PCAL Week 3
Week 14-5 Overall 27-11
Gabilan: Salinas had a really nice win over Valley Christian, good sign if the top team in Gabilan can easily defeat a middle of the road WCAL team. Top Gabilan schools are not as strong as Serra, St. Francis and Riordan (maybe?), but they can hold their own vs the rest of the league. Soquel lost to another Norcal elite, SRV, 14-7. But they should be just fine come league. Monterey’s big loss to Menlo Atherton was disappointing as they seemed to kind of give up. Palma walloped King City for no reason other than to avoid DI playoffs (in my opinion). Hollister and Aptos lost by a bigger number than I would of expected. Both teams need to be more consistent. And Alvarez got their first win of the year vs an over matched PG team, I like it when PG loses. 😊
Fri 09/13 Aptos (CA) vs Watsonville (CA) at Cabrillo College (Aptos, CA), 7:30pm- Aptos should be able to rebound after a big loss to Mitty. Aptos 35-14
Fri 09/13 Oak Grove (San Jose, CA) at Hollister (CA), 7:30pm- Lets see what version of the Haybalers shows up. The one that beat a good Branham team or the one that Wilcox blew out. Oak Grove is not as good as they used to be. Hollister 28-14
Fri 09/13 Alvarez (Salinas, CA) at Rancho San Juan (Salinas, CA), 7:30pm-Rancho San Juan is really struggling, if they don’t turn it around they maybe going down to the Sant Lucia next year. Alvarez 34-10
Fri 09/13 Clovis (CA) at Salinas (CA), 7:30pm -Battle of the Rodeo belt buckle. It’s a cool looking trophy. Great win last week over VC for Salinas. But Clovis just put 57 on a good Frontier program. Clovis 34-24
Fri 09/13 Valley Christian (San Jose, CA) at Soquel (CA), 7:30pm Soquel eases off the schedule just a little as they take on VC. Soquel 21-7
Fri 09/13 Palma (Salinas, CA) at Yuma Catholic (Yuma, AZ), 7:30pm- Don’t know much about Yuma catholic other than its about 10+ hours away and Cal Preps gives them a 15. That’s a long bus ride. Yuma 17-10
Mission North – Coming into the year I thought Scott’s Valley, Alisal and Seaside were 3 of the top 4 teams in this division. All 3 suffered bad losses last week. Scott’s valley could be in big trouble as Branham beat them decisively, not only that I am hearing numbers are way down. Same thing for Seaside as Carmel really put a beating on them. Seaside only dressed 24. Alisal is still looking for its first win after close loss to crosstown rival North Salinas. But this is the type of game Alisal needs to win in order to be of any threat in the playoffs. MVC had a nice bounce back win over Santa Clara. NMC continues to roll, but beating Marina is no big deal. Same can be said for Watsonville and St Francis, as they both beat their Santa Lucia matchups last week.
Thu 09/12 Sequoia (Redwood City, CA) at Alisal (Salinas, CA), 7:00pm – The more “wide open” offense at Alisal is not quite working, they should still be able to get by a struggling Sequoia team. Alisal 27-10
Thu 09/12 St. Francis (Watsonville, CA) at Greenfield (CA), 7:30pm – I like this matchup, should be close. But with Greenfield having defeated a truly fantastic team last week, I will go with the Bruins. Greenfield 24-20
Fri 09/13 Carlmont (Belmont, CA) at Monte Vista Christian (Watsonville, CA), 7:00pm- MVC was able to open up the offense vs a mediocre Santa Clara team. Carlmot lost a shoot out with Menlo. Lots of points in this one. Carlmont 48-40
Sat 09/14 Sobrato (Morgan Hill, CA) at North Monterey County (Castroville, CA), 7:00pm- This will be a very good test for NMC who is 2-0 and playing with a lot of confidence. Sobrato is also 2-0 with wins over NS and Live Oak. Sobrato 24-17
Sat 09/14 Scotts Valley (CA) at San Lorenzo Valley (Felton, CA), 2:00pm -Scott’s Valley was humbled last week and will look to rebound vs their neighbor. But SLV has been playing very good football to start the year. Scott’s Valley 20-18
Mission South -This just in... Carmel likes to score, a lot. They easily dispatched of an outmanned Seaside team (running Clock). The one chink in their armor seems to be they will give up the big play. North Salinas had a very nice win vs Alisal. Greenfield was able to stop a late RLS scoring drive with an interception in the endzone as time expired and then beat RLS in OT. Soledad was able to hold off Gonzales at home, while being the visitor? PG lost to Alvarez so that was good. Rancho San Juan is still looking to score its first offensive points of the season after losing 34-2 to Los Altos. The Trailblazers are struggling. And KC was overwhelmed by Palma.
Thu 09/12 Gonzales (CA) at Pacific Grove (CA), 7:30pm- I am taking this as my upset special this week. PG probably has a little more than Gonzales, but you know I hate picking them. Gonzales 21-20
Fri 09/13 Carmel (CA) at Miramonte (Orinda, CA), 7:00pm -I saw Carmel last week in person, and they are as good as advertised. They had no problem in moving the ball at will vs an undermanned Seaside team. But they did give up (even their starters) some big plays to Seaside. They will get burned if they give up too much to a very good Miramonte team. Carmel 48-45
Fri 09/13 North Salinas (Salinas, CA) at Santa Cruz (CA), 7:30pm- Great win last week for NS, and it is goof to see Santa Cruz scoring some points. North Salians 24-10
Sat 09/14 Branham (San Jose, CA) at Soledad (CA), 12:30pm -I am going to have to start including Branham in my predictions as they take on their 3rd PCAl team this year. They should make 2-1 vs PCAL. Branham 24-7
Santa Lucia- RLS was slow, inconsistent, and out of sorts the first half. Then stormed back in the 2nd half and took a lead. Only to let Greenfield tie it, but RLS went right down the field and promptly threw a interception in the endzone from the 5 yard line with less than a minute left. Greenfield had all the momentum and won in OT. SLV and Harbor were the only 2 winners from the division last week. SLV looks like a legit contender to RLS and Gonzales for the title this year. Pajaro and Santa Cruz put valiant efforts in defeat. Marina looked bad in their loss to North Monterey County.
Fri 09/13 Pajaro Valley (Watsonville, CA) at Denair (CA), 7:00pm -PV is playing better football this year and that’s a good thing for this program. Denair 35-28
Sat 09/14 Washington (San Francisco, CA) at Stevenson (Pebble Beach, CA), 2:30pm- I think this game is in San Francisco and not in Pebble Beach. Hopefully RLS can get over last weeks heartbreak, put up a W vs a Washington school that played Oakland Tech tough in a loss. RLS 27-24
Week 14-5 Overall 27-11
Gabilan: Salinas had a really nice win over Valley Christian, good sign if the top team in Gabilan can easily defeat a middle of the road WCAL team. Top Gabilan schools are not as strong as Serra, St. Francis and Riordan (maybe?), but they can hold their own vs the rest of the league. Soquel lost to another Norcal elite, SRV, 14-7. But they should be just fine come league. Monterey’s big loss to Menlo Atherton was disappointing as they seemed to kind of give up. Palma walloped King City for no reason other than to avoid DI playoffs (in my opinion). Hollister and Aptos lost by a bigger number than I would of expected. Both teams need to be more consistent. And Alvarez got their first win of the year vs an over matched PG team, I like it when PG loses. 😊
Fri 09/13 Aptos (CA) vs Watsonville (CA) at Cabrillo College (Aptos, CA), 7:30pm- Aptos should be able to rebound after a big loss to Mitty. Aptos 35-14
Fri 09/13 Oak Grove (San Jose, CA) at Hollister (CA), 7:30pm- Lets see what version of the Haybalers shows up. The one that beat a good Branham team or the one that Wilcox blew out. Oak Grove is not as good as they used to be. Hollister 28-14
Fri 09/13 Alvarez (Salinas, CA) at Rancho San Juan (Salinas, CA), 7:30pm-Rancho San Juan is really struggling, if they don’t turn it around they maybe going down to the Sant Lucia next year. Alvarez 34-10
Fri 09/13 Clovis (CA) at Salinas (CA), 7:30pm -Battle of the Rodeo belt buckle. It’s a cool looking trophy. Great win last week over VC for Salinas. But Clovis just put 57 on a good Frontier program. Clovis 34-24
Fri 09/13 Valley Christian (San Jose, CA) at Soquel (CA), 7:30pm Soquel eases off the schedule just a little as they take on VC. Soquel 21-7
Fri 09/13 Palma (Salinas, CA) at Yuma Catholic (Yuma, AZ), 7:30pm- Don’t know much about Yuma catholic other than its about 10+ hours away and Cal Preps gives them a 15. That’s a long bus ride. Yuma 17-10
Mission North – Coming into the year I thought Scott’s Valley, Alisal and Seaside were 3 of the top 4 teams in this division. All 3 suffered bad losses last week. Scott’s valley could be in big trouble as Branham beat them decisively, not only that I am hearing numbers are way down. Same thing for Seaside as Carmel really put a beating on them. Seaside only dressed 24. Alisal is still looking for its first win after close loss to crosstown rival North Salinas. But this is the type of game Alisal needs to win in order to be of any threat in the playoffs. MVC had a nice bounce back win over Santa Clara. NMC continues to roll, but beating Marina is no big deal. Same can be said for Watsonville and St Francis, as they both beat their Santa Lucia matchups last week.
Thu 09/12 Sequoia (Redwood City, CA) at Alisal (Salinas, CA), 7:00pm – The more “wide open” offense at Alisal is not quite working, they should still be able to get by a struggling Sequoia team. Alisal 27-10
Thu 09/12 St. Francis (Watsonville, CA) at Greenfield (CA), 7:30pm – I like this matchup, should be close. But with Greenfield having defeated a truly fantastic team last week, I will go with the Bruins. Greenfield 24-20
Fri 09/13 Carlmont (Belmont, CA) at Monte Vista Christian (Watsonville, CA), 7:00pm- MVC was able to open up the offense vs a mediocre Santa Clara team. Carlmot lost a shoot out with Menlo. Lots of points in this one. Carlmont 48-40
Sat 09/14 Sobrato (Morgan Hill, CA) at North Monterey County (Castroville, CA), 7:00pm- This will be a very good test for NMC who is 2-0 and playing with a lot of confidence. Sobrato is also 2-0 with wins over NS and Live Oak. Sobrato 24-17
Sat 09/14 Scotts Valley (CA) at San Lorenzo Valley (Felton, CA), 2:00pm -Scott’s Valley was humbled last week and will look to rebound vs their neighbor. But SLV has been playing very good football to start the year. Scott’s Valley 20-18
Mission South -This just in... Carmel likes to score, a lot. They easily dispatched of an outmanned Seaside team (running Clock). The one chink in their armor seems to be they will give up the big play. North Salinas had a very nice win vs Alisal. Greenfield was able to stop a late RLS scoring drive with an interception in the endzone as time expired and then beat RLS in OT. Soledad was able to hold off Gonzales at home, while being the visitor? PG lost to Alvarez so that was good. Rancho San Juan is still looking to score its first offensive points of the season after losing 34-2 to Los Altos. The Trailblazers are struggling. And KC was overwhelmed by Palma.
Thu 09/12 Gonzales (CA) at Pacific Grove (CA), 7:30pm- I am taking this as my upset special this week. PG probably has a little more than Gonzales, but you know I hate picking them. Gonzales 21-20
Fri 09/13 Carmel (CA) at Miramonte (Orinda, CA), 7:00pm -I saw Carmel last week in person, and they are as good as advertised. They had no problem in moving the ball at will vs an undermanned Seaside team. But they did give up (even their starters) some big plays to Seaside. They will get burned if they give up too much to a very good Miramonte team. Carmel 48-45
Fri 09/13 North Salinas (Salinas, CA) at Santa Cruz (CA), 7:30pm- Great win last week for NS, and it is goof to see Santa Cruz scoring some points. North Salians 24-10
Sat 09/14 Branham (San Jose, CA) at Soledad (CA), 12:30pm -I am going to have to start including Branham in my predictions as they take on their 3rd PCAl team this year. They should make 2-1 vs PCAL. Branham 24-7
Santa Lucia- RLS was slow, inconsistent, and out of sorts the first half. Then stormed back in the 2nd half and took a lead. Only to let Greenfield tie it, but RLS went right down the field and promptly threw a interception in the endzone from the 5 yard line with less than a minute left. Greenfield had all the momentum and won in OT. SLV and Harbor were the only 2 winners from the division last week. SLV looks like a legit contender to RLS and Gonzales for the title this year. Pajaro and Santa Cruz put valiant efforts in defeat. Marina looked bad in their loss to North Monterey County.
Fri 09/13 Pajaro Valley (Watsonville, CA) at Denair (CA), 7:00pm -PV is playing better football this year and that’s a good thing for this program. Denair 35-28
Sat 09/14 Washington (San Francisco, CA) at Stevenson (Pebble Beach, CA), 2:30pm- I think this game is in San Francisco and not in Pebble Beach. Hopefully RLS can get over last weeks heartbreak, put up a W vs a Washington school that played Oakland Tech tough in a loss. RLS 27-24
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