PCAL Week 3
So, I do this for fun. I really enjoy High school football and I love following the local teams. Between my picks last week for the PCAL and the weekly NCP Pick ‘em game, I think I have proven I could never make it as a High School football bookie. It was Bad
For the PCAL it was a good week. Salinas led the charge with a great win over Valley Christian. The CCS DI playoffs should be Serra’s to lose. But I am excited for the 3 publics of Salinas, Wilcox and Menlo-Atherton to challenge them. I am guessing one of those will see Serra early in the DI playoffs.
Palma finally found some offense in a “surprising” win over SHC. Campolindo was able to avenge last years beat down to Aptos. Soquel keeps winning close games beating a good Hillsdale team, and Monterey was slowed down by Aragon.
My beloved Pirates of RLS played a tough game, but alas, fell for the 3rd time in a row to St Francis. Defense looked good; Offense may have trouble scoring this year.
Last week 11-10 Overall 23-18
Gabilan
Thu 09/08 Monte Vista Christian (Watsonville, CA) at Alisal (Salinas, CA), 7:30pm- Alisal has 2 good wins, they have even thrown a little bit. MVC has not looked good in either loss. Alisal 28-7
Thu 09/08 Valley Christian (San Jose, CA) at Hollister (CA), 7:30pm – Both teams come off losses to 2 of the better CCS teams this year (Salinas and Wilcox), VC is big but seems to be missing some playmakers. Hollister sems a bit more balanced. Hollister 24-20
Fri 09/09 Mission Prep (San Luis Obispo, CA) at Aptos (CA), 7:00pm – Mission Prep is one of those privates that is really good for a few years then struggles for a few years (like MVC?) Aptos has been a model of consistency under Blankenship. Aptos 35-14
Fri 09/09 Clovis (CA) at Salinas (CA), 7:00pm – After 2 huge road victories over VC and Clayton Valley, Salinas host a perineal power in Clovis. Clovis was blown out by Long Beach Poly and had 2 close victories over Sanger and Whitney. I like Salinas, they are a little small up front, but they have playmakers on both sides of the ball. Salinas 28-24
Fri 09/09 Santa Cruz (CA) at Soquel (CA), 7:30pm - Soquel is playing, so it will be a 1 possession game. This should be a good matchup between 2 longtime rivals. Going with the home team. Soquel 24-23
Sat 09/10 Atascadero (CA) at Alvarez (Salinas, CA), 5:00pm – Atascadero was once a powerhouse down in San Luis Obispo County. They have struggled the past few years. Alvarez 17-10
Sat 09/10 Palma (Salinas, CA) vs Hilmar (CA) at Salinas Sports Complex (Salinas, CA), 1:00pm – A rare Saturday afternoon home game for Palma. Palma seems to have settled on a QB, and the offense was much better. Palma 24-15
Mission
Fri 09/09 North Monterey County (Castroville, CA) at Monterey (CA), 7:30pm -Monterey lost a close one to Aragon last week but the defense was great again. I think they will be too fast and quick for NMC. Monterey 35-14
Fri 09/09 Gilroy (CA) vs North Salinas (Salinas, CA) at Salinas Sports Complex (Salinas, CA), 7:00pm – Gilroy had a great win over Carmel last week. North Salinas is struggling to score points. Gilroy 35-7
Fri 09/09 Terra Nova (Pacifica, CA) at Seaside (CA), 7:30pm – Seaside is not a disappointment, but they are not as good as I thought they would be. A close win vs an average Piedmont team and a close loss to a average Pacheco team. Just thought they would be better. Terra Nova 27-14
Fri 09/09 Carmel (CA) at Soledad (CA), 7:30pm – Carmel was a disappointment last week. Need more consistency on offense. They are young and they will bounce back. Soledad had a nice win over an improving Greenfield team. Carmel will be a tougher out. Carmel 23-14
Fri 09/09 Scotts Valley (CA) at Watsonville (CA), 7:30pm – Scott’s valley has looked really good first 2 weeks of the season. Watsonville, not so much. SV 48-7
Cypress
Thu 09/08 St. Francis (Watsonville, CA) at Greenfield (CA), 7:30pm – Greenfield has a close loss to Soledad and a great victory over King City. St. Francis has looked very solid beating MVC and RLS. St Francis 24-14
Thu 09/08 Gonzales (CA) at King City (CA), 7:30pm – Battle for the Megaphone. Monterey County’s longest rivalry is renewed. KC has a bad loss to Greenfield and close a loss to Alisal. Gonzales has a close loss to Rancho San Juan and PG. Maybe a tie, that would be cool. KC 21-20
Sat 09/10 Pajaro Valley (Watsonville, CA) at Pacific Grove (CA), 2:00pm- I will be rooting really hard for Pajaro. But…PG 35-14
Sat 09/10 Rancho San Juan (Salinas, CA) at Sobrato (Morgan Hill, CA), 2:30pm -Rancho is one of the better stories this year. Starting out 2-0 is great. Sobrato will be one of the better teams they face this year. Let’s see if Rancho can keep rolling. Rancho San Juan 28-25
Santa Lucia
Fri 09/09 Harbor (Santa Cruz, CA) at Saratoga (CA), 7:30pm - 2-0 Harbor! That is great for this struggling program. Taking Saratoga because they have played a little bit better competition. Saratoga 33-28
Sat 09/10 Richmond (CA) at San Lorenzo Valley (Felton, CA), 2:00pm – SLV has been outscored 105-7. The schedule does get a little easier, but that is a lot for these kids to handle. Richmond 42-35
Sat 09/10 Monta Vista (Cupertino, CA) vs Marina (CA) at Seaside (CA), 4:00pm- Marina has looked good in its 2 games. They made the right call in only fielding a JV team last year. Those kids learned to play vs equal opponents. The results are paying off. Marina 25-20
Sat 09/10 Webb (Claremont, CA) at Stevenson (Pebble Beach, CA), 12:00pm -Don’t know much about Webb, all I know is that they are going to lose to a superior RLS team. RLS 21-20
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