PCAL Week 7
Last week 11-1 (SF beat Watsonville) Overall 80-22
Gabilan- (Alvarez Bye) – I think we are starting to see the cream rise to the top. Soquel and Salinas are clearly the best 2 teams in this division. Soquel made a huge statement last week by dominating Palma. Salinas was not impressive in its Thursday night win over hapless Alvarez, but they still took care of business. Meanwhile Monterey has established itself in that 2nd tier, with Palma and Hollister, after its beat down of Aptos. That’s the 2nd week in a row Aptos has been humbled in the PCAL. Not going to get much easier facing Palma.
Fri 10/11 Soquel (CA) at Hollister (CA), 7:30pm -Could be a trap game for Soquel? They had a big victory over Palma last week, they have a bye Alvarez next week. I could see slow start and a closer than expected game. Soquel 28-24
Fri 10/11 Salinas (CA) at Monterey (CA), 7:30pm- I am going to give Salians the benefit of the doubt here, they’ve earned it. Their game vs Alvarez was sloppy and way closer than it should have been, but Thursday night game vs an inferior opponent, those things can happen. They will need to be better vs a rejuvenated Monterey team. Salinas 35-28
Fri 10/11 Palma (Salinas, CA) vs Aptos (CA) at Salinas Sports Complex (Salinas, CA), 7:30pm- The Gabilan can be a meat grinder, Palma played Salinas and Soquel in back to back weeks. Their reward? A desperate and hungry Aptos team, that is looking to rebound after 2 humbling defeats. Coach Carnazzo needs to rally his young Palma team and not let them be deflated. Palma 35-14
Mission North (St Francis Bye)- The only certainty in the division is Seaside is struggling and MVC likes to throw the ball, a lot. Other than that this division is kind of a toss up. I still think Alisal and North Monterey County are the best, but St Francis is 5-1. Last few weeks of league games will be fun.
Fri 10/11 Scotts Valley (CA) at Monte Vista Christian (Watsonville, CA), 7:30pm- MVC QB has attempted 233 passes (38 per game) , next closes PCAL QB is at 121. That is a crazy amount of passing for team that is not winning consistently. SV coach Walter is known for tough Defense, even with a depleted roster, he should slow the passing game enough for the “upset”. Scott’s Valley 21-17
Fri 10/11 Alisal (Salinas, CA) at North Monterey County (Castroville, CA), 7:30pm- By far the best local game of the week. Winer will have the inside track on League title and a playoff birth. Alisal still struggling to score with a new offense, NMC has been a bit more consistent. NMC 24-17
Fri 10/11 Watsonville (CA) at Seaside (CA), 7:00pm- Seaside may have the most dynamic playmaker in the whole PCAL, unfortunately they only have 21 other healthy bodies to help him. Watsonville let me down in my Picks last week, but they should have enough to get by the undermanned Spartans. Watsonville 28-14
Mission South (Carmel Bye) – The battle for 2nd place will really come into focus after PG and North Salinas meet this weekend. Both teams had victories last week that set up this clash. Winner will probably make playoffs, loser will probably be out, as I don’t see either one earning enough points for an at large bid. King City was able to keep it close with Carmel for most of the 1st half, and their offense looks good, but KC has a turnover problem. I am not sure what happened to Rancho San Juan this year, but it is not good. They are being outscored 35-3.
Fri 10/11 Greenfield (CA) at King City (CA), 7:30pm -Greenfield has been struggling on offense, KC has been struggling on defenses. This should be a good game. KC wins if they don’t commit too many turnovers. But they do commit too many. Greenfield 24-20
Fri 10/11 North Salinas (Salinas, CA) at Pacific Grove (CA), 7:30pm- I have watched PG play and they can be inconsistent, they are 5-1 but their loss was against a physical Alvarez team and their schedule has been soft. North Salinas has played a tougher schedule and can be physical. North Salinas 20-17.
Fri 10/11 Soledad (CA) at Rancho San Juan (Salinas, CA), 7:30pm – I think this Ranch team would have a hard time wining a game in the Santa Lucia division this year. I thought this program was heading I the right direction, but now? Soledad 38-7
Santa Lucia (Gonzales Bye)- RLS took care of business vs Gonzales last week and have set themselves up for a showdown with SLV on 11/02. I am bringing a signal jammer to the game, just in case. Pajaro is still undefeated as well and could challenge either SLV or RLS. Santa Cruz is still winless but improving averaging 14 points a game. Harbor and Marina are still the same, 2 programs just trying to find consistency from year to year. It is a Santa Lucia Saturday!!!
Sat 10/12 Harbor (Santa Cruz, CA) at Pajaro Valley (Watsonville, CA), 12:30pm – Pajaro will probably go 3-0 in league after this game, but the last 3 leagues are Gonzales, RLS and SLV. Pajaro 35-14
Sat 10/12 Marina (CA) at San Lorenzo Valley (Felton, CA), 12:30pm -SLV has been the biggest surprise in the whole PCAL. They have a very tough defense only giving up 6 pts a game. They should easily take care of Marina. SLV 24-0
Sat 10/12 Santa Cruz (CA) at Stevenson (Pebble Beach, CA), 2:30pm – RLS will look to put together a full 4 qtrs of football this week. The Pirates have not been super consistent, and almost let Gonzales comeback and beat them last week. RLS 27-10
