For all the accomplishments the Salinas Cowboys had racked up over the past 15 years, there was one thing they hadn’t done: Beat Palma.
That is, until Friday. Salinas finally knocked off their nearby rivals, 21-7, in a game that culminated in the Salinas student body spilling onto the field at The Pit in celebration. With the win, the Cowboys cemented their role in the midst of the MBL Gabilan title race, all but ended the Chieftains’ shot at a league title and put a significant dent in Palma’s hopes to extend a streak of 33 consecutive playoff appearances.
The run defense was especially critical as the Cowboys held their rivals off the scoreboard until the final minutes.
“We’ve been pretty good all year against the run,” said head coach Steve Zenk.
Linebacker Drew Shuler led the defensive effort against Palma.
“He’s been a dominant force for us all year,” said Zenk. “Kelly McDermott was a force for us on both sides of the ball, and [quarterback] Brett Reade was 19-for-19. I’ve never seen that in all my years, even in games where we’ve only thrown the ball five times.”
Palma (2-4, 1-2) has a showdown with Monte Vista Christian (4-2, 2-1) on Saturday that could decide whether or not the incredible playoff streak lives on for another year. The home stretch of Palma’s schedule is easier on paper, save for a finale against a San Benito team that currently sits tied atop the Gabilan standings with Salinas and Aptos.
That tie will be at least partially broken this week, as San Benito will host Salinas on Friday night. When kickoff comes, the hangover from the win shouldn’t be an issue for the Cowboys.
“We have short term memory of wins and losses,” said Zenk. “We got back to work yesterday. They’re really strong and they run the wishbone. Defense has been their strength for years, and this might be one of their better defenses I’ve seen.”
More Mount Hamilton drama
San Jose isn’t a city where you can usually say, “If you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes.”
However, this year, if you don’t like the football standings, you can check back five minutes later for the table to be completely turned upside-down. That was the case once again Friday as the jostling continued in the BVAL Mt. Hamilton, headlined by Piedmont Hills taking down Westmont 49-21. The Pirates entered the game as the only 0-2 team in the league, whereas the visiting Warriors were the only ones to come in with a 2-0 record. All eight teams now sit at either 2-1 or 1-2.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of all has been Lincoln. After going 0-3 in nonleague play with all three losses coming against lower-division opponents, most were thinking the Lions would have been nowhere near a league title and maybe even candidates for a winless season. However, Lincoln quieted those concerns with a 28-14 win over Pioneer and pushed Westmont to the brink in a 35-34 defeat. The Lions impressed again on Friday with a 16-14 win over a Santa Teresa team that had just snapped Oak Grove’s 30-game league winning streak. Just another day in the Mount Hamilton League.
While traveling to Morgan Hill isn’t ideal for most Mt. Hamilton teams, it may be perfect for a Lincoln squad that’s 2-1 on the road. Friday, they’ll face a Live Oak team that’s coming off two straight wins, including a blowout victory at Leigh last week. Both Lincoln and Live Oak lost close games to Westmont. What does that mean heading into this week? Knowing this year’s league, probably nothing.
Don’t forget about the Mission Trail
With its position at the south end of the section, participation in the smaller playoff divisions and its predictability in recent years, it’s easy to overlook the Mission Trail League. More often than not, the title would be decided at the end of the year in the Shoe Game between Pacific Grove and Carmel. Last year, Carmel once again won the league title, but Soledad finished in second and claimed the CCS Division IV title.
This year’s league, which brought in teams from the now-defunct SCCAL, has been anything but predictable. A two-hour trip, almost unheard of for a league game, was no issue for Scotts Valley (5-1, 3-0) as the Falcons dispatched King City 24-0 to take sole possession of first place. Scotts Valley has a nonleague game with Nipomo this week and will travel to Soledad on the 20th.
The rest of the league standings are a mess. San Lorenzo Valley’s long trip wasn’t as successful as Scotts Valley’s. The Cougars were handed a lopsided defeat by Carmel (3-4, 1-2) on Saturday. Carmel hosts Stevenson (2-2, 1-1) on Saturday in a game where the winner will have an opportunity to climb back into the picture for the league title.
Firepower on display in El Camino
While most of the focus in the SCVAL was on Milpitas trouncing Wilcox to take control of the De Anza League, the wildest game of the night came from the El Camino. Cupertino (4-2, 2-0) won in triple overtime for the second week in a row, knocking off host Mountain View 28-21. Once again, it was the Pioneer defense that ended the game with a stop.
It might get even crazier for Cupertino this week. The Pioneers host a Santa Clara team that has broken the 60-point mark three times and scored 57 in another game. The winner will take over sole possession of first place in the El Camino Division. Santa Clara (5-1, 3-0) is coming off a 63-57 win at Fremont last week in a game that was just 9-7 after one quarter before the teams combined for 49 points over the next 12 minutes.
Santa Clara QB Chris Brown threw for four touchdowns and ran for a fifth, while Bruins running back Erik Ketton ran for three scores and returned a kickoff to the house as well. Fremont got four passing touchdowns from Roman Stein and four touchdowns on the ground from Agatonu Fuaimaloleilei.
No days off in the Bay
Of all the top leagues in the CCS, the PAL Bay Division may be the toughest of all to win. With just six teams and a five-game league schedule, there’s almost no margin for error. One loss means a shared league title is usually the best a team can hope for, and two will almost certainly extinguish any hopes for a championship.
Usually, there’s at least one team that’s a step below the rest because of injuries, players transferring or coaches putting the wrong team in the division when structuring the league. There’s no such team in 2017, as Sacred Heart Prep showed on Friday. The Gators (1-5, 0-2) may have lost, but they pushed Menlo-Atherton (4-2, 2-0), winners of two straight league titles, to the brink in a 42-35 thriller. SHP will have another chance to knock off a league favorite on Saturday when Half Moon Bay (6-0, 1-0) pays an afternoon visit.
Hard work pays off
Yerba Buena picked up its first win of the season with a 20-7 victory at Mt. Pleasant, and King’s Academy’s first win under Pete Lavorato by knocking off visiting Woodside.
Unbeaten watch
Seven of the nine CCS teams that entered last week with perfect records remained unbeaten. It was known that one of them would fall, as No. 17 Gilroy knocked off No. 23 Christopher on the Cougars’ home field to take the Severance Bell and take a massive step towards the MBL Pacific title. Westmont’s perfect record was a casualty of the wild Mt. Hamilton League.
No. 7 Aragon, Carlmont, No. 5 Half Moon Bay, No. 20 Hillsdale, No. 22 Leland and No. 4 Milpitas all kept their records intact to keep pace with Gilroy. Of those teams, Aragon may have the toughest test this week, traveling to No. 6 Menlo-Atherton.
Carlmont had a close call at San Mateo, taking the lead with 1:35 left on Demarii Blanks’ third and final touchdown run of the game. San Mateo drove to the Carlmont 41 and completed a pass that was destined for the end zone, but Ralphie Holmes stripped the ball just shy of the goal line and Shawn Azzopardi recovered the fumble in the end zone to seal the game.
