St. Francis High senior Javier Da Rosa-Fonseca put the Sharks football team in prime position to steal last week’s game against Alisal on its home turf in Salinas.
The only problem was the standout quarterback was forced to sit out on the final play after he took a helmet to the knee.
As he stood on the sideline, all Da Rosa-Fonseca could do was watch as fellow teammate Jacob Jimenez fell short near the goal line in a 33-27 loss to the Trojans on Oct. 18.
“That sucks, gotta watch the last play and I wasn’t in there, and I got it to the 1 [-yard line],” said Da Rosa-Fonseca, who finished with a team-best 220 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns on 23 carries.
The loss left a big bruise on Fonseca’s knee, and also on the Sharks when it comes to the Pacific Coast Athletic League Mission Division–North standings. They dropped to 2-1 in league play but the season is far from over.
“When you’re fully into something and you’re fully invested, it really hurts when you lose like that,” St. Francis head coach John Ausman said. “And guess what? The sun comes up tomorrow and you got to go back at it. No one’s waiting for you, and that purpose is still there.”
Joseph Dayritt had 86 rushing yards on 20 carries and one touchdown in the first quarter that gave St. Francis an early lead at 7-0.
Da Rosa-Fonseca orchestrated a 67-yard drive that was capped off with a 29-yard touchdown pass to Jesse Navarro to tie the score at 27-all going into halftime.
Both teams exploded for a combined 54 points in the first two stanzas. However, the second half was a different story as both teams squared off into a defensive battle.
“I think both offenses did a great job of taking advantage of some things early, things they probably saw in film,” Ausman said. “And then it became kind of a fight between two really good teams. We had a chance to win it at the end, you can’t ask for anything more. That’s how high school football games should be.”
After nearly 17 minutes of scoreless football in the second half, Alisal running back Caleb Gabriel sprinted 37-yards for the touchdown. The special teams unit missed the extra point, yet the Trojans were able to recapture the lead at 33-27 with 5:21 remaining in the game.
“I saw a big hole, I gotta go and score because it’s the game right here on the line,” Gabriel said.
The Trojans’ defense buckled down on Da Rosa-Fonseca up until the final drive of the game.
“Besides that one big run that I had, they contained me pretty well,” he said. “I think they had a couple of spies on me, which helped them a lot. They limited us running the ball.”
Da Rosa-Fonseca started with a pass to Donovan Dominguez for the first down. Later in the drive, Da Rosa-Fonseca used his legs to scramble away from defenders down to Alisal’s 22-yard line.
On third-and-goal, Da Rosa-Fonseca called his number again on a quarterback keeper. He rolled out to his left and nearly sprinted past the entire Torjans defense until he was tackled short of the end zone at the 1-yard line with just six seconds remaining in the contest.
With no timeouts remaining for the Sharks, they were granted one but it came with a hefty price. Da Rosa-Fonseca was forced to sit out after he injured his knee at the end of the run.
“It was a big deal [Fonseca] was out, he’s a tough guy,” said Gabriel, who came in to make a late push on the final tackle of the game. “But we knew what we had to get done and get the job done to win the game.”
St. Francis has three games remaining starting with a meeting against Scotts Valley for a special edition of Thursday Night Football at Cabrillo College. Kickoff is slated for 7:30pm.
“There’s a lot of equity in this league,” Ausman said. “There’s a lot of teams that could come out and win and you gotta play your best football each week.”
Scoreboard
Prep football
Salinas 56, Aptos 7: Senior running back Damian Suchil scored a 19-yard touchdown for the Mariners in a loss to the Cowboys in PCAL Gabilan Division play Oct. 18.
Gavin McDonald finished with a team-best 100 rushing yards on 14 carries, and Casey MacConnell recorded one interception on defense for Aptos (4-4, 1-3), which plays at Alvarez (2-5, 0-3) on Oct. 24 at 7:30pm.
At Stevenson 37, Pajaro Valley 7: Fin Mink threw for 186 yards and one touchdown and had one rushing touchdown for the Pirates in a win over the Grizzlies in PCAL Santa Lucia Division play Oct. 19.
Tono Borgamini rushed for a season-high 145 yards and three touchdowns. Caden Olson also caught nine passes for 100 yards and a score. Tommy Dayton had 14 tackles for the Pirates, while fellow teammate Reggie Bell recorded an interception and had 90 rushing yards.
Pajaro Valley (4-4, 3-1) hosts Gonzales (3-4, 1-2) on Oct. 26 at 12:30pm.
At Scotts Valley 48, Watsonville 14: Patrick Miller-Brown and Anthony Razo each had one touchdown for the Wildcatz in a loss to the Falcons in PCAL Mission Division–North action Oct. 19.
Scotts Valley senior running back Eli Velez finished with 250 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries for the Falcons, who improved to 2-2 in league play.
Sophomore quarterback Ryder Quilici had 180 passing yards and three touchdowns. Isaac Currie, Caden Kilpatrick and Seamus Drees each hauled in one TD reception.
Watsonville (3-5, 1-3), which has lost three straight, hosts Alisal on Nov. 1 at 7:30pm.
Flag football
Watsonville 22, Soledad 6: Emily Solorio had a breakout game on defense for the Wildcatz in their win over the Aztecs in PCAL Gabilan Division action Oct. 16.
She had two interceptions including a pick 6 and five flag pulls. Fellow teammate Fernanda Lazo tossed a pair of touchdowns and recorded one interception on defense.
Monique De La Mora and Briana Leon each hauled in one TD for Watsonville (9-13, 8-6), which capped off the regular season this week with back-to-back league wins against Hollister and Salinas.
Girls tennis
Aptos 7, Harbor 0: The Mariners improved to 8-0 in Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League play following a sweeping victory over a short-handed Pirates squad on Oct. 17.
Aviana Andrews, Isabella Calderon and Julia Blevins each won their singles matches in straight sets.
In doubles action, Aptos’ tandem of Natalia Calderon and Charlotte Long won at No. 1, and Aracely Ritchie and Gia Arista were victorious at No. 2.
Harbor had to forfeit at No. 4 singles and No. 3 doubles.
Girls volleyball
Marina 3, St. Francis 2: Junior outside hitter Peyton Orradre had 22 digs, 11 kills and a pair of blocks for the Sharks in a five set (25-21, 16-25, 25-22, 21-25, 15-11) loss to the Mariners in PCAL Cypress Division play Oct. 17.
Fellow teammate junior Georgia Otzman had 25 assists and 10 digs, while junior Julie Lopez finished with seven assists and 19 digs for St. Francis.
“We had a lot of great moments tonight against the second place seed Marina, but we just didn’t have enough of them,” St. Francis coach Sabrina Bracken said. “The girls were tough and fought hard, it just wasn’t our night.”
Senior middle blocker Carley Anderson contributed six kills and two blocks, junior libero Mia McClendon recorded a team-best 30 digs, and Junior outside hitter Madison Silva had four kills, two aces and three digs for the Sharks (13-9, 5-6).
At Watsonville 3, Pajaro Valley 0: Senior Daisy Cornejo had a team-best 15 kills for the Wildcatz in a three set (25-16, 25-17, 25-23) sweeping win against the cross-town rival Grizzlies in non-league action Oct. 17.
Fellow teammate senior Leslie Renteria finished with 12 digs and three aces, and senior Danika Hernandez added five kills, three blocks and three aces. Sofia Murillo had a team-best 24 assists for Watsonville (15-8, 8-4), which hosts Monterey on Oct. 26 at noon.
Gloria Leonor had two kills and one block, and Jaqueline Alvarez added one kill and one block for Pajaro Valley (14-8, 9-0).
Games of the Week
Aptos vs. Soquel, girls tennis, Thursday at 4pm: The Mariners (10-3, 9-0) are aiming to finish undefeated in SCCAL play against the Knights in the teams’ regular season finale in Aptos.
St. Francis vs. Scotts Valley, prep football, Thursday at 7:30pm: The Sharks (5-2, 2-1) will attempt to rebound following a tough loss to Alisal last week. St. Francis will play host at Cabrillo College against a Falcons (3-5, 2-2) team that is coming off a crushing win over Watsonville.
Pajaro Valley vs. York, girls volleyball, Friday at 6pm: The Grizzlies (14-8, 9-0) are currently in the driver’s seat but they can inch closer to a PCAL Santa Lucia Division crown with a win against the visiting Falcons (6-4, 5-3).
Monte Vista Christian vs. North Monterey County, prep football, Friday at 7:30pm: The Mustangs (3-4, 1-2) are coming off the bye week following an emotional win over Scotts Valley in PCAL Mission Division–North action. MVC is going up against a challenging Condors (5-2, 3-0) squad that is looking to keep their unblemished record in league play intact.
Aptos vs. Salinas, flag football, Saturday at 11am: The Mariners (12-6, 7-0) will be put to the test against the Cowboys (18-5, 11-3), who is second place behind Hollister in the PCAL Gabilan Division standings.
Editor’s note: This week’s edition of the Weeklys Sports Ticker highlights local prep athletes for their performances during the week of Oct. 14-20.
Coaches and athletic directors are encouraged to submit scores and highlights to jr****@we*****.com . Follow sports editor Juan Reyes (@jmreyes831) on Twitter for scores and news updates.
