The Central Coast Section's football season will kickoff in less than six weeks on Sept. 4 and some of the sections best teams haven't been shy about scheduling powerhouses in their openers.
In a matchup of two CCS championship game finalists from last year back-to-back CCS Division III champion Aptos will host Salinas who made it to the CCS D-I championship game before falling to MBL-Gabilan rival San Benito 14-7.
Both the Mariners and Cowboys will see major overhauls on both sides of the ball making for an intriguing matchup and if this year’s game can match last year’s when Aptos defeated Salinas 21-14 on a Beau Kittleson 3-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Pierce with seven seconds to go in the game we’ll be in for another thriller.
Another thrilling rematch from last season’s opening week will take place at Foothill College when Mitty takes on Los Gatos.
The Wildcats, who fell to eventual CCS Open Division champion Sacred Heart Prep in the semifinals, will look to once again defeat the Monarchs who fell to WCAL rival St. Francis in the D-II title game. Last year Los Gatos defeated Mitty 21-13.
Defending Open Division champions SHP will travel to San Jose for a rematch with Leland whom the Gators bested 32-20 last year. SHP will not have the services of its top two running backs from last season including Prep2Prep Player of the Year Ben Burr-Kirven who is now playing football at Washington. The Gators will have quarterback Mason Randall who is back for his senior year, as well as his top two receivers including Andrew Daschbach.
Fresh off capturing the CCS D-II title St. Francis will take on host Oak Grove. This year the Lancers aren’t just eyeing a three-peat as D-II champion but also are hoping for a WCAL title. St. Francis will have quarterback Kamalii Akina back for his senior year along with leading rusher Lutoviko Ahoia who ran for a team-high 914 yards and nine touchdowns last season.
In what could be one of the more intriguing matchups of Week 0 pits Palma hosting Sutter Union.
Palma, co-champions of the MBL-Gabilan, will welcome Sutter Union to Salinas for a game at beautiful Rabobank Stadium. The Huskies made it to the NorCal D-III title game last year before falling 35-14 to Campolindo who went onto win the D-III CIF State bowl game.
Palma returns one of the best quarterback-running back combos in the section in 6-foot-5 senior signal caller Jack Richardson and junior tailback Emilio Martinez.
Richardson threw for nearly 2,000 yards last year with 19 touchdowns and seven interceptions while Martinez rushed for 1,501 yards and 21 touchdowns.
Sutter Union will be breaking in new playmakers across the board. The Huskies lost seniors quarterback Randy Post (2,858 yards 42 touchdowns), running backs Alex Lopez and Tyler Chambers (combined 1,882 yards 18 touchdowns) and Post’s top-four receivers all to graduation.
Week 0 will be a good test for Palma who has eyes on four-peating as MBL-Gabilan champs, winning its first CCS title since 2011 and contending for a CIF State Bowl.
