Sports

The Register-Pajaronian High School Athletes of the Week for the week of Oct. 22-28.

Austen, a senior offensive lineman for the Aptos High football team, stands at a towering 6-foot-5-inches and 311 pounds. Standing next to his fellow lineman, the starting left tackle makes them all look like members of the freshman squad. Six-foot-2, 283-pound senior tackle Joseph Gutierrez-Lee might as well be 5-foot-7 and 150 pounds.

Behind senior Daivian Quintana’s pitching and an explosive first few innings, Pajaro Valley squashed a 131-game losing streak against league opponents with a 7-2 win over cross-city rival Watsonville in Monterey Bay League Pacific division action on Friday night.

With three league games left, Aptos is only two wins away from clinching at least a share of its third league championship in the last four seasons. The Mariners have had a little help along the way — P.C.S. beating Mt. Madonna on Tuesday left them all alone in the league’s top spot — but for the majority of the season, they’ve controlled their own destiny with dramatic comebacks, various lineup changes and a “next-point” mentality.

The former SCCAL Commissioner was on hand for the dedication last year, but his absence during the 50th edition of the tournament today will leave a gigantic hole in the hearts of a wrestling community so accustom to his gregarious, fun-loving personality.

Aptos has made a name for itself in Santa Cruz County and the CCS over the last eight seasons — winning six league titles and four section crowns in that time — and the Mariners will have another chance to bring a little more recognition to the juggernaut program from a pint-sized collection of towns with a population of just over 24,000.

Williams, who missed time in Cabrillo’s previous three games because of injury, completed 12-of-20 passes for 279 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions in a 62-17 non-conference win over Redwoods College on Oct. 6.