APTOS—The Cabrillo College football went toe-to-toe against Monterey Peninsula College in the teams’ regular season finale Saturday afternoon, fighting to secure a bowl game bid.
The Lobos got the best of the Seahawks with a 29-yard field goal from Izia Polanco with 11.7 seconds left and defeated host Cabrillo 45-42 at Carl Conelly Stadium.
With the win, MPC is going bowling again. They’ll go against Cabrillo, despite the loss.
The CCCAA announced Sunday the Seahawks will face the Lobos in a rematch in the Living Breath Foundation Bowl on Nov. 30 at Rabobank Stadium in Salinas.
MPC (9-1, 5-1) took second in the American Gold Coast Conference. Cabrillo (8-2, 4-2) took third and ended its 12-year bowl drought.
The teams combined for nearly 1,000 total yards—Seahawks with 539 yards and Lobos with 418—on Saturday.
“It was a heck of a game, hard-fought game,” Cabrillo coach Darren Arbet said.
Cabrillo sophomore Devin Daich completed 15-of-27 passes for 289 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
Daich, a Monte Vista Christian alumnus, connected with Kameron Pleasant for a 72-yard touchdown in the second quarter.
Pleasant had 188 yards and two touchdowns on 10 receptions. He also had a 3-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
Sophomore Jamie Martinez completed 10-of-14 passes for 93 yards and a touchdown, while freshman Tre Ratliff had 78 yards rushing and a touchdown on 12 carries for the Seahawks.
Cabrillo sophomore Kieran Woodley, an Aptos High alumnus, was a perfect 6-for-6 on his extra point attempts.
But the biggest difference came down to turnovers and penalties. The Seahawks had four turnovers—three interceptions and a fumble—while the Lobos didn’t turn the ball over.
Cabrillo was also hit with 15 penalties for 141 yards, while MPC had 11 penalties for 95 yards.
Cabrillo sophomore Payton Mitchell said it was a record-breaking season for them and his goal was to close out the year on a good note.
“I couldn’t capitalize,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell, a Christopher High alumnus, had seven tackles, while sophomore Chad Abdalla led the Seahawks with 13 tackles and three sacks.
The Seahawks had an 8-1 overall record for the first time in 10 years and were ranked in the top-5 in that state in a majority of the defensive statistics such as sacks, rushing yards allowed per game and scoring.
“It was thrilling, for sure,” Mitchell said. “We loved every second of it and we worked our butts off all season and offseason to get here. It’s tough it had to end like this”
Cabrillo will have a shot of redemption.
“I’m proud of them, they played hard,” Arbet said. “They did a tremendous job fighting today. All season long they played hard and I’m happy to be their coach.”
