SCOTTS VALLEY, CA — Through four quarters of regulation and five overtime periods — yes five overtime periods — the San Lorenzo Valley High and rival Scotts Valley football teams gave each other everything they had.
In a game with huge Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League and Central Coast Section playoff ramifications, both teams bent but didn’t break.
But ultimately it was the host Falcons who were able to take advantage in the fifth overtime when the Cougars weren’t able to recover from a bad snap on the extra point following a touchdown.
Scotts Valley answered with a touchdown and converted the extra point as the Falcons bested the rival Cougars 52-51 in a thrilling five-overtime game Saturday afternoon.
“I told my team before overtime this is what we live for,” Scotts Valley quarterback Nick Reyes said. “This is the moment that you want against a rival in our home field. I told them I would do whatever I can in my power to make us win.”
Reyes did.
After spending the majority of regulation handing the ball off to running back Troy Metta, who rushed for a team-high 139 yards and a touchdown on 39 carries, Reyes was counted on heavily in the overtime periods as Menna missed all of the overtime periods with an injury.
Reyes played a part in all but one of the Falcons scoring drives in the overtimes.
Reyes threw three touchdown passes and rushed for another.
“We stayed together and were able to pull out the win,” Reyes said. “Coming back the defense did a phenomenal job the offense answered every time after SLV scored and I was just happy with the results.”
Reyes finished with six touchdowns on the day throwing four and rushing for two. The 5-foot-8, 160-pounder senior signal caller threw for 136 yards on 8-of-15 passing.
Dalton Lock led Scotts Valley in receiving catching four passes for 106 yards including a 47-yard touchdown.
The Falcons were able to end the game after Reyes connected with Timothy Wagner for a six-yard touchdown, Wagner’s second of the game and kicker Evan Carvalheira nailed the extra-point attempt to send the team and its fans into pandemonium.
“It was an amazing opportunity to be a part of something like this,” said Wagner who caught two passes for 16 yards - both for touchdowns. “I want to call out Nick Reyes who showed some amazing leadership and our kicker Evan Carvalheira who came through clutch.”
Scotts Valley (5-2, 2-0 SCCAL) needed Carvalheira, especially in the first overtime period when the senior nailed a 34-yard field goal to apply pressure to SLV, which answered with a Tanner Murray 25-yard field goal to extend it to a second overtime.
The Falcons — winners of five straight — will look to make it six straight when they visit winless Soquel (0-7, 0-2) next Friday Oct. 30 at 7:30 p.m.
SLV (4-3, 1-1) was able to force overtime when the Cougars raced 78 yards in four plays capped by a 59-yard touchdown pass from Nick Salibi to Joe Oard with only 42 seconds left in regulation to cut Scotts Valley’s lead to 21-19.
Having to go for two, the Cougars gave it to leading rusher Brighton Hart who barreled through for the two-point conversion to tie the game.
“Football is a rollercoaster sport at every level,” Scotts Valley coach Louie Walters said. “Stuff like that happens and you just got to keep going forward and I was proud of the kids. They could’ve hung their hats but they kept playing and that’s what I’m most proud of.”
In the overtimes, aside from Murray’s field goal, either Salibi or Hart accounted for all of SLV’s scores.
Hart had three rushing touchdowns and Salibi added one.
“We’re just proud of each other for the effort and how we came back,” said Salibi of SLV being down 21-6 to force overtime. “We just kept fighting and fighting and I’m just proud of everyone on the team it was an amazing effort. It’s going to be a game that I’ll never forget.”
Salibi threw for 173 yards, had three touchdowns (two passing, one rushing), and threw two interceptions on 10-of-25 passing.
Hart rushed for a game-high 148 yards on 20 carries including three touchdowns. Scott Poetzinger added a 13-yard touchdown run and Oard had three receptions for 103 yards including touchdown in the loss for SLV.
Cougars’ coach Dave Poetzinger isn't worried about the playoffs right now just SLV’s next opponent. With Aptos the heavy favorite to win the SCCAL title and with the league granted two automatic CCS playoff bids, this was a de facto play-in game.
“We aren’t thinking about CCS implications we are thinking about Santa Cruz next week,” Poetzinger said. “We just have to play the next game and continue the journey.
“The thing about it is this was a win for both sides. They won the game but man what a great football game. Both squads should be proud of the kids that were involved in this game because of the kind of character both sides shows.”
SLV will host Santa Cruz (1-6, 1-1) on Halloween afternoon at 2 p.m. in Felton.
