GILROY — It was a mission accomplished for Christopher Friday night.
The Cougars were looking to rebound and they did so with a vengeance, topping Pajaro Valley (3-5 overall, 0-4 in league) 41-6 at home to snap a two-game losing streak and pick up their first league victory.
Christopher (4-3, 1-2) was led by Rayshon Mills — who was named homecoming king at halftime — who picked up 200 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries for his best game since Week 2 against Live Oak (21 carries, 208 yards).
“We did it together as a team,” Mills said after the game. “No one shined more than anyone — we did it as a team. …We were down, we were in a slump. We had that nasty taste in our mouth, so it feels good to get it out.”
Sterling Montgomery was stellar for the Cougars going 16 for 21 for 186 yards with a touchdown in the game.
The Christopher defense certainly redeemed itself after the heartbreaking 26-23 loss to Everett Alvarez on Oct. 18. The Cougars D maintained a shutout up until the last two minutes of the game when PV’s J.J. Casares broke free for a 91-yard score.
“I think our kids are playing better right now; I don’t think that we’ve played too bad all year,” Christopher coach Tim Pierleoni said. “Struggling is part of life and these guys are getting to learn a lesson about struggling and how we react to it. …They pulled themselves up and played really well.”
Christopher will look to take the momentum from this game on the road, playing at Watsonville at 7:30 p.m. tonight. Road games have been no problem for CHS so far this season as the team has picked up three of it’s four wins outside of Gilroy.
The Wildcatz (3-4, 1-2) will be looking to rebound from their 45-10 loss to North Salinas on Oct. 18. They feature a dastardly duo of running backs in Alexis Munoz and Alex Azevedo who both have over 400 yards this season.
“They really do a good job with their zone read, that pistol look and they’re coached up real well. Their coach does a really good job and they run really hard — both of them run really hard,” Pierleoni said. “When you’re dealing with option read teams, you’ve got to play assignment football and then run to their assignment and then tackle. … We need all of those 11 helmets (to the ball) and that’s what we’re going to have to do against a pretty darn good team.”
As the Cougars prep to play Watsonville, Coach Pierleoni said he’s just looking to see his team continue to improve and put into play the things its been practicing all week.
“You’ve got to be crisp on both sides of the ball,” he said. “We’re trying to play a perfect game. We’re trying to coach a perfect game, we’re trying to play a perfect game and a lot of times that doesn’t happen, but that’s always going to be what we strive for.”
