Week 11
Final week of Regular season games in the PCAL. Some teams will be playing for a shot of the Playoff others for playoff seeding, while the rest will be playing for pride and to build for next year.
Gabilan- This could still be a contested division, but I think Salinas will take care of business vs Aptos and come out as sole league champion. There is a good chance Carmel comes in a tie for3rd place!? Are you kidding me? 31 player roster finished in a tie for third? This divisions biggest story, unfortunately, was Gilroy forced to forfeit their season.
Mission- Two great games this week. Seaside Vs MVC to decide a solo or co-league (or 3 way) championship. Alisal vs Soledad winner keeps playing loser turns in uniforms on Monday. The biggest surprise and story of this league was Monterey not being able to hold it together on the field and off which led to the suspension of the HC. It is reported he has been “cleared” and will return to the sidelines next season.
Cypress- How did Santa Cruz lose to PG and Scott’s Valley? Great job by the Cardinals who came from nowhere to win the division. This was the most competitive division top to bottom. Soquel, NMC and Gonzales still all have a chance (some better than others) to make the playoffs.
Santa Lucia- PG, as expected, won the division and nobody cares. They lose 22 of their 26-man roster to graduation next year, that is going to hurt. St. Francis and their 18-man wrecking crew proved to be great competition for anybody they played and rode that a team to a 2nd place finish. RLS and Greenfield had great rebound seasons and will be the favorites for next year in the division.
Rough week last week at 7-5. 105-38 for the season.
Fri 11/08 North Monterey County (Castroville, CA) at Gonzales (CA), 7:30pm: Winner will have an outside shot of making the playoff’s. looks like they may need some help from up north. I am taking the home town Spartans. Gonzales 20-18
Fri 11/08 San Lorenzo Valley (Felton, CA) at King City (CA), 7:30pm: SLV has had a long year, KC appears to be hitting a stride (Too Late) after their huge win over NMC last week. KC 35-20
Fri 11/08 Santa Cruz (CA) at Watsonville (CA), 7:30pm: These 2 teams have been playing each other since 1908!! That's pretty cool. Could not find any information on the all time series. Anyways Santa Cruz will win this years game. Santa Cruz 45-14
Fri 11/08 Alisal (Salinas, CA) at Soledad (CA), 7:30pm – An Alisal win can get them a share of the league title, with some help form Seaside. Winner makes the playoffs loser is done. Last year in the same situation Soledad pulled off the upset, this year Alisal returns the favor. Alisal 24-14
Sat 11/09 North Salinas (Salinas, CA) at Scotts Valley (CA), 2:00pm – Both these teams battled through a disappointing season. Loser may get moved down to Cypress division. NS in a mild upset 20-14
Sat 11/09 Monte Vista Christian (Watsonville, CA) vs Seaside (CA) at Watsonville (CA), 7:00pm- MVC can claim an outright Mission title with a win. Seaside has been playing inspired football despite losing some of their best players. I picked MVC at the start of the season, I will pick them again. MVC 28-21
Fri 11/08 Salinas (CA) at Aptos (CA), 7:30pm- Salinas is not good at stopping the run, Aptos is very good at running. Salinas is still the better team. Cal14 they will not put up 50, but they will win. Salinas 35-30
Fri 11/08 Palma (Salinas, CA) vs San Benito (Hollister, CA) at Salinas Sports Complex (Salinas, CA), 7:30pm
projection: These 2 longtime rivals go at again, Hollister is the only local team that has really competed with Palma over the past 30+ years. (Relax I know Salinas has won the last 3 with Palma). But Palma is just better this year. Palma 24-14
Sat 11/09 Alvarez (Salinas, CA) at Carmel (CA), 2:00pm- Carmel 3rd in the Gabilan? That is just funny to me. I believe with a win and losses by Hollister and Aptos, Carmel will get the 4th seed as Aptos will have more points. Do not discount Alvarez, who with a win, may be able to get into the playoffs, with lots of help. But Carmel’s speed will win. Carmel 45-21.
Fri 11/08 Pacific Grove (CA) vs Marina (CA) at Monterey Peninsula College (Monterey, CA), 6:00pm
projection: It would be awesome if Marina won this game. They won’t but it would be way cool. PG 45-7
Fri 11/08 St. Francis (Watsonville, CA) vs Harbor (Santa Cruz, CA) at Santa Cruz (CA), 7:30pm
projection: Great season for St. Francis. By far the most heart of any team in the PCAL. Harbor won a game and were competitive in some others. That is good for this struggling program. St Francis Rolls 45-14
Sat 11/09 Stevenson (Pebble Beach, CA) vs Pajaro Valley (Watsonville, CA) at Cabrillo College (Aptos, CA), 7:30pm
projection: RLS had a nice season, honestly probably what could be expected. You could say the same about PV as well. Look for RLS to challenge next year for the Title, and I hope PV continues to improve as well. RLS 35-21.
There are rumors floating around what this league will look like next year. Right now, it is my understanding it will go to a 6-8-8-8 format with the new Salinas school, Rancho San Juan, fielding a varsity team in the Santa Lucia. We can debate latter, but look for Gilroy to drop to Cypress (for obvious reasons), Carmel to Mission (Due to lack of a JV program) while Soquel and Santa Cruz switch with North Salinas and Scott’s Valley between the Mission and Cypress. PG will stay in the Santa Lucia because they can't hang. MVC may ask to move up to the Gabilan, which would probably put Christopher into the Mission. For the record, all the above are just rumors and speculation on my part. (But that’s what message boards are for)
Final week of Regular season games in the PCAL. Some teams will be playing for a shot of the Playoff others for playoff seeding, while the rest will be playing for pride and to build for next year.
Gabilan- This could still be a contested division, but I think Salinas will take care of business vs Aptos and come out as sole league champion. There is a good chance Carmel comes in a tie for3rd place!? Are you kidding me? 31 player roster finished in a tie for third? This divisions biggest story, unfortunately, was Gilroy forced to forfeit their season.
Mission- Two great games this week. Seaside Vs MVC to decide a solo or co-league (or 3 way) championship. Alisal vs Soledad winner keeps playing loser turns in uniforms on Monday. The biggest surprise and story of this league was Monterey not being able to hold it together on the field and off which led to the suspension of the HC. It is reported he has been “cleared” and will return to the sidelines next season.
Cypress- How did Santa Cruz lose to PG and Scott’s Valley? Great job by the Cardinals who came from nowhere to win the division. This was the most competitive division top to bottom. Soquel, NMC and Gonzales still all have a chance (some better than others) to make the playoffs.
Santa Lucia- PG, as expected, won the division and nobody cares. They lose 22 of their 26-man roster to graduation next year, that is going to hurt. St. Francis and their 18-man wrecking crew proved to be great competition for anybody they played and rode that a team to a 2nd place finish. RLS and Greenfield had great rebound seasons and will be the favorites for next year in the division.
Rough week last week at 7-5. 105-38 for the season.
Fri 11/08 North Monterey County (Castroville, CA) at Gonzales (CA), 7:30pm: Winner will have an outside shot of making the playoff’s. looks like they may need some help from up north. I am taking the home town Spartans. Gonzales 20-18
Fri 11/08 San Lorenzo Valley (Felton, CA) at King City (CA), 7:30pm: SLV has had a long year, KC appears to be hitting a stride (Too Late) after their huge win over NMC last week. KC 35-20
Fri 11/08 Santa Cruz (CA) at Watsonville (CA), 7:30pm: These 2 teams have been playing each other since 1908!! That's pretty cool. Could not find any information on the all time series. Anyways Santa Cruz will win this years game. Santa Cruz 45-14
Fri 11/08 Alisal (Salinas, CA) at Soledad (CA), 7:30pm – An Alisal win can get them a share of the league title, with some help form Seaside. Winner makes the playoffs loser is done. Last year in the same situation Soledad pulled off the upset, this year Alisal returns the favor. Alisal 24-14
Sat 11/09 North Salinas (Salinas, CA) at Scotts Valley (CA), 2:00pm – Both these teams battled through a disappointing season. Loser may get moved down to Cypress division. NS in a mild upset 20-14
Sat 11/09 Monte Vista Christian (Watsonville, CA) vs Seaside (CA) at Watsonville (CA), 7:00pm- MVC can claim an outright Mission title with a win. Seaside has been playing inspired football despite losing some of their best players. I picked MVC at the start of the season, I will pick them again. MVC 28-21
Fri 11/08 Salinas (CA) at Aptos (CA), 7:30pm- Salinas is not good at stopping the run, Aptos is very good at running. Salinas is still the better team. Cal14 they will not put up 50, but they will win. Salinas 35-30
Fri 11/08 Palma (Salinas, CA) vs San Benito (Hollister, CA) at Salinas Sports Complex (Salinas, CA), 7:30pm
projection: These 2 longtime rivals go at again, Hollister is the only local team that has really competed with Palma over the past 30+ years. (Relax I know Salinas has won the last 3 with Palma). But Palma is just better this year. Palma 24-14
Sat 11/09 Alvarez (Salinas, CA) at Carmel (CA), 2:00pm- Carmel 3rd in the Gabilan? That is just funny to me. I believe with a win and losses by Hollister and Aptos, Carmel will get the 4th seed as Aptos will have more points. Do not discount Alvarez, who with a win, may be able to get into the playoffs, with lots of help. But Carmel’s speed will win. Carmel 45-21.
Fri 11/08 Pacific Grove (CA) vs Marina (CA) at Monterey Peninsula College (Monterey, CA), 6:00pm
projection: It would be awesome if Marina won this game. They won’t but it would be way cool. PG 45-7
Fri 11/08 St. Francis (Watsonville, CA) vs Harbor (Santa Cruz, CA) at Santa Cruz (CA), 7:30pm
projection: Great season for St. Francis. By far the most heart of any team in the PCAL. Harbor won a game and were competitive in some others. That is good for this struggling program. St Francis Rolls 45-14
Sat 11/09 Stevenson (Pebble Beach, CA) vs Pajaro Valley (Watsonville, CA) at Cabrillo College (Aptos, CA), 7:30pm
projection: RLS had a nice season, honestly probably what could be expected. You could say the same about PV as well. Look for RLS to challenge next year for the Title, and I hope PV continues to improve as well. RLS 35-21.
There are rumors floating around what this league will look like next year. Right now, it is my understanding it will go to a 6-8-8-8 format with the new Salinas school, Rancho San Juan, fielding a varsity team in the Santa Lucia. We can debate latter, but look for Gilroy to drop to Cypress (for obvious reasons), Carmel to Mission (Due to lack of a JV program) while Soquel and Santa Cruz switch with North Salinas and Scott’s Valley between the Mission and Cypress. PG will stay in the Santa Lucia because they can't hang. MVC may ask to move up to the Gabilan, which would probably put Christopher into the Mission. For the record, all the above are just rumors and speculation on my part. (But that’s what message boards are for)
Last edited:
