Even though the Christopher football team led Pajaro Valley 42-0 at halftime, there was still plenty Coach Tim Pierleoni has to use as teaching moments for his boys.
The Cougars improved their record to 7-1 overall and 4-0 in the Monterey Bay-Pacific Division with a 49-14 trouncing of Pajaro thanks to an offensive explosion in the first half as Christopher its pieces back at just the right time.
The Cougars had players return to the team from ineligibility, including Joe Criado to shore up the offensive line.
“Those kids who are now eligible have made us better,” Pierleoni said.
But the biggest benefit to the game was getting the second string in for most of the second half, Pierleoni said.
“I really wanted all the kids to play. The coaches did good job getting everybody into the game,” Pierleoni said.
And because of that, the Cougars got the best lesson they could in a blowout.
With Christopher leading 49-7 late in the game, the Cougars fumbled the ball at the Grizzlies scooped up and returned it for a touchdown.
“If you lose focus at anytime in the game, that is what can happen to us,” Pierleoni said. “We are not a team who can lose focus. Last night was great illustration of what happens if we are not focused.”
In the first half, however, Christopher was as good as it could have been.
Quarterback Matt Adamkiewicz threw just two incompletions on the night, setting the tone for running backs Raul Tovar, who had a couple of touchdowns and Freddy Mireles and receivers Anthony Sammut and Alex Pacheco, who all had touchdowns in the game.
Defensively, Jacob Moen led the charge up the middle with Jacob Zimmerman and Xander Bowers blitzing off the edges to shutdown Pajaro’s attack.
Now Christopher has to gear up for a contest that should decide the league championship. North Monterey County will arrive at Christopher with one loss in league play if it beats Watsonville on Saturday.
If Christopher loses that game, it will mean the Severance Bowl at season’s end against Gilroy could mean that much more.
Pierleoni is confident his boys have put in the time necessary to see the league championship through.
“They have worked extremely hard in the offseason. It has been 3-year process,” Pierleoni said. “Most of them came up as sophomores and going 2-8 in their first year. But they did a good job last year learning how to win with the seniors.”
Kickoff for next week’s game against NMC is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 7.
