Sports

Aptos last season finished runner-up to eventual CCS Open Division I champion, Salinas High, in the now-defunct Monterey Bay League Gabilan division. For many, the team’s 6-1 run through the powerhouse league was an impressive feat. For the Mariners, it was a “disappointing” end to an otherwise solid season.

Brad Furr took another step toward the season championship with his win in the 30-lap Taco Bravo Sprint Car Main Event Friday night at Ocean Speedway.

Watsonville High will try to retain the Belgard Kup tonight against the Pajaro Valley High Grizzlies at Emmett M. Geiser Field.

The Taco Bravo and Civil War Sprint Car show produced a 37-car field. The 50-lap race was split into 25-lap segments with a 10-minute break.

After winning six SCCAL titles and three CCS championships in the past seven years, you’d expect Aptos to come in swinging against a winless Monte Vista Christian team, and in true Aptos form, they did not disappoint Friday night at home.

After losing a heartbreaker to the Watsonville High Wildcatz a week ago, the St. Francis Sharks decided to avenge the win that slipped away by producing an impressive rushing performance of their own on Friday.

The Monte Vista Christian offense was poised to be one of the more explosive units in the Monterey Bay this fall, but the Mustangs’ playmakers have been bottled up for the majority of their 0-3 start to the season.

Senior running back Matthew Barcelo scored the eventual game-winning touchdown for Watsonville (4-1, 1-0), and the defense made a gigantic stop on third-and-goal from the 1-yard line to start the Pacific Coast Athletic League Mission division season with a momentum-building victory.

Pajaro Valley lost a 37-35 heartbreaker to visiting Greenfield on Saturday night at Carl Conelly Stadium to fall to 0-2 in Pacific Coast Athletic League Santa Lucia division play.

Brad Furr finished third behind Scelzi and Justin Sanders, but wrapped up the third Sprint Car season championship of his career.