SOQUEL, CA — It didn’t come down to the final play like the previous two years did, but it was pretty close.
The Santa Cruz and Watsonville High football teams battled for the 98th time Saturday night at Soquel High, and it was a game that was played like the first edition. The rivals ran the ball on nearly every down with Santa Cruz doing so just enough to milk every last second off the clock on their final drive. The Cardinals used a 13-play drive that ran off the final 7:04 off the clock to secure its first win of the season with a 7-6 win over Watsonville.
“This challenged those guys and they needed to respond as the defense was playing well,” Santa Cruz coach Bubba Trumbull said. “They needed to come up with a drive — get points or more importantly eat up some clock.”
That’s exactly what they did, they gobbled up the entire clock. Watsonville had just scored a touchdown on what turned out to be their final possession of the game.
Gilberto Marinez capped a six-play, 33-yard drive, when the junior found pay dirt from two yards out. The following point after attempt went wide left and unfortunately for the Wildcatz, their offense wouldn’t touch the ball again.
“We knew that if we got the ball back another time we were going to win the football game,” Watsonville coach Ron Myers said. “They didn’t let us have it back, they did a great job.”
Santa Cruz got a few breaks as Watsonville committed three penalties on the final drive but when the Cardinals needed to make a play they did. Santa Cruz quarterback Abram Soriano connected with tight end Jared Hatcher for an 11-yard reception on third-and-nine from the ‘Catz’s 49-yard line.
Santa Cruz (1-1) failed to score in its season opener — a 41-0 loss to Sequoia of Redwood City — but the Cardinals came out like a team who wanted to finally get on the scoreboard. The Cardinals went 76 yards on 12 plays that was capped by an Anthony Karagiannopolous five-yard touchdown run in the opening drive of the game.
“This was huge,” Trumbull said. “This is a young team, they needed a win early especially a gutsy close win like that. This will go a long way towards getting us on a roll.”
Karagiannopolous led the Cardinals rushing for 43 yards on nine carries as the Cardinals combined for 132 yards rushing on 46 carries.
Following the opening drive the ‘Catz made adjustments and held the Cardinals to only 17 yards rushing on 19 carries in the second half.
“Watsonville played great defense,” Trumbull said. “They were a little off balance (at the beginning) getting used to the fly action but they settled down and played great defense the rest of the game. We needed every bit of what we got in the fourth quarter to hold on.”
Santa Cruz will look to make it two-straight victories when they visit Lincoln of San Francisco next Saturday Sept. 10 at 2 p.m. Watsonville (0-2) came in looking for its first win after a heartbreaking 46-42 loss to Pacific Grove last week.
The ‘Catz were held to 20 yards rushing on nine carries in the first half. But as the game went on Watsonville’s ground game got stronger.
“We gave them 45 yards in uncontested things,” Myers said of the final drive of the game. “Those are just killers in a tight game. But they did what they needed to do once they got in four down territory.”
Marcelo Barcelo led Watsonville with 51 yards rushing on 10 carries. In all the ‘Catz ran for 87 yards on 29 carries. Watsonville will take the lessons learned from its first two games where that resulted in losses by a combined five points into next Friday night’s contest against host Scotts Valley who like Watsonville, is in search of their first victory of the 2016 season.
“They unstrapped their helmets off and walked out of here like men, taking responsibilities for our families,” Myers said of his team. “Men don’t wine and cry they take responsibility and take care of their families.”
The ‘Catz came into the game winners of four straight over the Cardinals, and still hold a 56-38-5 advantage in the series.
Last year’s contest ended on a Watsonville walk-off, 72-yard touchdown pass. It was the second time in as many years that the game had come down to the final play.
Stevenson 41, Pajaro Valley 13.
The Pajaro Valley High football team had never seen Stevenson senior quarterback Casey Morninwheg play in person before Saturday.
After Saturday they’ll remember his first impression, as the senior quarterback threw a career-high six touchdown passes in leading the host Pirates to a season-opening 41-13 victory over visiting Pajaro Valley Saturday afternoon in Pebble Beach.
Along with throwing six touchdown passes, Morninwheg threw for 335 yards on 25-of-42 passing for Stevenson, who won its fifth straight season opener.
Will Lansbury was the recipient of 16 passes from Morninwheg, and finished with 183 yards receiving and three touchdown receptions.
Omar Murillo had a pair of rushing touchdowns in the loss for P.V.
