Monterey Bay Prep Report Article

Friday, November 22, 2002
Independence At Salinas	07:00pm

Saturday, November 23, 2002
Watsonville At Valley Christian	01:00pm
Alvarez At Silver Creek	01:00pm
Aptos At Menlo-Atherton	01:00pm
Carmel At San Lorenzo Valley	01:00pm
Bellarmine At Palma	0700pm
Cupertino At Gonzales	07:00pm
Seaside At Leigh	07:00pm

Friday's Games

#7 Independence (8-2) At #2 Salinas (9-1)
CCS Division I Playoffs

Game Time:

7:00

Location:

Salinas High

Last Year

Teams did not play.

Road to CCS Playoffs

Independence Overall 8-2, League 5-1 2nd Place, Blossom Valley Santa Teresa Division		Salinas Overall 9-1, League 5-0 Tri-County Athletic League Champions
#2 vs. #7 seed	CCS Division I		First Round

Independence Enrollment: 4100	Salinas Enrollment: 2100
Independence CCS playoff record: 3-12	Salinas CCS playoff record: 10-8
Independence CCS football titles: 0	Salinas CCS football titles: 2
CCS finals appearances: 0	CCS finals appearances: 4

Calpreps.com power point prediction: 21-13 Salinas over Independence

*Independence* Schedule		*Salinas* Schedule
Opponent	Score	Opponent	Score
Cupertino	Won 7-0	Seaside	Won 21-6
Gunderson	Won 13-0	Atascadero	Won 20-17
Piedmont Hills	Lost 19-6	Mitty	Won 13-10
Prospect	Won 49-0	Alvarez	Lost 32-20
Hill	Won 34-6	Monte Vista Christian	Won 35-0
Silver Creek	Lost 42-35	Gilroy	Won 28-0
Del Mar	Won 46-7	Palma	Won 24-13
Westmont	Won 26-8	Live Oak	Won 35-0
Leland	Won 27-0	Hollister	Won 17-0
Santa Teresa	Won 14-6	North Salinas	Won 29-6

Notes

Independence, the largest school in the Central Coast Section, is coming off of a 14-6 victory over Santa Teresa in which running back An Nguyen rushed for 129 yards on 19 carries. 76er fullback Alesana Ulu logged a pair of 1 yard touchdown runs.

Saturday's Games

#6 Alvarez (6-3-1) At #3 Silver Creek (9-1)
CCS Division II Playoffs

Game Time:

1:00

Location:

Silver Creek High

Last Year

Teams did not play.

Road to CCS Playoffs

Silver Creek Overall 9-1, League 6-0 Blossom Valley Santa Teresa Division Champions		Alvarez Overall 6-3-1, League 4-1 Monterey Bay League Co-Champions
#3 vs. #6 seed	CCS Division II		First Round

Silver Creek Enrollment: 2500	Alvarez Enrollment: 1700
Silver Creek CCS playoff record: 1-2	Alvarez CCS playoff record: 2-3
Silver Creek CCS football titles: 0	Alvarez CCS football titles: 0
CCS finals appearances: 0	CCS finals appearances: 0

Calpreps.com power point prediction: 28-21 Silver Creek over Alvarez

*Silver Creek* Schedule		*Alvarez* Schedule
Opponent	Score	Opponent	Score
Leigh	Lost 26-24	Valley Christian	Lost 49-10
Mt. Pleasant	Won 41-8	Hollister	Tied 14-14
Willow Glenn	Won 41-0	Riordan	Lost 41-14
Overfelt	Won 54-10	Salinas	Won 32-20
Leland	Won 35-14	Gilroy	Won 24-0
Independence	Won 42-35	Monte Vista Christian	Won 21-6
Prospect	Won 29-0	Monterey	Won 54-25
Hill	Won 48-7	Seaside	Lost 17-7
Del Mar	Won 48-6	North Monterey County	Won 19-6
Westmont	Won (Westmont Forfeit)	Alisal	Won 14-2

Notes

Silver Creek was forced into an unusual bye last week after Westmont forfeited its last game of the season due to an on-field fight the previous week. Silver Creek is led by standout running back Anthony Reyes, who's shot at a 2,000 yard season was stalled by the Westmont forfeit. Reyes was name Most Outstanding Santa Teresa Division back as a junior, and exploded for some huge games this year. Reyes rushed for 225 yards and five touchdowns on just 10 carries in a 54-10 victory over Overfelt, and also rushed for 328 yards and five touchdowns on 12 carries in a 48-6 thumping of Del Mar.

#8 Watsonville (8-2) At #1 Valley Christian (9-1)
CCS Division I Playoffs

Game Time:

1:00

Location:

Valley Christian High

Last Year

Teams did not play.

Road to CCS Playoffs

Valley Christian Overall 9-1, League 5-1 West Catholic Athletic League Co-Champions		Watsonville Overall 8-2, League 4-2 3rd Place, Santa Cruz County Athletic League
#1 vs. #8 seed	CCS Division I		First Round

Valley Christian Enrollment: 800	Watsonville Enrollment: 3100
Valley Christian CCS playoff record: 4-4	Watsonville CCS playoff record: 5-8
Valley Christian CCS football titles: 0	Watsonville CCS football titles: 0
CCS finals appearances: 2	CCS finals appearances: 3

Calpreps.com power point prediction: 38-14 Valley Christian over Watsonville

*Valley Christian* Schedule		Watsonville Schedule
Opponent	Score	Opponent	Score
Opponent	Score	Opponent	Score
Hollister	Won 38-0	Mission	Won 63-0
Alvarez	Won 49-10	Gonzales	Won 34-13
North Salinas	Won 44-7	Soledad	Won 27-3
Gunderson	Won 66-12	Soquel	Won 49-6
Bellarmine	Won 7-3	Santa Cruz	Won 28-21
St. Francis	Won 14-13	Aptos	Lost 21-13
Mitty	Won 35-25	Scotts Valley	Won 40-8
Riordan	Won 28-0	Mt. Pleasant	Won 70-21
St. Ignatius	Won 21-0	Harbor	Won 65-0
Serra	Lost 7-6	San Lorenzo Valley	Lost 35-21

Notes

The powerful Watsonville running game will face its stiffest test of the season against perhaps the toughest defense in the section. Valley Christian is led on defense by WCAL Most Valuable Player Ryan Abbott, a 6-3, 220 pound linebacker considered one of the top college prospects in the section. Also featured on defense is WCAL Most Valuable Linebacker John Schweigert. On offense, Tyler Mariucci (son of 49er head coach Steve Mariucci) starts at quarterback, and joining him in the backfield is junior running back Matt Castelo, last season's MHAL Sophomore of the Year.

#7 Aptos (8-2) At #2 Menlo-Atherton (8-2)
CCS Division II Playoffs

Game Time:

1:00

Location:

Menlo-Atherton High

Last Year

Teams did not play.

Road to CCS Playoffs

Menlo-Atherton Overall 8-2, League 6-1 2nd Place, Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division		Aptos Overall 8-2, League 5-1 2nd Place, Santa Cruz County Athletic League
#2 vs. #7 seed	CCS Division II		First Round

Menlo-Atherton Enrollment: 1800	Aptos Enrollment: 1900
Menlo-Atherton CCS playoff record: 2-7	Aptos CCS playoff record: 1-7
Menlo-Atherton CCS football titles: 0	Aptos CCS football titles: 0
CCS finals appearances: 1	CCS finals appearances: 1

Calpreps.com power point prediction: 26-22 Aptos over Menlo-Atherton

*Menlo-Atherton* Schedule		Aptos Schedule
Opponent	Score	Opponent	Score
Pioneer	Won 42-29	Monterey	Won 21-7
Mitty	Lost 38-26	Alisal	Won 21-6
South San Francisco	Won 23-22	Pacific Grove	Won 30-7
Terra Nova	Lost 55-36	Scotts Valley	Won 28-6
Aragon	Won 29-22	Carmel	Lost 14-12
Mills	Won 36-23	Watsonville	Won 21-13
Half Moon Bay	Won 55-27	Harbor	Won 26-13
Capuchino	Won 37-20	San Lorenzo Valley	Lost 14-3
Jefferson	Won 55-0	Santa Cruz	Won 14-7
Woodside	Won 61-14	Soquel	Won 46-14

Notes

Menlo-Atherton senior quarterback T.C. Ostrander is considered one of the top 11 quarterback prospects in the nation, and has already verbally committed to play at Stanford next year. Ostrander completed 125 of 188 passes for a whopping 2,145 yards and 32 touchdowns in the regular season, with just six interceptions. Ostrander's favorite target is Alex Hogue, a 6-1 speedster with 4.6 40 speed, who hauled in 46 passes for 801 receiving yards. Three-hundred pound guard Tevita Kofutua anchors the Bear line.

#8 Carmel (8-2) At #1 San Lorenzo Valley (10-0)
CCS Division IV Playoffs

Game Time:

1:00

Location:

SLV High

Last Year

Teams did not play.

Road to CCS Playoffs

Carmel Overall 8-2, League 4-2 2nd Place, Mission Trail Athletic League		San Lorenzo Valley Overall 10-0, League 6-0 Santa Cruz County Athletic League Champions
#1 vs. #8 seed	CCS Division IV		First Round

Carmel Enrollment: 725	San Lorenzo Valley Enrollment: 1200
Carmel CCS playoff record: 0-2	San Lorenzo Valley CCS playoff record: 14-9
Carmel CCS football titles: 0	San Lorenzo Valley CCS football titles: 2
CCS finals appearances: 0	San Lorenzo Valley finals appearances: 5

Calpreps.com power point prediction: 31-14 SLV over Carmel

Carmel Schedule		San Lorenzo Valley Schedule
Opponent	Score	Opponent	Score
Harbor	Won 47-6	North Salinas	Won 34-17
Seaside	Won 24-8	St. Ignatius	Won 28-6
Burton	Won 69-12	Gilroy	Won 34-7
Stevenson	Won 27-6	Santa Cruz	Won 31-8
Aptos	Won 14-12	Scotts Valley	Won 37-7
Greenfield	Won 31-6	Harbor	Won 48-0
Soledad	Won 28-16	Soquel	Won 26-7
King City	Lost 18-16	Aptos	Won 14-3
Gonzales	Lost 19-15	King City	Won 35-7
Pacific Grove	Won 49-31	Watsonville	Won 35-21

Notes

Two teams with very similar offensive numbers will battle it out on Saturday. SLV is #3 in the quad-league area with 322 points scores, Carmel is #4 with 320 points scored. SLV is #2 in the quad-league area with 1,560 passing yards, Carmel is #3 with 1,512 passing yards. SLV leads all area teams with 3,383 total yards from scrimmage, Carmel is #4 with 3,130 yards. The differentiator may be on defense, where the Cougars allowed an area-fewest 83 points during the regular season.

#6 Bellarmine (6-4) At #3 Palma (9-1)
CCS Division I Playoffs

Game Time:

7:00

Location:

Salinas Sports Complex

Last Year

Playing on the road at San Jose City College, Palma dominated Bellarmine 33-0 in the 2001 CCS D1 semifinals. Palma held the vaunted Bellarmine running game to 86 yards while limiting Bellarmine to 4 pass completions for 44 yards. Jon Martinez powered in for 2 short Palma touchdown runs.

Road to CCS Playoffs

Bellarmine Overall 6-4, League 4-2 3rd Place, West Catholic Athletic League		Palma Overall 9-1, League 4-1 2nd Place, Tri-County Athletic League
#3 vs. #6 seed	CCS Division I		First Round

Bellarmine Enrollment: 1350	Palma Enrollment: 450
Bellarmine CCS playoff record: 28-18	Palma CCS playoff record: 30-11-1
Bellarmine CCS football titles: 3	Palma CCS football titles: 9
CCS finals appearances: 7	CCS finals appearances: 11

Calpreps.com power point prediction: 27-17 Bellarmine over Palma

Bellarmine Schedule		Palma Schedule
Opponent	Score	Opponent	Score
Piedmont Hills	Lost 20-17	Alhambra	Won 49-0
Leigh	Won 45-12	Paso Robles	Won 29-28
Pioneer	Won 38-7	Serra	Won 20-16
Valley Christian	Lost 7-3	Monterey	Won 26-8
Monte Vista (Danville)	Lost 40-28	North Monterey County	Won 14-6
Riordan	Won 35-6	North Salinas	Won 21-13
St. Ignatius	Won 42-35	Salinas	Lost 24-13
Serra	Lost 28-23	Gilroy	Won 28-13
Mitty	Won 20-0	Live Oak	Won 20-0
St. Francis	Won 28-20	Hollister	Won 41-20

Notes

This is the third consecutive year Palma and Bellarmine have squared off in the CCS D1 playoffs. The Bell's feature WCAL Back of the Year Jarred Belser, a standout 3-year starter who rushed for 1,365 yards and 16 touchdowns on 194 carries in the regular season. Quarterback Paul Gonzales had a solid year, completing 66 of 119 passes for 1,061 yards and 9 touchdowns. Bellarmine kicker Juan Gamboa connected on field goals of 55 and 48 yards in lat week's 28-20 victory over archrival St. Francis.

#6 Cupertino (8-2) At #3 Gonzales (9-1)
CCS Division IV Playoffs

Game Time:

7:00

Location:

Gonzales High

Last Year

Teams did not play.

Road to CCS Playoffs

Cupertino Overall 8-2, League 5-1 2nd Place, El Camino		Gonzales Overall 9-1, League 6-0 Mission Trail Athletic League Champions
#3 vs. #6 seed	CCS Division IV		First Round

Cupertino Enrollment: 1350	Gonzales Enrollment: 725
Cupertino CCS playoff record: 3-5	Gonzales CCS playoff record: 2-6
Cupertino CCS football titles: 0	Gonzales CCS football titles: 0
CCS finals appearances: 1	CCS finals appearances: 0

Calpreps.com power point prediction: 27-20 Cupertino over Gonzales

*Cupertino* Schedule		*Gonzales* Schedule
Opponent	Score	Opponent	Score
Independence	Lost 7-0	San Jose	Won 25-6
Leland	Won 33-0	Watsonville	Lost 34-13
Saratoga	Won 33-19	Mission	Won 56-12
Santa Clara	Won 49-7	Soledad	Won 47-0
Los Altos	Won 35-6	Greenfield	Won 56-6
Mountain View	Won 28-27	Pacific Grove	Won 42-21
Monte Vista	Won 27-9	Stevenson	Won 42-0
Lynbrook	Won 49-21	Sierra Christian	Won 40-0
Homestead	Lost 26-12	Carmel	Won 19-15
Fremont	Won 46-7	King City	Won 26-7

Notes

Gonzales will have its hands full containing Cupertino running back Jonathan Price, a junior who rushed for 1,023 yards and 21 touchdowns during the regular season. Two-way star Ben Reynolds leads the Pioneer defense, who rushed for 112 yards on five carries and two touchdowns in last week's 46-7 triumph over Fremont of Sunnyvale. This is Cupertino's fist playoff appearance since 1993, when the Pioneers were throttled 42-19 by Palma in the first-ever CCS D IV championship game.

#6 Seaside (7-3) At #3 Leigh (7-3)
CCS Division III Playoffs

Game Time:

7:00

Location:

Leigh High

Last Year

Teams did not play.

Road to CCS Playoffs

Leigh Overall 7-3, League 4-2 3rd Place, Blossom Valley Mount Hamilton Division		Seaside Overall 7-3, League 4-1 Monterey Bay League Co-Champions
#3 vs. #6 seed	CCS Division III		First Round

Leigh Enrollment: 1600	Seaside Enrollment: 1200
Leigh CCS playoff record: 10-11	Seaside CCS playoff record: 5-8
Leigh CCS football titles: 0	Seaside CCS football titles: 0
CCS finals appearances: 3	CCS finals appearances: 1

Calpreps.com power point prediction: 22-20 Leigh over Seaside

*Leigh* Schedule		*Seaside* Schedule
Opponent	Score	Opponent	Score
Silver Creek	Won 26-24	Salinas	Lost 21-6
Bellarmine	Lost 45-12	Carmel	Lost 24-8
Branham	Won 34-27	Live Oak	Won 26-21
Pioneer	Won 28-25	Hollister	Won 21-3
Piedmont Hills	Lost 30-14	North Salinas	Won 20-12
Leland	Won 28-25	Alisal	Won 31-22
Gunderson	Won 34-21	North Monterey County	Won 21-7
Santa Teresa	Won 34-12	Alvarez	Won 17-7
Oak Grove	Lost 42-6	Monte Vista Christian	Lost 15-0
Overfelt	Won 61-7	Monterey	Won 26-6

Notes

Multi-talented Chris Orozco is a threat to score from anywhere on the field for Leigh. The two-way Longhorn star rushed for 986 yards and 14 touchdowns in MHAL league play, and also hauled in 26 passes for 305 yards. Orozco is also a threat returning kicks, having returned several for touchdowns this season including a 79 yard punt return vs. Branham. Orozco is also one the MHAL's leading tacklers from his linebacker position. Last week Orozco and Longhorn receiver Mo Zahriya each scored 3 touchdowns in a 61-7 victory over Overfelt.