The Palma-Salinas rivalry has been one of the best in the Central Coast Section for years, with all the classic ingredients for spirited competition.
The public school and the Catholic school sit just a half-mile apart, with kids who grew up together finding themselves on opposite sidelines. Sometimes both schools are represented within the same family. And both schools field strong teams year after year, competing for league and sectional titles on a regular basis.
Palma dominated the rivalry in the late 2000s and early 2010s, but Salinas broke through in 2017 and started a seven-game winning streak over the Chieftains that year. The latest edition, Friday night’s epic contest at Rabobank Stadium, may have been the most exciting chapter yet.
The Cowboys rallied from a 21-point deficit in the fourth quarter to force overtime on Michael Andrade’s 18-yard touchdown pass to JP Perez with 15 seconds left in regulation. But Palma struck first in overtime, and after Salinas responded with a touchdown of its own, the Cowboys tried to win it with a two-point conversion, only for the Chieftains to stop Isaak Herandez short of the goal line to preserve a 42-41 victory.
Palma (7-0, 5-0 PCAL-Gabilan) scored the eventual game-winning touchdown on Patrick Driscoll’s pass to Chase Amaral. Andrade connected with Jacob Robles for Salinas (4-3, 3-2) on the Cowboys’ overtime possession.
The late dramatics overshadowed a huge night for Chieftains running back Eli Dukes, who rushed for 325 yards and four touchdowns on 23 carries. Through seven games, Dukes has racked up 1,353 rushing yards and is averaging 15.6 yards per attempt.
Palma’s win means the Chieftains’ Oct. 31 home date with Soquel will almost certainly decide the PCAL-Gabilan title. The Knights, like Palma, are undefeated, with the two teams holding a two-game edge over Salinas and at least a three-game gap over everyone else.
Los Gatos beats Wilcox in PAL-Bay showdown
Revenge is a dish best served on the road.
After Wilcox’s win in Los Gatos last season that gave the Chargers the outright Peninsula Athletic League-Bay Division title, the Wildcats earned some payback Friday night with a 35-21 victory in Santa Clara.
Los Gatos is now tied with Menlo School for the PAL-Bay lead, with the Wildcats and Knights set to do battle on Saturday afternoon in Atherton.
Quarterback Callum Schweitzer was clinical for Los Gatos (4-3, 2-0 PAL-Bay), completing 11 of 14 passes for 214 yards and a touchdown. Max Thomas had the lion’s share of those yards, 145 of them in total, on just five receptions.
The Wildcats led from the very beginning after Shane Harmer returned the opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown. Grayson Doslak rushed for a pair of scores, including the touchdown just before halftime that gave Los Gatos the lead for good. Kai Imahara paced Wilcox (4-3, 1-1) with two first-half touchdowns on the ground.
Serra keeps pace with Riordan atop WCAL
Neither Serra and Saint Francis took things easy in non-league play, but both came out the other side all the better for it. After entering the seven-game West Catholic Athletic League gauntlet winless, the Padres and Lancers were battle-tested, finding themselves in the top half of the standings heading into Saturday’s game at Brady Family Stadium.
But it was Serra that came out on top in a back-and-forth, 41-28 affair, taking the lead on a 92-yard kickoff return by Jayden Aparicio in the third quarter and not looking back. The Padres (4-3, 4-0 WCAL) rushed for 218 yards, with Iziah Singleton and Jeovanni Henley leading the charge. Henley had missed the last two games, returning Saturday with 86 yards and two touchdowns on just five carries.
Drew Cumby threw for three touchdowns and rushed for another for Saint Francis (2-5, 2-2). The Lancers host St. Ignatius last week, while Serra visits Mitty.
The Monarchs are one game back of both the Padres and undefeated Riordan in the WCAL standings, setting the stage for a potential epic regular-season finale in San Mateo between the Crusaders and Serra.
Santa Teresa claims outright lead in Mount Hamilton
A week after putting up 49 points in a win at Live Oak to open BVAL-Mount Hamilton Division play, Santa Teresa remained undefeated and took sole possession of first place with a 42-7 victory over Leigh.
The Saints (7-0, 2-0) have scored at least 40 points in every game and now have a clear path to a division title after Live Oak edged Lincoln and Branham took down Christopher in Gilroy. Santa Teresa heads to Christopher next week before closing out the regular season with back-to-back home games against Branham and Lincoln.
