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The San Lorenzo Valley High foot ball team scored touchdowns on three of their its four drives in a 31-15 win over Aptos High
 Aptos wide receiver Joe Cofman (left) tries to wrestle down San Lorenzo Valley’s Ryan Lopez after Lopez intercepted a Mariners pass during the Cougars’ victory this past weekend. Lucjan Szewczyk/Press-Banner
The Cougars (3-2 overall, 1-0 league) will be pitted against the high-scoring offense of the Knights (3-2, 1-0), a unit that averages more than 29 points per game. The Cougars average about 17.
“Soquel is a great team, and we’re the underdogs,” said linebacker Robert Szakacs. “We’re going to have to fight like underdogs.”
The Knights are a smash-mouth squad that shares the ball between running backs Tyler Evey, Niko Alarcon and George Dunlap. Unconventional quarterback Kyle Evans has rushed for seven touchdowns to lead the team in scoring while throwing two scores.
The Knights mix in big pass plays to keep opposing defenses honest.
But the Cougars defense seems to be peaking at the right time.
Against Aptos on Saturday, Oct. 4, Beau Gregory scored twice for the Cougars in a game marked by the Cougar’s ability to stop the run — Aptos was held to 43 yards rushing on 22 attempts.
“Some things went our way, and some things went their way,” said Cougar coach Doug Morris. “It was certainly an interesting game.”
The Cougars got on the board on their first drive when Gregory broke up the middle for a 42-yard touchdown.
Aptos came back with a field goal of its own before a 13-play-drive resulted in a 7-yard scoring pass from SLV quarterback Trevor Romele to tight end Robert McKissock. Romele finished 11-for-12 for 189 yards and two touchdowns in his best game of the season so far.
The Cougars tacked on another touchdown on a second-and-23 from their own 10-yard line. Gregory released up the field from his running back position, and Romele found him in stride for a 90-yard catch and run to the end zone.
“Defensively, those always hurt,” Morris empathized.
The Mariners came right back, and after a 47-yard pass to Zach Powell, Aptos scored on a short pass. The score was 21-9 after a missed extra-point attempt.
On the kickoff, a squib kick hit a player in the Cougar front line, and Aptos recovered. But the defense rallied, as Gregory picked off a long pass attempt to end the half.
In the second half, a Cougars punt bounced off an Aptos player and was scooped up by cornerback Ryan Lopez. Lopez also intercepted a pass later in the contest.
Alex Luera drilled a 24-yard field goal for SLV, and Bradley Hill scored his second touchdown of the season in the fourth quarter after carrying seven consecutive times. Hill finished with 89 yards on 18 carries to lead the Cougars.
Nolan Pfyl sacked Aptos quarterback Miles Norton on back-to-back plays in the fourth quarter, combining on the first one with Bryce Harbert.
“(Pfyl is) a stronger senior, and he’s coming up and playing well,” Morris said.
A 95-yard touchdown return by Aptos’ Powell and a failed 2-point conversion ended the game.
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