SALINAS VALLEY — South Monterey County high schools hit the gridiron last Thursday, Friday and Saturday to mark the beginning of the football season.
King City, Greenfield and Gonzales came out winners, while Soledad fell at home in the pre-season opener.
KING CITY
In a contest that took place last Saturday afternoon in Watsonville, the King City Mustangs defeated host St. Francis Sharks by a 24-10 score.
Sophomore running back Carson Tidwell scored three touchdowns and ran for 156 yards on 19 carries to lead the Mustang rushing attack. Tidwell had a nine-yard, 11-yard and one-yard runs for touchdowns.
Quarterback Jesus Manriquez ran for 80 yards and threw for a total of 87 yards, while Johell Carrillo completed the scoring with a 31-yard field goal and three PATs.
King City head coach Mac Villanueva felt his team did well in following the game plan against St. Francis.
“The line did a great job opening up in the running lanes, and Carson Tidwell ran hard at running back,” Villanueva said. “Sophomore safety JC Navarro and cornerback Fabian Herrera both had good games in the secondary. We ran out quarterback Jesus Manriguez for the last play of the game and he sealed the game with an interception.”
On Friday, the Mustangs (1-0) take the drive to Salinas High to play the Palma Chieftains in a 7:30 p.m. game. The Chieftains (1-0) opened the pre-season with a 34-0 win at Morgan Hill over Live Oak.
“Palma is a very good team that is well coached,” Villanueva said. “They have a good run game and are physical and athletic on defense.”
GREENFIELD
In Friday’s game against the Watsonville Wildcatz, the Greenfield Bruins trailed for most of it but secured the season opener with a 14-7 win late in the contest thanks to a 24-yard touchdown run by quarterback Chris Morris.
“We have a few young players on the offensive and defensive lines and it took a bit for them to settle down and make the plays we needed,” said Greenfield head coach Adam Barsenas. “For some of our linemen, that was their first time as varsity football players.”
Greenfield fell behind 7-0 as Watsonville (0-1) scored on its opening drive with some solid runs followed by a 17-yard pass from quarterback Tino Razo to receiver Anthony Landa. The Wildcatz added the PAT to take the lead.
Greenfield cut the lead to 7-6 with a one-yard run by AJ Martinez. The Bruins missed a chance to tie the game as a PAT attempt fell short.
The Bruins (1-0) clinched the game when Morris followed his blockers and scored the winning touchdown with an 18-yard run. Morris completed the drive with a two-point conversion to make the final score 14-7.
The next game for Greenfield will be Saturday at 2:30 p.m. in Pebble Beach with the Robert Louis Stevenson Pirates. The game with the Bruins is the season opener for the Pirates.
GONZALES
Gonzales Spartans kicked off the season with a hard-fought 14-0 win in Salinas against the Rancho San Juan Trailblazers last Thursday night.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Spartans got on the scoreboard with a 24-yard touchdown run and two-point conversion run by Ely Cisneros.
Gonzales took a 14-0 lead in the third quarter with an 11-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ray Blanco to receiver Alejandro Anguiano. Defensively, Anguiano had a timely interception and broke up a Trailblazer pass.
Cisneros led the Spartans in rushing with 71 yards on six carries, and Juan Luis Arriola added 42 yards on four carries. Blanco ran for 28 yards and had a six-of-14 passing performance for 75 yards.
Gonzales head coach Eddy Ramirez said he was pleased with the results of the game and looks forward to the upcoming game with Soledad this week.
“I think we still have a lot to work on, but the kids played at a high level,” Ramirez said. “Soledad always has a good team and they will be motivated to get their first win. It will be a big test for us.”
The Gonzales-Soledad game will start at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at Gene Martin Stadium in Soledad.
SOLEDAD
Soledad Aztecs (0-1) had a rough outing in the home pre-season opener on Friday, losing by a 43-0 score to Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep (1-0).
“We were overpowered by Sacred Heart Cathedral’s speed and size coming from the West Catholic Athletic League, the highest rated league in the CCS (Central Coast Section),” said head coach Marc Villanueva. “I felt our defense was competitive in the first half. For the game, Joshua Glover contributed with a career-high three sacks. Our offensive line struggled getting any type of push and our skill players had trouble getting separation against a very skilled man coverage.”
The Aztecs have a week to prepare for this week’s home game on Friday against the Gonzales Spartans at 7:30 p.m.
“Gonzales we feel is always an elevated stakes game in that we play for the Heritage Trophy,” Marc Villanueva said. “We feel we will need to be as prepared as possible, as Gonzales always comes out playing inspired and on another level in these type of games.”
