WATSONVILLE—Watsonville High remains undefeated two weeks into the season after a 12-6 victory over St. Francis High on Sept. 4 at Cabrillo College.
The Wildcatz (2-0) won a hard-fought battle that was decided with a defensive play in the final minute of the game. Jacob Saiz caused a fumble with a bone-crunching hit on Sharks receiver Garrett Lee and Watsonville defensive back Anthony Campos was there to recover the loose ball for the win.
St. Francis (0-2) had a short turnaround this week. It played King City High on Monday after the game was delayed due to Covid-19 protocols.
The Wildcatz were coming off a 32-0 win over cross-town rival Pajaro Valley High.
Matthew Flores was all over the field again for Watsonville. He rumbled for a 40-yard run in the second quarter that set them up for the lone score of the half.
Robert Caput found his way into the end zone with a 2-yard run for a 6-0 lead.
St. Francis running back Johrdan Garibay found an open lane to run through for a 4-yard touchdown that tied the game at 6-all in the third.
The Wildcatz responded with the go-ahead score on quarterback Marcus Magaña’s 6-yard touchdown pass to receiver Anthony Campos.
Watsonville will play at Santa Cruz High on Friday at 7:30pm in one of the oldest rivalries in California that dates back to more than 100 years. The Wildcatz are looking for their first 3-0 start since 2018.
St. Francis will try to rebound at Mission Prep of San Luis Obispo on Friday at 7pm.
Correction: The previous version of this story stated that Watsonville High was hosting Santa Cruz High on Friday at 7:30pm, which is incorrect. Watsonville will travel to Santa Cruz.
Aptos 49, Campolindo 0: The Mariners’ defensive unit continues to look dominant after posting a second straight shutout this season in a win against the Cougars on Friday night in non-league play.
Aptos recorded six interceptions. Vito Riccabona led the way with three. Kale Lampman grabbed two and Marcel Martin stepped in for an interception of his own.
Patrick Mackle and Dante Martin each forced a fumble for the Mariners (2-0), who haven’t allowed a point in four straight games dating back to the abbreviated 2021 spring season. The offense has been averaging approximately 49 points per game in that same span. As a team, they racked up 342 rushing yards on 56 carries and six touchdowns on Friday night.
The win came just four days after all school activities were canceled because of an on-campus stabbing in which a 17-year-old student was killed.
Lawrence Ingram finished with 38 yards on seven carries and three touchdowns, and Caden Prichard had 84 yards on nine carries and a touchdown.
Dante Aranda and Grant Bobeda each scored a touchdown. Seamus Carey finished with 90 yards on 10 carries for Aptos.
Starting quarterback Nick Forbes completed 5-of-9 pass attempts for 71 yards and a touchdown. He also finished with 18 rushing yards on four carries.
Rio Cruz had 32 yards on two receptions and a touchdown, and Jake Galster was a perfect 7-of-7 on his extra point attempts for Aptos.
Campolindo has reached four state bowl games over the past decade and claimed state titles in 2014 and ’16.
This was the biggest loss of coach Kevin Macy’s 26-year tenure with the Cougars, replacing a 42-point Las Lomas-Walnut Creek loss from 2009, according to SportStars Magazine.
Aptos is now ranked 19th in the SportStars’ NorCal Football Rankings. The teams are ranked regardless of division and enrollment.
De La Salle of Concord (2-0) is No. 1 and Folsom (3-0) is No. 2.
Other Central Coast Section teams ranked include No. 3 Serra (1-0) of San Mateo, No. 7 Valley Christian (2-0) of San Jose, No. 10 Saint Francis (1-0) of Mountain View, No. 11 Los Gatos (2-0) and No. 15 Bellarmine (1-0) of San Jose.
The Mariners, who are ranked No. 76 in the state by maxpreps.com, will host Palma (2-0) in the teams’ Pacific Coast Athletic League Gabilan Division opener Friday at 7:30pm.
North Monterey County 35, Pajaro Valley 22: The Condors found their offense this week as quarterback Marcos Muñoz threw for three touchdowns and rushed for one in a win against the Grizzlies in non-league play on Saturday.
The Condors were down by six points in the opening stanza, but they scored 22 unanswered points in a span of 10 minutes in the second quarter.
With the win, NMC’s Juan Cuevas earned his first career victory as a head coach. The Condors are 11-2 lifetime against the Grizzlies.
Muñoz turned a six-point deficit into a 22-6 lead just before halftime. He connected with receiver Gio Mellin for a pair of touchdown passes, and he found Nico Torres for another score.
The mobile quarterback also rushed for a touchdown, as did Torres, who capped NMC’s scoring with a rushing touchdown of his own.
Isaac Ortiz had two touchdowns and Juan Macias scored once for Pajaro Valley (0-2), which plays at Pacific Grove on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
The Condors (1-1), meanwhile, have their home opener against undefeated Monterey High (2-0) on Friday at 7:30pm.
WEEK 2 SCORES
Friday
Aptos 49, at Campolindo 0
Saturday
Watsonville 12, St. Francis 6
NMC 35, at Pajaro Valley 22
Sunday
MVC at Carmel, canceled
Reporting Scores
Coaches are encouraged to report scores and highlights at pajaronian.com/author/jreyes/
You can also email Juan Reyes at [email protected] following games. Please include your name and contact information such as phone number and email address.
