Alvarez 14, Monte Vista Christian 0; Palma 56, North Salinas 28;
Hollister 32, Live Oak 14; Alisal 30, Seaside 22; North County 34,
Monterey 6
Alvarez 14, Monte Vista Christian 0
Quarterback JoJo Velasquez threw two touchdown passes Saturday, while the Alvarez defensive line did not budge against the double-wing offense of MVC.
The win was the first in six tries this year for Alvarez and the first for the Eagles’ new coach Ben Herning.
Velasquez aired out two 15-yard touchdown passes, one in the last minute of the first half to Ricardo Vizcaino, and the other early in the fourth quarter to Gabe Ruelas.
Monte Vista’s Kevin Carver, one of the MBL’s premier running backs who has averaged 90 yards a game this year. He netted only 19 in this one and was dropped for losses six times.
Alvarez’s Anthony Gonzalez compiled 74 yards rushing, while Velasquez made nine completions for 123 yards, the biggest a 65-yarder to Vizcaino to set up the game-clinching touchdown in the final period.
Palma 56, North Salinas 28
Palma scored on eight straight possessions Friday night to outslug North Salinas in a wild Tri-County Athletic League opener at the Salinas Sports Complex
North Salinas’ Selwyn Daye stripped the ball from the Palma runner on the second play of the game and returned it 36 yards for a touchdown. But Palma was virtually unstoppable from that point on.
Palma’s Luke Lippincott ran hard for 104 yards and two touchdowns in the first half – finishing with with 133 yards and three touchdowns. Ted Taylor also scored twice in the second quarter when Palma tallied 28 points.
In a thrill-a-minute second quarter, the two teams combined for 42 points.
North High’s Ronnie Drummer highlighted the action when he bolted for a 78-yard touchdown to cut the Palma lead to 28-14. Drummer finished with 14 carries for 128 yards.
Hollister 32, Live Oak 14
At Live Oak, Nick Bailey scored three touchdowns to lead the Balers over the Acorns in a T-Cal opener.
Bailey scored on runs of nine, six and one yard as Hollister went to 4-1-1 overall. Live Oak is 0-5-1.
Alisal 30, Seaside 22
Alisal made a statement Friday, defeating preseason Monterey Bay League championship pick Seaside, 30-22, in the league opener for both teams.
The Trojans have never gone to the Central Coast Section football playoffs in 37 seasons. Alias is now 1-0 and 2-3-1 overall. Seaside drops to 0-1 and 3-3.
The Trojans cashed in on three Seaside fumbles to jump out to a 16-7 lead at the half, then traded big plays with Seaside in the second half.
Two Seaside fumbles led directly to Alisal touchdowns, and a third killed a Seaside drive inside the Alisal 5. In all, Seaside had four turnovers and Alisal none.
Alisal’s Ibrahim Garfey rushed for 194 yards on 19 carries, including a 45-yard touchdown run.
Seaside made it interesting on a third-quarter 43-yard touchdown scamper by Keawe Block to make it 30-22 and threatened to strike for the equalizer several times in the final period. But Alisal’s defense stiffened. Defensive back Aloisses Rodriguez put out the fire once and for all by interecepting a Cruz-Gonzales pass as time ran out.
Trojans’ quarterback Fransico Estrada had a touchdown from a yard out on a sneak and kicker Vicente Rico added some spice with a 37-yard field goal.
North County 34, Monterey 6
The visiting North County High football team rode running backs Matt Diaz (150 yards) and Armando Rodriguez (111 yards) to victory.
North County struck in the first quarter when Michael Jenkins ran over two Toreadores on his way to a touchdown to cap an 11-play, 99-yard drive to make the score 7-0.
Monterey fumbled on their next possession, which resulted in a Nick Liedel touchdown pass to teammate Alex Doucet in the corner of the end zone to make the score 14-0.
Diaz added a 6-yard touchdown run with 0:51 left in the half to make the score 21-0 at half.
