With three weeks left in the season, who leads the PCAL Cypress Division?
It’s not Soquel, coached by former NFLer Dwight Lowery. It’s also not North Monterey County, a team led by a dynamic quarterback in Brandon Ducusin that became the league favorites after beating the Knights. Instead, it’s Santa Cruz, the only unbeaten team in league play after a 33-21 win over the Condors last Friday.
While the final score doesn’t quite show it, the Cardinals put up a sensational defensive effort, allowing just seven points until the fourth quarter. North Monterey County (6-2, 3-1 PCAL Cypress) led 7-6 at halftime, but a Qwentin Brown touchdown early in the third quarter put the hosts back on top. From there, Santa Cruz (5-2, 3-0) went up by as much as 19, taking a 26-7 lead on Dillon Danner’s 11-yard touchdown pass to Henry Campion with 4:43 left. Danner was 12-for-20 passing on the night for 163 yards and ran for 73 yards on seven carries, including a huge 40-yard run to set up the game-sealing score after the Condors had scored two quick touchdowns, the latter of which was set up by an onside kick. Ducusin was limited on the ground but still managed to throw for 152 yards and a pair of touchdowns while Kobe Hatten racked up 174 yards on 25 carries.
Monarchs are the real deal
If any doubts about the Mitty Monarchs were raised from a close call against Riordan, the team’s performance the last two weeks has emphatically silenced those questions. Mitty first took Serra down to the wire, falling just 35-29 in San Mateo, then followed that up with a 39-0 pasting of Sacred Heart Cathedral at Kezar Stadium. With James Thomas still out injured, Zach Tabangcura ran for 70 yards on just seven carries and Zach Webb had his heaviest workload of the year, running 14 times for 100 yards. Shamir Bey did his usual thing through the air, completing 17 of his 23 passes for 162 yards. With the SHC defense focused on Reymello Murphy and Connor Gambelin, Ian Collier shone with nine catches for 68 yards. Jacques Allard led a remarkable defensive effort with three sacks to fuel the shutout. This week, the Monarchs will play their lone on-campus game of the year, hosting St. Francis Friday night with a top four spot in the WCAL on the line.
Serra shows off deep threats
While Serra’s most famous quarterback, Tom Brady, is known for making a living out of short passes that set his receivers up for big yards after the catch, current Padre QB Daylin McLemore showed that he can do a lot more than just throw quick hitters and short routes. He threw just 15 times in last week’s win over St. Francis but completed 11 of those passes for 220 yards as he took the top off the Lancer defense, throwing multiple perfect deep balls to Terence Loville and Nate Sanchez in the process.
Unbeaten watch
All six teams that entered last week unbeaten kept their perfect records. Branham, Half Moon Bay, King’s Academy, Seaside, Serra and Valley Christian all took care of business, with Serra’s 35-21 win over St. Francis being the closest of those games.
Hard work pays off
Two teams picked up their first wins last week as El Camino and Pajaro Valley grabbed their first victories of the season on homecoming weekend. The Colts beat Capuchino 12-6 in overtime, holding a vicious Mustang running attack in check throughout regulation. El Camino (1-6, 1-1 PAL Lake) then took the lead on a Josh Mathiesen touchdown pass to Justin Vargas and, despite missing the extra point, the defense got the stop to seal the game. Mathiesen’s pass was the lone Colt touchdown of the night as they got two Alexis Diaz field goals to stay in the game during regulation. Capuchino (3-4, 1-1) was held to just six points a week after putting up 48 on South San Francisco.
Saturday afternoon was a special day for Pajaro Valley as 5-foot-4 junior Martin Gonzalez willed the Grizzlies to their first win, 34-29 over Harbor. PV held a 21-point lead behind a 63-yard Gonzalez touchdown and a pair of TD runs from quarterback Daniel Garcia, making his first career start, before the Pirates made things interesting in the second half. Gonzalez had 200 yards on 13 carries and returned a fumble 45 yards for another score to help Pajaro Valley (1-6, 1-2 PCAL Santa Lucia) snap a nine-game losing streak that dated back to last October. Harbor (1-7, 0-4) got 162 rushing yards and two touchdowns from Garrett Lackey, who carried the ball 24 times, while sophomore quarterback Cash Rosburg completed 12 of his 13 passes for 167 yards and two scores. His one incompletion? A Gonzalez interception.
