(Pajaro Valley High sophomore Martin Gonzalez (4) runs for a nice gain during the 12th annual Belgard Kup Game against Watsonville High on Aug. 24 at Emmett M. Geiser Field in Watsonville. Photo by Tony Nunez/Pajaronian)
St. Francis High got off to a solid start last week.
Pajaro Valley High will try to flush last week’s performance.
The two Watsonville high schools will meet at Cabrillo College tonight at 7:30 p.m. in a budding rivalry that began three years ago.
St. Francis (1-0) bludgeoned Sobrato High in a 51-16 season-opening win at Santa Cruz High. The Sharks, coached by John Ausman, rushed for 388 yards and six touchdowns, according to the stats kept on MaxPreps. Seven players recorded at least one carry, and seniors Aaron Soto and Devin McLeod both rushed for 107 yards and a score.
That potency on the ground could be bad news for Pajaro Valley (0-1). The Grizzlies, coached by Kevin Cordova, struggled to contain Watsonville High’s smash mouth running game in their 35-6 loss last week. Watsonville totaled 377 yards rushing and five scores, according to the stats kept by this newspaper.
Pajaro Valley, however, did find a complementary rushing option to senior Russel Pablo in junior Carlos Hernandez, who finished with 70 yards on the ground despite seeing just six carries.
“He’s definitely earned some more touches,” Cordova said about Hernandez after last week’s loss.
St. Francis has won the last two meetings against Pajaro Valley. It won 37-0 last season and 34-7 the year before. Pajaro Valley had won the two previous meetings, beating the Sharks 46-7 in 2007 and 46-40 three years ago in a game that reignited the local rivalry.
Here’s a look at the other local high school football games happening this week:
• Watsonville at Santa Cruz; today at 7:30 p.m.: One of the oldest rivalries in the state will continue tonight in Santa Cruz.
The two Santa Cruz County high schools have battled for more than a century. Watsonville (1-0) holds a 57-38-5 advantage over Santa Cruz (0-1) in the all-time series, and has won five of the last six meetings.
The Wildcatz, coached by Ron Myers, last week rolled to a blowout win over cross-city rival Pajaro Valley in the Belgard Kup Game. They plowed ahead for nearly 400 yards on the ground. Senior running backs Matthew Barcelo and James Sandoval did most of the work, combining for 312 yards and five touchdowns.
Watsonville’s defense was just as impressive. It recorded four sacks and multiple tackles for loss. The starting unit also held Pajaro Valley to just two first downs and 43 yards at the half in the win.
Santa Cruz, coached by Bubba Trumbull, last week struggled against former Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League mate Scotts Valley High in a 44-20 loss.
The Cardinals have traditionally given the ‘Catz all they can handle in their recent meetings. Nine of the last 10 games have been decided by one score.
• M.V.C. at The King’s Academy, today at 7:30 p.m.: Monte Vista Christian’s challenging preseason slate continues tonight in Sunnyvale against the Knights.
M.V.C. (0-1) last week dropped the first game of Jubenal Rodriguez’s head coaching career at the Watsonville private school. The Mustangs lost a 17-14 heartbreaker to defending Central Coast Section Division IV champion Christopher High.
Despite the loss, M.V.C. impressed with its play. Junior quarterback Nate Renggli hit senior receiver Nick Bautista for a 38-yard touchdown, and the running game flashed some explosiveness with juniors Nick Fisher and Quinn Alexander leading the way.
The Mustangs’ defensive backfield, including seniors Scott Tinsley, Reese Selck, Bautista and Fisher, also played well in holding an explosive Christopher offense to just 17 points. The Cougars last season averaged 34.5 points per game.
The defense will need to be even stingier tonight against T.K.A. (0-1).
The Knights, coached by Pete Lavorato, last week opened their season with a 29-27 loss against Christian High of El Cajon. The defeat was nothing to be sad about, as Christian is ranked 186th in the state by MaxPreps. Comparatively, M.V.C. is ranked 618th, and T.K.A. is 533rd.
Senior running back Bralyn Lux was T.K.A.’s do-it-all weapon in the loss, rushing for 115 yards and also making six grabs for 76 yards.
• Aptos at Aragon; today at 7:30 p.m.: Aptos High will see its first big challenge of the season tonight in San Mateo against Aragon High.
Aptos, coached by Randy Blankenship, is ranked only nine spots ahead of Aragon, coached by Steven Sell, in MaxPreps’ state rankings. The Mariners are 187th, while Aragon is 196th.
Last year’s contest was a back-and-forth battle that was decided by a missed extra point. Aragon won, 28-27, at Trevin Dilfer Field.
Tonight’s game will be the Dons’ season opener.
Aptos (1-0) has one game under its belt heading into the rematch of last season’s seesaw affair. The Mariners cruised to a 55-6 win over Templeton High on the road.
Senior running back Marcos Reyes ran for 133 yards and four touchdowns in the win to inch closer to the program’s career rushing record. Reyes will be just 199 yards away from Mike Allshouse’s record of 2,082 yards, which he set in the early ‘90s.
A 200-yard performance against the Dons’ stout defense will be tough to pull off. Reyes rushed for 95 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries in last year’s loss. Only one running back ran for more than 100 yards against Aragon last season.
On defense, Aptos will have to stop explosive senior running back Paul Lautaimi. The 5-10, 195-pounder totaled 1,609 yards and 15 touchdowns last season, but he ran for just 53 yards on the Mariners’ defense.
• N.M.C. vs Carmel; today at 7:30 p.m.: The North Monterey County High Condors are flying high after last week’s win over North Salinas High.
A win tonight against the Carmel High Padres could solidify N.M.C. (1-0) as a league-title contender.
Carmel (1-0) is also fresh off a massive season-opening win. The Padres, coached by Golden Anderson, knocked off defending CCS Open Division I champion Salinas High, 36-23.
The Condors, coached by Sean Gomes, will have their hands full with Carmel’s passing game.
Quarterback Kai Lee finished with 332 yards and five touchdowns through the air, according to stats kept on MBayPreps. Luke Melcher and Dakota Mornihinweg each made eight grabs for more than 100 yards and two scores.
N.M.C. will need another big game from senior defensive end Konan Van Lear, who had two sacks in last week’s win — the program’s first over North Salinas since 2012. It will also need the defensive backfield to raise its level of play, too.
The good news? The Condors will have their home crowd behind them. Tonight’s contest is the first of five straight at home for N.M.C.
