It was billed by local media as the game of the year, with local sportswriters and television personalities openly suggesting the end of a dynasty. But in the end it was Palma adding another big-game victory to its storied legacy, pummeling Alvarez 42-7 in front of a standing-room only crowd and gaining the inside track to another Monterey Bay League title. The Chieftains have to win just one of their two remaining regular season games to wrap up an ongoing state-record 18th straight league title. 

On the game's first drive it looked like it would be the Eagles dishing out the punishment, scoring on just five plays in under two minutes to take a 7-0 lead. The drive, highlighted by a thrilling Galen Perry 60 yard burst to the Palma 3 yard line, sent the huge Alvarez home crowd into a frenzy. But six unanswered Palma touchdowns and a smothering Palma defense transformed the Eagle home crowd into cardboard cutouts. Behind linemen Elliott Vallejo, Charles Cochran, Danny Reader, Fred DeYoung and Diego Placido, Palma running backs Jon Martinez and Nick Noroian took turns running at and over the Alvarez defense, churning out 4 and 5 yards a play with bruising dives, traps and counters. The two combined for 3 touchdowns and 103 yards up the gut. With the Alvarez defense overplaying the middle, Palma fly backs Justin Meier and Luke Lippincott we able to find daylight running the ball outside, combining for 152 yards and a touchdown. Palma wide receiver Chris Stauffer dashed any Alvarez victory hopes, scoring on consecutive plays to end the first half and to start the second half. With would-be tacklers hanging all over him, Palma quarterback Luis Amaral somehow managed to rocket a 14 yard touchdown pass to Stauffer to put Palma up 14-7 with 0:14 left in the first half. On the ensuing second half kickoff, Stauffer ran untouched for an 83 yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Defensively, Palma down linemen Anthony Toste, Andrew Hayes, Allan Donohue controlled the line of scrimmage, allowing linebackers Nick Trebino and Placido to fill the gaps and stuff the explosive Alvarez running game.

Week 8 Notes and Key Stats Losses by Seaside and Stevenson last weekend have cleared the picture up some in the MTAL title chase. Carmel and Pacific Grove now appear destined for a season-ending title showdown at Breaker stadium. The peninsula's oldest rivalry has been played mostly for pride the last 20 years, but with a title on the line, this game has the makings of an instant classic. Thus far the entire Palma football program in undefeated, with the freshman, junior varsity and varsity teams compiling an impressive 24-0 record. The Palma freshman assured themselves at least a tie for the MBL title, defeating previously unbeaten Alvarez 24-14. The Palma freshmen travel to Seaside Thursday night for a showdown between the best of the MBL and MTAL. The Seaside freshmen are undefeated in MTAL league play. Alvarez's Galen Perry, seen here on a double handoff, jumped to #2 in the area in rushing with his 113 yard effort against Palma. Perry became the first back to crack the century mark against the Chieftains this year.

Week 8 By The Numbers 337 Number of total rushing yards gained by Palma in their win over Alvarez. The Eagle's had surrendered only 1000 yards on the ground in their prior  7 games.  314 Number of combined offensive yards gained in the Alisal/North Salinas defensive battle.   173 Number of rushing yards racked up by Seaside's Donnie  Brooks against Carmel.. 75 Number of points allowed by the Palma defense this season. Monterey gave up 62 points to Gilroy just last weekend. 8 Number of pass attempts made in the Palma/Alvarez game. Both teams combined for 86 rushing attempts. 5 Number of touchdown passes thrown by Gilroy quarterbacks vs. Monterey. Jesus Gaona tossed 4 touchdown passes in the first half, and Henry Quistian added 1 in the 3rd quarter. 7 Number of touchdown receptions hauled in this season by Pacific Grove receiver Phil Shin. Shin did not catch a touchdown pass last weekend, but he was involved in 3 scoring plays. Shin rushed for a TD on a reverse, returned a punt for a TD, and also threw for a TD on a flea-flicker pass. 4 Number of Seaside interceptions thrown in the Spartan's loss to Carmel . 0 Number of passing yards surrendered by the Palma defense vs. Alvarez. 0 Number of points scored by North County in the first quarter. The Condors have been outscored 43-0 in the first quarter this year.