Monte Vista Christian is still very much alive in the Pacific Coast Athletic League Mission division title chase despite its 14-0 loss to league-leading Carmel last week.
A win tonight against visiting Scotts Valley will only help keep the Mustangs (1-4, 1-1) in the conversation.
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
Scotts Valley (3-3, 0-2), coached by Louie Walters, has been put through the wringer lately, playing against Carmel (5-0, 2-0) and Alisal (4-2, 2-0) in consecutive weeks. The Falcons were dismantled by the Padres, 51-13, two weeks ago, but played much better against the Trojans in a 35-28 loss last week.
Reportedly missing its top two running backs because of injury, Scotts Valley still managed to move the ball on Alisal’s normally stingy defense. Quarterback Kyle Rajala completed 8-of-15 passes for 191 yards and a touchdown while also rushing six times for 38 yards and score.
Rajala will look to have another solid day against an M.V.C. passing defense that impressed last week despite coming up short of a win.
Carmel quarterback Kai Lee finished with just 69 yards passing after completing 8-of-16 passes. He entered the game averaging 218 yards per game.
Coach Jubenal Rodriguez’s defensive backfield, spearheaded by seniors Reese Selck and Scott Tinsley, will have to be at its best if the Mustangs want to shake off last week’s loss.
Tonight will be the second time in as many years that M.V.C. and Scotts Valley have squared off. Scotts Valley won last year’s game, 21-19, at home.
Here’s a look at the other local high school football games happening this week:
• Watsonville vs Carmel; tonight, 7:30 p.m.: Watsonville’s defense put together yet another stellar performance in last week’s double-overtime win over North Salinas.
It will need to be even better tonight against explosive Carmel.
Watsonville’s (4-1, 1-0) defense allowed only 182 yards to a speedy North Salinas team in last week’s PCAL Mission division victory, but the Carmel (5-0, 2-0) offense will be a different beast.
The Padres have scored 43 points per game this season, and have done it with an impressively balanced offensive attack. They’ve rushed for 970 yards, and passed for 1,079 yards.
Junior Dakota Mornhinweg has accounted for a big chunk of those yards, rushing for 602 yards and nine touchdowns while also totaling 231 yards and four more touchdowns through the air.
If Watsonville wishes to beat Carmel, it will need to zero in on Mornhinweg on defense and control the tempo of the game with its rushing attack.
Senior Matthew Barcelo plowed ahead for 188 yards and two touchdowns on 44 carries in last week’s win. He will undoubtedly have to have a similar performance this week for the Wildcatz to keep pace with the Padres.
• Aptos at Alvarez; tonight, 7:30 p.m.: The Mariners will roll into Salinas looking to notch the program’s first 6-0 start to a season since ‘99.
Aptos has beaten all challengers through five straight dominant victories, rushing for at least 300 yards in each game and averaging 47 points per game.
Senior Marcos Reyes kept pace with the best backs in the Monterey Bay by rushing for 102 yards and three touchdowns in last week’s 47-6 win over Seaside. Reyes has hit the century mark in four games, and is tied with Gonzales star Payton Flores for most rushing touchdowns (12) in the Monterey Bay.
Alvarez (1-4, 1-1), however, has not had the same success as Aptos this season. After scoring a 28-0 win over Gilroy in its PCAL Gabilan division opener, Alvarez was beaten down by Salinas in a 44-14 loss last week.
The Eagles only allowed 108 yards on the ground in the loss, but were picked apart by Salinas quarterback Carl Richardson for 321 yards and four touchdowns.
Aptos last year shut out Alvarez in a 42-0 league win. It was the first game between the two teams since 2001.
• St. Francis vs. Pacific Grove, at Santa Cruz High; tonight, 7:30 p.m.: St. Francis will try to rebound tonight after suffering a tough loss to King City in last week’s PCAL Cypress division opener on the road.
The Sharks (3-2, 0-1) were held to their lowest scoring total of the season in last week’s 14-7 stunner in the Salinas Valley. They totaled a respectable 233 yards of offense, but uncharacteristically lost the turnover battle for the first time this season.
Pacific Grove (3-2, 1-1), meanwhile, was blown out of the water by North Monterey County in a 41-13 loss last week. The Breakers, whose lone league win came by forfeit, had a tough time stopping the Condors’ running game. That is good news for the run-heavy Sharks, who are averaging 277.6 rushing yards per game.
St. Francis has not dropped back-to-back games since 2016, and has had recent success against a rebuilding Pacific Grove squad. The Sharks won last year’s preseason meeting, 48-7.
• North Monterey County at San Lorenzo Valley; Saturday, 2 p.m.: The Condors bounced back with an offensive explosion last week, and have a chance to send a shockwave through the PCAL Cypress division on Saturday.
With a win over S.L.V. (1-5, 1-1), N.M.C. (3-3, 1-1) will keep its league championship hopes alive. But the Cougars will not be pushovers, as their current record is a misrepresentation of their talent — they were 4-1 before being forced by the CCS to forfeit their four wins because of an infraction for use of illegal equipment.
S.L.V. flexed its muscle with a 38-15 win over Santa Cruz last week, and will try to contain N.M.C.’s star quarterback Brandon Ducusin this week.
Ducusin, a junior, tossed a pair of touchdown passes, and also ran for another in a 41-13 win over Pacific Grove.
The 41 points were the most the Condors have scored since 2012.
It will be the first meeting between N.M.C. and S.L.V. since 2005. The Cougars won that game, 35-14.
• Pajaro Valley vs. Greenfield, at Cabrillo College; Saturday, 7:30 p.m.: Pajaro Valley will look to end a seven-game losing streak against league opponents that dates back to last season.
The Grizzlies (2-3, 0-1) are fresh off a 40-20 PCAL Santa Lucia division loss to undefeated Gonzales. They ran for nearly 400 yards in the defeat, and trailed only 21-20 at the intermission before running out of steam in the second half.
Junior Carlos Hernandez and senior Russel Pablo showed they could be the bell cow backs of the Pajaro Valley Wing-T offense last week, as both ran for more than 160 yards.
Head coach Kevin Cordova will hope that rushing effort carries over against a Greenfield team that dropped a 22-21 heartbreaker against Stevenson last week.
The Bruins (1-5, 1-1) were down 15-0 to Stevenson at the half, but came within a two-point conversion of stunning the Pirates.
Pajaro Valley and Greenfield are no strangers. The two have played a preseason contest in five straight seasons. The Grizzlies own a 4-1 advantage in those games, but the Bruins won last year’s meeting, 48-6.
