Monterey Bay Prep Report Article

10/12/01
Palma At Gilroy	07:30pm
Hollister At North Salinas	07:30pm
Seaside At King City	07:30pm
Soledad At Pacific Grove	07:30pm

10/13/01
Salinas At Alvarez	02:00pm
Live Oak At Monterey	02:00pm
Alisal At North County	02:00pm
Gonzales At Carmel	02:00pm
Greenfield At Stevenson	02:00pm

Friday's Games

Palma (5-0) At Gilroy (5-0)

Game Time:	7:30	Location:	Gilroy High
Last Year
In an MBL showdown between two 5-0 teams, 3 costly Gilroy interceptions corralled the Mustang offense in a 28-10 loss to Palma. The Chieftains patiently marched up and down the field with a methodical ground game that featured Nick Noroian rushing for 112 yards a touchdown, and versatile Justin Cambier scoring a rushing and receiving touchdown. Gilroy running back Danny Gallo rushed for 128 yards, but 75 yards of that came on a late touchdown run after the outcome of the game had already been decided.
Notes

Gilroy (5-0) and Palma (5-0) meeting for a share of first place in the MBL - sound like last year? There are a lot of similarities besides the records of both teams. Last season, Palma came limping into the game after rallying late to salvage a tie with 1-3 Live Oak (Hollister forfeit eventually made LO 2-2). Last week, the Palma offense struggled to put points up against 1-3 Alisal. Last season, Gilroy rolled over Salinas leading up the their showdown with Palma. Last week Gilroy dominated defending CCS D2 champion Hollister 37-21. If Gilroy can minimize its turnovers and control the ball, the Mustangs will be very difficult to beat at home. Gilroy's Chris Thomas leads the area in touchdown receptions (6), and Gilroy running back J.L. Mangono leads the area in rushing touchdowns (8). Gilroy has scored 66 points in the first quarter, more points than half of the area's teams have scored all season. The Palma defense has allowed only 6 points in the first quarter.

Hollister (3-2) At North Salinas (1-4)

Game Time:	7:30	Location:	Salinas Sports Complex
Last Year
An early 1st quarter North Salinas punt snap out of the end zone gave Hollister all the momentum it would need for a 32-9 home victory at Andy Hardin Field. Mario Serafini had a standout night for the Balers, scoring on touchdowns runs of 4, 21 and 3 yards, respectively.
Notes

The emergence of the North Salinas offense, coupled with a big Baler loss to Gilroy last week, no longer makes this game a "gimme" on the Hollister schedule. North Salinas' punishing run defense will force Hollister to the air, where the Balers have struggled all season. Despite a 1-4 record, a North Salinas playoff berth is not out of the question. The Vikings would likely make the playoffs with a 6-4 record, and possibly with a 5-5 record. North Salinas must win their games against Alisal (1-4), Monterey (0-5) and North County (1-4), and split with Hollister and Salinas to make it to 5-5. A preseason loss to eventual SCCAL league champion San Lorenzo Valley will also bolster Viking playoff power points.

Seaside (3-2) At King City (1-4)

Game Time:	7:30	Location:	King City
Last Year
The Seaside offense exploded for 8 touchdowns in a 55-7 scorching of King City. Spartan quarterback Anthony Garnett threw for 200 yards and 4 touchdowns, including a 61 yard strike to Brian Holmes. Holmes also rushed for 107 yards and a touchdown. The game featured close to 800 yards of combined offense for both teams.
Notes

Both squads come into play reeling from tough losses. Seaside was knocked out of first place in the MTAL with a 16-0 loss to Soledad. King City was stunned 28-7 by a rebuilding Stevenson team. With a solid core of returning talent, King City was considered a preseason contender for an MTAL playoff spot. At 1-4 and 0-2 in league, the Mustangs have not lived up to those early expectations. Statistically, King City has one of the better rushing teams in the area, and is even in turnovers forced and allowed (7). Hurting the Mustang cause are an eye-popping 15 rushing touchdowns allowed in 5 games.

Soledad (2-3) At Pacific Grove (4-1)

Game Time:	7:30	Location:	Breaker Stadium
Last Year
Pacific Grove dominated on the scoreboard 31-8, breaking the game open in the 2nd quarter with 17 unanswered points. Both teams combined for 460 total yards of offense. Four Soledad turnovers, including a 25 yard interception return in the 2nd quarter by Breaker Erick Consiglio, helped tame the Aztecs.
Notes

Soledad jumped back into the MTAL title hunt with a 16-0 victory last week over Seaside. A 1-4 start to the season has put the Aztecs in an early "must win" mode. A win will not come easily Friday night against league leading Pacific Grove. After an opening game blowout at the hands of the Salinas Cowboys, the Breakers have bounced back with 4 straight wins. Breaker Phil Shin leads all area receivers with 26 catches and 385 receiving yards.

Saturday's Games

Salinas (4-1) At Alvarez (5-0)

Game Time:	2:00	Location:	Alvarez High
Last Year
In a defensive struggle that saw no points scored in the second half, Salinas scored 13 points in the 2nd quarter and held on for a 13-6 victory at "the PIT". Cowboy Christian Taylor rushed for 136 yards, including a 55 yard touchdown burst in the 2nd quarter that put Salinas ahead for good.
Notes

Alvarez is currently undefeated and ranked #5 in the CCS by the San Jose Mercury. Salinas comes into the game ranked #10 in the CCS, with a close loss to Palma being the only blemish on the Cowboy record. Both teams feature explosive running games and tenacious defenses. Salinas comes into the game as the top rushing team in the area, averaging 281 yards per game. Alvarez is right behind, averaging 255 rushing yards per game. The Alvarez defense has allowed a miserly 156 yards total offense per game - by far the best in the area, and has allowed only 48 points this season.

Live Oak (1-4) At Monterey (0-5)

Game Time:	2:00	Location:	Monterey High
Last Year
After taking a 7-0 lead, Monterey surrendered seven unanswered touchdowns in a 49-7 thrashing by Live Oak. Acorn running back Donnie Murphy had a spectacular night, rushing for 166 yards and 4 touchdowns on just 16 carries. Live Oak amassed 511 total yards of offense in the game.
Notes

Two once-proud programs have fallen on hard times, coming into Saturday's contest with a combined 1-9 record. Live Oak, one-year removed from a CCS D1 playoff berth, has struggled to put points on the board. The Acorns have scored just 19 points in their last three games, and have scored 47 points for the season. Monterey has been able to move the ball effectively with a very balanced offense, but an area-worst 16 turnovers have resulted in some very lopsided Toreador losses. Monterey has surrendered over 50 points in each of their last two losses, and has allowed 169 points on the season - the most of any team in the area.

Alisal (1-4) At North County (1-4)

Game Time:	2:00	Location:	North County High
Last Year
North Monterey County posted a 21-0 shutout at Alisal. The Trojans were limited to 109 yards of offense by a stingy Condor defense. Two long touchdown runs sparked the Condor offense: Sergio Anaya scored on a 30 yard run in the 3rd quarter, and and A.J. Garcia scored on a 51 yard jaunt in the 4th quarter.
Notes

The Alisal defense comes into Saturday's game having surrendered the most yards in the area (1697), but have equalized that to a certain degree by forcing 12 turnovers. In their victory over Monterey, Alisal forced 7 turnovers. After scoring 18 points in a season opening victory over Soquel, North County has scored just 19 points in their 4 consecutive league losses. Alvarez held North County to 1 yard passing last week. North County is the only area team to have not scored a point in the first quarter.

Gonzales (1-4) At Carmel (4-0)

Game Time:	2:00	Location:	Carmel High
Last Year
Two 4th quarter touchdown runs by Efren Castro lifted Gonzales to a 26-13 victory over Carmel. Castro rushed for 103 yards and two touchdowns in the Spartan victory.
Notes

Gonzales, currently ranked last in the area in pass defense, faces one of the area's most potent passing attacks. In just 4 games, Padre quarterback Pat Johnston has thrown for 649 yards and 5 touchdowns, placing him third in the area despite playing one less game. The Carmel offense has only turned the ball over 3 times, while the defense has allowed 463 yards rushing this season, the lowest in the area.

Greenfield (1-3) At Stevenson (2-3)

Game Time:	2:00	Location:	Pebble Beach
Last Year
The Stevenson defense limited Greenfield to 46 total yards of offense in a 19-0 Pirate shutout. Chris Bonifas rushed for 123 yards and a touchdown as Stevenson rolled up 231 total rushing yards.
Notes

After throwing 4 interceptions in a 26-20 loss to Gonzales two weeks ago, Stevenson quarterback Chris Jackson rebounded nicely last week by throwing for 218 yards and a touchdown in a 28-7 win over King City. Jackson leads the area with 803 passing yards. It is no secret that Stevenson likes to put the ball in the area; the Pirates have attempted 112 passes - no other team has cracked 90 attempts. Greenfield has been forced to play from behind most of the season, allowing 40 first quarter points while in return only scoring 6. Greenfield has been shut out in all three of its losses.