There are two stories to the success of the 2012 Seaside Spartans, who have gone through the regular season undefeated at 10-0.
The first story is the defense. The Spartans haven't allowed a 100-yard rusher all year. They have faced top backs from Soquel (Fabiano Hale), Palma (Brandon Olivares), Alisal (Ricardo Muniz) and Monterey (Ambrose Chioini), and have shut them all down. This bodes well for the top-seeded Spartans, who open the CCS Division IV playoffs Friday night (7 pm) at home against Capuchino (6-4) and record-setting running back Justin Ewing (2,749 yards rushing, 28 TDs).
The Capuchino senior is just 50 yards away from breaking the CCS single-season rushing record. In a 35-28 win over Gunn on Sept. 14, Ewing rushed for a CCS-record 494 yards.
However, the Seaside defensive interior appears to be well-equipped to stop Ewing, anchored by CCS heavyweight wrestling champ Jonathan Tuiolosega. The 6-foot-3 275-pound Tuiolosega is an absolute monster in the middle and appears to be a man playing amongst boys at times.
He's accompanied on the defensive line by David Mapusoa (6-1, 285). Mapusoa is a three-year starter and team captain. The pair can give smaller interior offensive lines fits.
The linebacking crew is a three-man wrecking ball consisting of senior linebackers Matt Lualemana (5-10, 215) and Samson Tonga (6-0, 185) and junior Darryl Choates (6-3, 210). Along with senior defensive end Marcus Hopkins, no team that Seaside has played yet has been able to get around the edges on them.
Trying to find running lanes up the middle has proven futile as well as punishing. The defensive backfield is big and fast. Senior quarterback/safety Michael Turner (6-5, 205) and his brother Ronnie, a 6-5, 185-pound junior, help lock down opponents' passing attacks. They are joined by returning two-year all-county senior utility player Joseph Jakubowski (8 INTs) and the big hitting senior Mario Cook (6-3, 190). This defense certainly ranks among the top in Monterey County over the last 25 years - perhaps even better than the 2006 CCS championship team that featured starting Tampa Bay Buccaneers middle linebacker Mason Foster.
Story number two is the transfer of brothers Ronnie and Michael Turner from Alvarez in Salinas to Seaside during the summer. Both of these young men are Division I type athletes. This move unfortunately crippled Alvarez's football program, but helped Seaside go from 2-8 last year to 10-0 this year. The addition of the Turner brothers has been substantial, but Seaside would have been pretty darn good this year without them.
Offensively Seaside runs a no-huddle spread. They are led by the Turner brothers and Jakubowski. They are an extremely pass-heavy team and there have been games where they've had a tough time getting on track.
North Monterey County (7-6 final score) and Monte Vista Christian (12-7) played Seaside extremely close and had chances to win.
Michael Turner has thrown for over 2,000 yards and 24 TDs with 10 INTs. Ronnie has pulled in 644 yards in receiving and 11 TDs. The offensive line is big and gives Turner a good amount of time to throw. He is also a threat when he gets outside of the pocket and can be difficult for smaller defensive fronts to contain due to his size, speed and physical power. Like many high school quarterbacks, Turner has been known to make some questionable decisions when he is being pressured.
Jelahny Garnett, Mario Cook, Kordell Reid and Chris Evans all pose serious breakaway threats at receiver. They are all over 6 feet tall with the exception of Jakubowski.
Even though some of the Seaside players go both ways, they are liberally subbed. Seaside has some extremely serviceable second-line players like WR/DB Michael Sydmark, RB/LB Kenny Parker, and RB/DB Deveraux Evans. The offensive line is anchored by Tino Tautolo (6-2, 275), Andres Osorio (5-10, 240), Kasey Cole (6-5, 275) as well as Tuiolosega and Mapusoa.
Capuchino will have its cups full on Friday night. The Spartans will do everything in their power to stop Ewing from getting that rushing record if and until the game is out of reach. If the Mustangs can force Michael Turner to make some early mistakes, they could be in this game. It seems like a mismatch on paper, but that is the beauty of playoff high school football. Anything can happen.
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Matt Murphy is a former assistant football coach at Seaside High School. He was part of the staff that led the Spartans to the 2009 CCS Division III title. If you would like to submit content on high school sports in your area, please contact us at info@prep2prep.com or tweet us @Prep2PrepSports.
