Monterey Bay Prep Report Article

10/26/01
Monterey At Gilroy	07:30pm
Alisal At North Salinas	07:30pm
North County At Hollister	07:30pm
Salinas At Live Oak	07:30pm
Carmel At Seaside	07:00pm
King City At Soledad	07:30pm

10/27/01
Palma At Alvarez	02:00pm
Pacific Grove At Stevenson	02:00pm
Gonzales At Greenfield	02:00pm

Friday's Games

Monterey (0-7) At Gilroy (5-2)

Game Time:	7:30	Location:	Gilroy High
Last Year
Robert Orlando returned the opening kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown, and Gilroy never looked back in a 42-6 victory over Monterey. Orlando, filling in for Danny Gallo, the league's leading rusher, carried the ball 11 times for 84 yards and two touchdowns. The Gilroy defense limited Monterey to 49 yards rushing on the night.
Notes

Having seen their MBL title hopes dashed with consecutive losses to Palma and Alvarez, Gilroy looks to take some frustrations out on winless Monterey. The Toreadors have been held scoreless for 8 consecutive quarters, and have been outscored 226-65 on the year. Having recovered from a broken ankle suffered in week 1, Gilroy quarterback Jesus Gaona returned to action last week against Alvarez and promptly threw for 208 yards and 2 touchdowns. The majority of the yards came on two screen plays, as the Alvarez defense shut down the vertical passing game. The Mustangs had thrown 0 interceptions during their 5-0 run to start the season, but have thrown 7 interceptions in their consecutive losses to Palma and Alvarez.

Alisal (2-5) At North Salinas (2-5)

Game Time:	7:30	Location:	Salinas Sports Complex
Last Year
North Salinas kept Alisal winless on the year with a 24-7 victory. Justin Pascone exploded for 204 yards and two touchdowns for the Vikings. John Pestoni's 5 yard fumble return for a touchdown in the 3rd quarter closed out the scoring for North Salinas.
Notes

By running the table and ending up 5-5, North Salinas has an outside chance of sneaking into the playoffs. Making the playoffs win a .500 record is not unprecedented in the MBL. With an overall 5-5 record in 1998, Hollister (4th place in MBL) managed enough power points to get placed into the D1 playoffs. The Viking's best hope is to take over the 5th spot in the MBL from Salinas High; the Vikings need Salinas to lose to Gilroy next week to set up a season-ending showdown between the two longtime rivals. Alisal, coming off of an emotional victory over Live Oak, will also have something to say in this matter. The ball-hawking Trojan defense has forced 19 turnovers. North Salinas has been very generous handing the ball over with 22 turnovers on the year.

North County (2-5) At Hollister (5-2)

Game Time:	7:30	Location:	Hollister High
Last Year
Five North County turnovers spoiled a strong defensive showing, as the Condors fell to Hollister 34-13. Baler quarterback Nick Buzzetta scored two first quarter touchdowns, and Brandon Almaguer's 88 yard kickoff return for a touchdown to start the second half put the game out of reach.
Notes

Hollister got a big boost with a victory over Salinas High at the "PIT", vaulting the Balers into a tie for third place in the MBL. The win not only helped solidify a probable postseason bid, but also moved Hollister up to #10 in the San Jose Mercury CCS rankings. North County comes into the game having scored the fewest points in the area (64) , but the underrated Condor defense has kept most games close. With both team's defenses having surrendered virtually the same amount of points, the difference in the win column can be attributed to the fact that Hollister has scored 119 more points than the Condors this season. The Baler defense alone has scored 3 touchdowns this year, while the Condor offense has only punched in 10 touchdowns.

Salinas (4-2-1) At Live Oak (2-5)

Game Time:	7:30	Location:	Live Oak High
Last Year
With 1:42 left in the game, Salinas High's Andy Palacio broke free for a 65-yard game-winning touchdown run and a thrilling 27-21 victory over Live Oak. The exciting back-and-forth game featured 4 different lead changes. Live Oak running back Donnie Murphy rushed for 76 yards and 2 touchdowns, while Salinas High running back Christian Taylor scored twice on the ground as well.
Notes

Salinas High comes into play ranked #13 in the CCS by the San Jose Mercury. After losing an emotional game to Hollister, the Cowboys need to regroup and finish the season strong in order to solidify a berth in the CCS playoffs. That is easier said than done, with likely playoff-implicated games remaining with Gilroy and North Salinas on the horizon. Live Oak, a D1 playoff participant just last season, is struggling through one of its worst seasons. After a suffering a first-ever loss to an improved Alisal team last week, the Acorns must now finish out the season against 3 of the top teams in the section - Salinas, Palma and Gilroy. The section's 5th largest school (2029 10-12 students) has really struggled on offense. Just last season All-MBL Acorn running back Donnie Murphy scored an impressive 15 rushing touchdowns. Through seven games thus far, the senior back has been limited to 3 touchdowns, and Live Oak as a team has scored only 10 touchdowns. Live Oak does feature one of the stingiest defenses in the league, surrendering only 1347 total yards (excluding missing North High stats).

Carmel (5-1) At Seaside (3-3-1)

Game Time:	7:00	Location:	Seaside High
Last Year
Seaside scored early and often in rolling to a 42-6 victory over Carmel. The Spartans unloaded for 21 points in the first quarter alone and were never challenged. Seaside running backs Donnie Brooks and Michael Sanders both surpassed 100 yards on the ground, as the Spartans racked up 5 rushing touchdowns.
Notes

The MTAL is guaranteed placement of only two teams into the CCS playoffs. With Carmel, Stevenson, Soledad and Seaside vying for the second playoff slot, this game has big playoff implications for both teams. Carmel's upset loss to Stevenson has the Padres looking up in the standings at Pacific Grove for the first time all year. Carmel must now win its next two games to turn the season-ending "shoe" rivalry game with Pacific Grove into an MTAL championship game. The Padre's may be feeling some pressure - 9 of Carmel's 12 turnovers have come in the last two games. Seaside must win the rest of its games and hope for some help in order to jump into second place in the MTAL. With games remaining with Carmel and Stevenson, the Spartans can still help their own cause.

King City (2-4-1) At Soledad (3-4)

Game Time:	7:00	Location:	Soledad High
Last Year
Soledad prevailed 34-23 in a game that featured over 800 yards of combined offense. Soledad quarterback Robert Magana scorched the King City secondary for 273 yards passing and 2 touchdowns, and scored two rushing touchdowns as well. Soledad receiver Art Berlanga hauled in 3 receptions for 117 yards and 1 touchdown. King City running backs Jose Rodriguez, Stephen Lopez and Delphin Antonio each rushed for over 100 yards.
Notes

With only one game remaining on the schedule against a team with a winning record, Soledad's playoff hopes are still very much alive. Both Carmel and Stevenson have yet to face league-leading Pacific Grove, and Soledad still gets a crack at Stevenson. Soledad also played the toughest preseason schedule of any team in the MTAL, playing MBL member Alisal, likely Blossom Valley champion Gunderson, and likely 9-1 Santa Cruz Athletic League runner-up Watsonville. This gives the Aztecs the best chance of any team in the MTAL of securing an at-large playoff berth (if they don't lock up second place).

Saturday's Games

Palma (7-0) At Alvarez (6-0-1)

Game Time:	2:00	Location:	Alvarez High
Last Year
Following one of the heaviest rains of the year, Palma slogged to a 14-6 victory over Alvarez in a game played on a muddy, worn down Salinas Sports Complex field. The Palma defense shut out the Eagles, whose lone score came on a David Gibson fumble return in the 1st quarter. Palma found success moving the ball on the drier sideline sections of the field, with Dan Sterrett hauling in a touchdown pass and Justin Cambier running for a 67 yard score.
Notes

Two of the top-ranked teams in the CCS square off in a game likely to determine the Monterey Bay League title. Palma comes into the game ranked #8 overall in Northern California by Cal-Hi sports, and #2 in the CCS by the San Jose Mercury. Alvarez comes in ranked #5 in the CCS. The Palma defense has allowed 68 points this season, the fewest in the area. Alvarez is second, having surrendered only 86 points (Carmel has given up only 75 points, but has played 1 fewer game). Offensively, the two teams differ by only 68 total yards on the season - Palma has gained 2268 total yards, Alvarez 2208. Saturday features two championship games, as the undefeated Palma and Alvarez freshman teams square off for the MBL championship at 9:00. Additional seating has been assembled on the Alvarez visitor side, but we suggest that folks bring a folding chair and watch the action from the elevated rim of the field.

Pacific Grove (6-1) At Stevenson (4-3)

Game Time:	2:00	Location:	Stevenson High
Last Year
Both teams entered last year's contest undefeated at 7-0, but Stevenson's Chris Bonifas trampled any Breaker title hopes, rushing for 238 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 21-6 Pirate victory. The Stanford-bound linebacker also helped stuff the Breaker running game, as Stevenson limited Pacific Grove to 76 yards rushing on the night.
Notes

The question here is which Stevenson team will show up Saturday - the team that gave Gonzales its only win of the season, or the team that just knocked off unbeaten Carmel? Pacific Grove and Stevenson rank last in the area in rushing offense, but are ranked #1 and #2 in passing offense. Neither team has had a player run for 100 yards in a game, but their quarterbacks regularly throw for 150+ yards. That leaves little doubt that Saturday the air will be filled with footballs in Pebble Beach. Pacific Grove quarterback Jon Grant and Stevenson quarterback Chris Jackson have both thrown for over 1100 yards. The difference in the two passing games lies in the fact that Pacific Grove has thrown only 2 interception all year, while Stevenson has thrown 11.

Gonzales (1-6) At Greenfield (1-5)

Game Time:	2:00	Location:	Greenfield High
Last Year
Gonzales shut out Greenfield 21-0 behind the running of Jerry Alvarez. The Spartan running back had his best night of the year, rushing for 124 yards and a touchdown. Two interceptions and a fumble stalled the Greenfield offensive attack.
Notes

The distractions surrounding the resignation of the entire Gonzales football staff in support of a suspended coach will not help the Spartan cause this week. The good news in this game is that one of the teams will pick up its second win of the year. Gonzales has put up respectable offensive numbers, but has turned the ball over 20 times. The Gonzales pass defense ranks last in the area, having surrendered 888 yards this season in the air. But the Spartans have also played the top 3 throwing teams (Carmel, PG, Stevenson) in the area. Greenfield has turned the ball over 22 times this season.