The 11th and final week of the regular season on the Central Coast should be a doozy, with rivalry games all around and league titles up for grabs. The Serra-St. Ignatius game is included in Harold Abend’s NorCal Games of the Week, and we’ll have a separate preview running for the rivalry games in the Peninsula Athletic League.
No. 5 Salinas (8-1, 6-0 PCAL Gabilan) @ No. 12 Aptos (5-4, 4-2), Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Last year’s meeting between the Cowboys and Mariners was for a share of the league title, which Salinas won by erasing a two-touchdown deficit in the fourth quarter. Carl Richardson threw for 313 yards and one touchdown in last year’s meeting, and all eyes will be on him in his final regular season game of his career. Scouts from Colorado, UCLA and Utah are expected to be in attendance to watch as he tries to lead the Cowboys to an outright league crown.
Seaside (8-1, 4-1 PCAL Mission) @ No. 23 Monte Vista Christian (7-1, 5-0), Saturday, 7:30 p.m. at Watsonville
The task is simple for the Mustangs: Win and they’ll be outright league champions. Carrying such a task out, though, is much more difficult. Seaside slipped up two weeks ago against Alisal, but junior running back Treyvon Campbell has been one of the best running backs in Monterey County. The Spartans have allowed just 81 points in nine games, though it’s helped that they haven’t had to face junior running back Brendan Doyle yet. That’ll change on Saturday night as he and quarterback Anthony Montoya try to become the first team to put up more than 20 on Seaside all year.
Gunn (8-1, 4-1 SCVAL El Camino) @ Homestead (6-3, 4-1), Friday, 7 p.m.
Gunn’s remarkable rise from the ashes comes to a climax on Friday night as the Titans try to ride their double wing to a league championship against a Homestead team that’s played excellent defense as of late. The Mustangs allowed just three points in a win over Monta Vista, the only team to beat the Titans this year, and have allowed just 10 points total across their last three games. Gunn, meanwhile, has averaged 47.7 points per game this season, and last week’s 44 against Cupertino could have been a lot higher if not for a running clock.
No. 22 San Benito (5-4, 4-2 PCAL Gabilan) @ No. 7 Palma (7-2, 5-1), Friday, 7:30 p.m. at Rabobank Stadium
The Chieftains will not only try to win their own run-heavy battle on Friday; their fans will be following social media closely as they hope Salinas stumbles to open up a path for a share of the league championship. While San Benito likes to rely on a deep array of running backs, there’s no mystery who will have the ball for Palma. Anthony Villegas will try to put a ribbon on what’s already been a monster senior year as he attempts to follow up last week’s 318-yard, four-touchdown performance as he led his team back from a two-touchdown deficit to defeat Aptos.
No. 14 Oak Grove (7-2, 6-0 BVAL Mt. Hamilton) @ Lincoln (5-3, 4-2), Friday, 7 p.m.
Players returning from injuries and the benefits of playing a killer nonleague schedule have benefitted the Eagles tremendously as they’ve rolled through the Mt. Hamilton Division, including back-to-back shutout wins. Last week, Jessie Miller threw for 248 yards, with all but 18 of those coming on six catches by Izaiah Nakanishi. The pair connected for three touchdowns in a 41-0 win over Leland. Lincoln’s hopes for a league title came to an end with a loss at Live Oak, but the Lions can still play spoiler on Senior Night, when they’ll honor a decorated class that includes Adam Arenas. The 5-foot-3 lightning bolt is averaging 175.1 yards per game and has found the end zone 18 times.
No. 15 Branham (9-0, 6-0 BVAL Santa Teresa) @ Silver Creek (6-3, 5-1), Friday, 7 p.m.
The Bruins’ final test in their pursuit of an undefeated regular season may be their toughest one yet as Silver Creek has gotten better and better as the season has progressed. Silver Creek can turn to as many as seven different rushers, including Elijah Thomas, while Branham usually sticks with Cameron Rynhard. He’s churned up 1347 yards on the season, with 17 of his 149 carries ending in the end zone.
No. 19 Bellarmine (3-6, 2-4 WCAL) @ No. 13 St. Francis (3-6, 2-4), Friday, 7 p.m.
One of the section’s best rivalries doesn’t carry the league title implications that it usually does, but Ron Calcagno Stadium will still have a tremendous crowd on hand Friday night as the Bells and Lancers look to head into the postseason on winning streaks. Both picked up wins in San Francisco last week, with St. Francis finally avoiding an early three-score hole for the first time in nearly a month. The Lancers allowed just seven points to Riordan, taking the lead just before halftime on a 15-yard Ryan Daly touchdown to Joey Schott.
No. 9 Mitty (6-3, 4-2 WCAL) @ Valley Christian (8-1, 5-1), Friday, 7 p.m.
After losing to Serra, Senior Night for the Warriors will be about keeping hopes for a league title alive instead of clinching one outright. Defensively, Valley Christian could have to deal with a Mitty offense that presents all sorts of different looks. If quarterback Shamir Bey returns from an ankle injury, the Monarchs will be prolific through the air, and even if he’s not on the field, they finally have all three of their running backs healthy. Zach Tabangcura, James Thomas and Zach Webb can run with the best of them. Even in last week’s loss to St. Ignatius, Webb had 63 yards on just nine carries.
Alisal (5-4, 4-1 PCAL Mission) @ Soledad (5-4, 3-2), Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Currently among the next five out in our latest CCS playoff projections, the Aztecs would need a lot of things to go right in order to crack the postseason. If they take matters into their own hands with a win on Friday night, though, they’d manage to spoil any Alisal hopes for a league championship. A Trojan victory coupled with a Seaside win over Monte Vista Christian on Saturday would create a three-way split for the title. Alisal managed to hold Seaside to just seven points and only allowed 14 through three quarters last week before an inspired comeback effort by Monterey, but slowing down a Soledad offense led by Kevin Oliver and Josiah Freeman is a major test.
Stanfel Cup: Sacred Heart Cathedral (0-9, 0-6 WCAL) @ Riordan (2-7, 0-6), Saturday, 1:15 p.m.
Mayer Family Field’s grand opening will see one of two dubious streaks end as Sacred Heart Cathedral tries to avoid a winless season while Riordan looks to snap a 16-game WCAL losing streak. The Stanfel Cup has belonged to the Irish three years in a row, including a 38-0 beatdown last season.
