SALINAS VALLEY — Three of the four South Monterey County high school football teams are still in the hunt for league titles.
Greenfield Bruins
Last Saturday, the Greenfield Bruins traveled to Pebble Beach to face the Stevenson Pirates for first place in the Santa Lucia Division. The Bruins gave them one hell of a game, but the Pirates ultimately took the win, 21-13.
Greenfield’s Alonso Barcenas and Cristian Zavala each scored a touchdown in the game.
Now, when it comes to the playoffs, the Bruins are on the outside looking in, but not all hopes are lost yet. There is still a path for them to claim their league title.
Greenfield will have to win their remaining games and hope their rivals from Gonzales can beat Stevenson this Friday. If the Spartans win, they will set up a season finale that could have them and Greenfield playing for a share of the league title.
The Bruins will next host Pajaro Valley on Friday.
Gonzales Spartans
After losing to Marina, the Gonzales Spartans have won two straight games, and if they can win two more, they will take the Santa Lucia Division title outright.
The Spartans will now face the division’s top two teams, Stevenson and Greenfield.
Beginning this Friday, Gonzales will host the Stevenson Pirates, who beat the Greenfield Bruins last week. If the Spartans can pull off the upset, they will set up a showdown with the Bruins for the league title.
Soledad Aztecs
Soledad Aztecs had the luxury of sitting back and enjoying the past week off to prepare for their final two games.
First up for the Aztecs are their rivals from King City on Friday, and then if the Aztecs take care of business, they will set up arguably the biggest regular-season finale in school history against St. Francis on Nov. 4 for the Cypress Division.
Soledad has to be the favorite in their final two games, as they showed their offense and defense could be one of the best in the area.
King City Mustangs
This past Saturday, the King City Mustangs’ playoffs and title hopes took a blow when they lost to St. Francis, 51-28.
Although the Mustangs got dominated, they still had some great performances. King City’s JJey Martinez was 19-30 for 337 yards and three touchdowns, and Raul Garcia had nine receptions for 139 yards and one touchdown.
The Mustangs will most likely miss the playoffs again, but the season still has meaning. This Friday they will host Soledad in a rivalry game, and to finish the season on Nov. 4, they will play Pacific Grove, who knocked them out of the playoffs last year.
