonville High head coach Manny Contreras wanted his players to face right off the bat.
In the end, it was a veteran Bruins team who held on for a 14-7 win over the Wildcatz in non-league action Aug. 30.
“We got to change the culture,” Contreras said. “At the end of the day, [Greenfield] has tasted success. They’ve been to the playoffs. And now this is what we want…why can’t we be like this? We just got tested and this is something that we got to go through.”
Watsonville came out swinging first after scoring on its first drive that was set up on a series of long runs by Alex Arevalo and Abraham Martinez.
Moments later, senior quarterback Tino Razo connected on a 17-yard pass to receiver Anthony Landa for the score, giving the ‘Catz an early 7-0 lead just nearly four minutes into the game.
“The run game was working right away but then they picked up on it,” Razo said.
Contreras agreed, saying they stuck with the game plan to run down the middle with hopes of wearing down Greenfield’s front seven.
“This was a loss on me. I was one dimensional, this was on me,” he said.
Greenfield began crashing the box with an outside linebacker or safety, clogging up any holes the ‘Catz were looking to run through.
Watsonville was also without offensive coordinator Andy O’Rourke who Razo said plays a big part in the offense they operate.
“All the formations, not being able to run what we want to run. I feel like if we had our offensive coordinator we could execute things better,” Razo said.
Still, the ‘Catz did have plenty of opportunities to pounce on the momentum.
A bad snap on a punt attempt by Greenfield (1-0) led to great field position for Watsonville (0-1), and a chance to go up two scores. Instead, Razo threw an interception to Gio Hernandez on the ensuing play.
Watsonville’s defense made a big play of their own just before halftime when senior Nate Aguilar laid his shoulder into Hector Garcia for a monster hit, forcing Garcia to fumble.
Adan Magaña, a senior, was there to recover the loose ball for the ‘Catz, but the turnover led to no points on the scoreboard.
“This is my fault. I can’t blame the defense. We adjusted to everything that we saw, even things that I saw,” Contreras said. “But it is what it is and I’m going to wear this. I took it on the chin and we’re gonna just get better.”
Greenfield senior Chris Morris said they didn’t have the best start, either. Going into halftime, the standout quarterback knew what it took in order to come out victorious. He was part of last year’s group that won the Santa Lucia Division.
“We’re a championship team. We came back afterwards and everyone was locked in,” he said.
Watsonville had a great defensive stop to begin the third quarter. But the turnover woes continued for Razo who mishandled a handoff. Greenfield’s Travis Ryan was there to scoop the ball.
The Bruins capitalized on the turnover with a 1-yard touchdown run by AJ Martinez. But they still trailed by one point, 7-6, after the botched extra point attempt.
Greenfield was on the verge taking its first lead of the game following a lengthy seven-minute drive in the third. The result was a 45-yard field goal attempt that went wide left.
That’s when Morris took over the game. He made some clutch throws in the fourth, including one to Naythen Hernandez that extended the drive which resulted in the go-ahead score.
Morris stepped back in the pocket looking for an open receiver before he took off scrambling and found Hernandez who made the catch on his tippy toes near the sideline for the first down.
“[Hernandez is] accomplished, he’s one of the best players we’ve ever had in football history. I’m just glad he’s my receiver, that’s my bro,” Morris said.
Moments later, Morris sprinted 24 yards on a quarterback keeper into the end zone. He was also successful on a 2-point conversion attempt, giving Greenfield the lead at 14-7.
“My linemen blocked great, I got the lead. My receiver here dragged that boy all the way over there, and I saw the outside, I saw green. Touchdown,” Morris said.
The ‘Catz had one final chance to at least tie the score with a little more than two minutes remaining in the contest. Razo looked sharp with some clutch throws of his own, dinking and dunking to pick up first downs.
He floated a bomb to Aguilar who kept his eye on the ball the entire time for a great over the shoulder catch for 40 yards down the sideline to Greenfield’s 29-yard line.
The come-from-behind story came to an end, though, as Razo’s pass attempt on fourth down fell short.
“It’s pretty challenging when you’re going against a good team, they gave it 100 percent effort, too. It’s going to be a challenge trying to make those changes,” Razo said.
Next up, the ‘Catz will host Santa Cruz (0-1) on Sept. 6 at 7:30pm. Greenfield plays at Stevenson School (0-0) on Sept. 7 at 2:30pm.
Weeklys prep football scoreboard – Week 1
Thursday
At Aptos 34, The King’s Academy 7
Friday
At Piedmont Hills 49, Monte Vista Christian 28
Del Mar 34, at Harbor 12
Scotts Valley 40, at Santa Cruz 20
Los Gatos 14, at Soquel 7
At Greenfield 14, Watsonville 7
Saturday
King City 24, at St. Francis 19
At Pajaro Valley 57, Lynbrook 7
At San Lorenzo Valley 39 vs. South San Francisco 14
