Christopher defeated Gilroy for the sixth straight season Friday night | Ryan Silapan |
GILROY, CA — Over the summer Christopher High quarterback Ryan Adamkiewiez and tight end Jason Scirigione worked hard on building a camaraderie which would pay dividends when the season started.
All the hard work paid off big as Adamkiewiez threw for 220 yards and three touchdowns while Scirigione caught five passes for 146 yards and two touchdowns to lead visiting Christopher to a 27-13 victory over crosstown rival Gilroy Friday night, in both teams’ season openers.
Adamkiewicz said he and his sophomore tight end were insync early on and once Scirigione got going he was hard to stop.
“Jason had been doing real well in summer ball and he definitely stepped up in this game,” Adamkiewiez said. “That was something we didn’t expect — he came out of nowhere — he showed us that we are coming with something new this year.”
Speaking of new, Christopher — who is known for its pass-first spread system — showcased balance on offense. The Cougars finished the game exactly 50-50, throwing the ball 23 times and running it 23 times as well. Christopher coach Tim Pierleoni is eyeing the Monterey Bay League-Gabilan Division where you need some sort of balance if you want to be successful
“We’ve been trying to,” Pierleoni said of his team’s attempt to run the ball more this year. “In that league that we play in we are going to need to control the line of scrimmage more than we did in the past so we are going to try and run the ball more.”
While Adamkiewiez was throwing it all over the lot the Cougars defense was giving Gilroy quarterback Jonathan Castro fits. Castro completed only 2 of his 10 pass attempts for 24 yards and was intercepted four times. Ethan Crawford, Keoni Calimpong, Victor Guerrero and Scirigiione each recorded an interception.
“It was amazing, our defense stepped up at all levels,” Adamkiewiez said. “From the d-lineman to the linebackers to the corners they were making open field tackles and doing everything they needed to do.”
Gilroy, who fell behind 20-0 midway through the second quarter and went into halftime trailing 27-7, was able to find some success on the ground as the Mustangs finished with 209 yards and two rushing touchdowns.
Dylan Holler ran for a game-high 106 yards on 12 carries including a touchdown while Joseph Barnes rushed for 70 yards on 14 carries including a touchdown.
“We started off real slow, I think the jitters got the best of us,” Gilroy coach Jubenal Rodriguez said. Big game crosstown rivalry and they played ‘A’ league football today and we played ‘A’ league football in the second half — we can’t do that against a good team.”
Christopher (1-0) got its first win in five games dating back to last season. Noah Liberatore had six catches for 67 yards including a touchdown and had a 47-yard touchdown run in the win for Christopher. Dylan Olivares rushed for 74 yards on 16 carries to lead the Cougars.
With the win, Christopher captured the Severance Bowl for the sixth straight year against its crosstown rival.
“I was really happy to see how the kids played,” Pierleoni said. “I’m just excited for our kids to get a good victory after a hard year last year.”
The Cougars will host Live Oak in their opener next Friday Sept. 2 at 7:30 p.m.
Gilroy (0-1) will visit Sobrato (1-0) also on Sept. 2 at 7:30 p.m. Sobrato defeated Overfelt 49-24 in their season-opener Friday night.
Monterey Bay League Gabilan Division:
Monte Vista Christian 32, King City 0
North Salinas 36, Alisal 14
Alvarez 32, North Monterey County 7
Sutter 52, Palma 31
Monterey Bay League Pacific Division:
Seaside 26, Soledad 10
St. Francis 34, Pajaro Valley 7
Pacific Grove 46, Watsonville 42
Mountain View 56, Monterey 15
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