I’m back.
Just in time for the start of the league season for our local high school football teams.
I was on the other side of the world for two weeks, and my phone served only as a very expensive paper weight for the majority of the time — the occasional Instagram post being the lone exception, of course.
So when I fired up my phone on Saturday and saw the results from the past two weeks of football action, I was a little stunned.
Gonzales High 28, Soledad High 0.
Monterey High 29, Seaside 26.
Soquel High 20, Santa Cruz High 13.
Alisal High 20, Alvarez High 14.
According to the placement of teams in the Pacific Coast Athletic League’s four divisions, those scores are all shockers. Soledad, a member of the Mission division, losing to a team two tiers below it shouldn’t have happened, right?
Well it did — a few times over the course of the last four weeks — and it shouldn’t have.
Sure, high school sports are high school sports. The amount of turnover from one season to the next makes placing teams into competitive divisions a nightmare in most cases. I’m not sure if anyone could have predicted Gonzales’ 3-0 start, but several other mismatches could have been avoided.
Leaving Seaside and Alvarez in the Gabilan division with the likes of Salinas High, Palma High, San Benito High and Aptos High still makes me cringe. Not moving up a loaded Carmel High squad to the Gabilan did not make sense when the placements were released, and makes even less sense after the Padres’ 3-0 start, which includes a win over Salinas. And Gilroy High and Santa Cruz were casualties of the dreaded unwritten rule that seemingly carried over from the now-defunct Monterey Bay League: if you’re a league champion, you’re moving up.
Yes, there will still be plenty of fun matchups over the course of the next seven weeks, and things are expected to even out after a year or so — in theory, anyway. But am I wrong in being a bit disappointed that dozens of coaches and athletic directors missed some breakaway, wide open layups?
Please send all hate mail to: ec*******@pa********.com. Mentally, I’m still sipping red wine and eating a massive bowl of fresh pasta at Antica Trattoria da Carlone in Rome.
TOUGH RUNNERS
With five of the six teams in the Pajaro Valley running either a Wing-T or double wing offense, it’s no surprise that some of the Monterey Bay’s statistical rushing leaders are right in our backyard.
According to the stats kept on MBayPreps, Watsonville High senior Matthew Barcelo leads all runners with eight touchdowns through four games.
That will most likely change tonight, however, as Gonzales senior Payton Flores and Aptos senior Marcos Reyes will both enter their respective league opener with seven rushing touchdowns.
St. Francis High senior Joseph Ramirez, meanwhile, leads all quarterbacks in the area with six rushing touchdowns.
Christopher High senior Tyler Davis and Palma junior Anthony Villegas, each of whom have five touchdowns, will also have a chance to supplant Barcelo tonight.
GIVE ME THAT
St. Francis senior Andrew Seymour pulled down his fourth interception of the season in last week’s 28-10 win over The Harker School.
He leads the Monterey Bay in picks, and is one away from matching his total from last season. According to the stats on MBayPreps, Zack Saucedo holds the program record for interceptions in a single season. He hauled in seven in 2009.
Luckily for opposing quarterbacks, Seymour and the Sharks are on bye this week, resting up for their PCAL Cypress division opener at King City on Sept. 28.
Four other players in the area have notched three interceptions this season, including Aptos senior Silvano Lopez, who snagged all three in one half — a program record for most in a game.
LINES OF THE PRESEASON
• Marcos Reyes, Aptos: 133 yards rushing and four touchdowns in a 54-6 win over Templeton High on Aug. 24.
• Silvano Lopez, Aptos: three interceptions on defense, and two rushing touchdowns on offense in a 54-6 win over Templeton on Aug. 24.
• James Sandoval, Watsonville: 196 yards rushing and three touchdowns in a 35-6 win over Pajaro Valley High on Aug. 24. Also had an interception.
• Josh Powell, Aptos: 162 yards rushing and three touchdowns in a 56-21 win over Aragon High on Aug. 31.
• Hunter Matys, Aptos: 91 yards and two touchdowns through the air on 6-of-6 passing in a 56-21 win over Aragon on Aug. 31. Also rushed for a touchdown.
• Joseph Ramirez, St. Francis: 103 yards rushing and four total touchdowns — two rushing and two passing — in a 41-0 win over Pajaro Valley on Aug. 31.
• Matthew Barcelo, Watsonville: 130 yards rushing and four touchdowns in a 41-14 win over Santa Cruz on Aug. 31.
• Andrew Seymour, St. Francis: 94 yards rushing, a touchdown and an interception in the Sharks’ 28-10 win over Harker.
• Andy O’Rourke, St. Francis: 139 yards rushing, a touchdown and two sacks in a 28-10 win over Harker.
