San Lorenzo Valley junior running back Justin Griffis finished with a game-best 173 rushing yards and three touchdowns, and the Cougars cruised to a 50-26 victory against Harbor in non-league football action Sept. 5.
“When we jumped out to a big lead early, it takes all the pressure off, but I knew that [Harbor] has weapons,” SLV head coach David Grant said. “We were telling our team we got to play four quarters against every team.”
Jesse Fulkerson, a sophomore, had another breakout game for the Cougars by tallying 84 rushing yards and a pair of TDs on nine carries. Teammate junior Cody Goulart had 22 rushing yards and scored once for SLV, which built a 33-0 lead going into halftime.
“Overall, I was just really impressed with the way we came out,” Grant said.
With the win, the Cougars are off to a 2-0 start for a second consecutive season after they won eight straight to begin the 2024 campaign.
Myles Schindler, a senior, made his SLV debut at quarterback after missing the season-opener against South San Francisco with a leg injury. He completed 9-of-13 pass attempts for 152 yards and one touchdown to senior receiver Kenji Pane.
“Having that extra week made a big difference,” Grant said. “We’re glad to have [Schindler] back. He threw the ball really well, ran the offense really well. That was pretty cool.”
On defense, junior Jacob Hardin had 10 total tackles, while senior Josh Matta recovered one fumble.
Next up, SLV (2-0) heads into an early bye week before playing at Stevenson in non-league action Sept. 20 at 2pm.
In 2024, the Pirates handed the Cougars their lone loss of the season during a game that ultimately decided a Pacific Coast Athletic League Santa Lucia Division champion.
SLV and Stevenson were promoted to the Mission-North and Mission-South, respectively, which means they’ll be competing for different league titles.
“I don’t think our kids need any speeches from me about, ‘remember last year,’” Grant said. “They know this is a big challenge. And that’s what I like about this team, is they’re up for it.”
Scotts Valley 35, Santa Cruz 6: Senior running back Vaughn Chomentowski had three touchdowns in the Falcons’ crushing win over the Cardinals in non-league play Sept. 6.
Chomentowski finished with a game-best 117 rushing yards on just seven carries, while teammate senior Jake Locatelli had 91 rushing yards on nine carries. Cole Robbins added a 6-yard TD in the fourth quarter.
Senior quarterback Caden Kilpatrick was nearly perfect through the air, completing 7-of-9 pass attempts for 100 yards and one touchdown to senior receiver Isaac Currie.
On defense, Chomentowski recorded one interception, while junior Ben Luckey recovered one fumble. Senior linebacker Caleb Mendoza was credited with one sack.
Scotts Valley’s defense has allowed just six points in two contests played this season.
The Falcons (2-0) head into a bye week before heading down to South Monterey County to play at Greenfield (0-2, 0-1) in non-league action Sept. 19 at 7:30pm.
Girls’ cross county
SV’s Decleve shines at Jackie Henderson Memorial: Scotts Valley senior and UCLA commit Ava Decleve placed third in 17 minutes, 37 seconds at the Sixth Annual Jackie Henderson Memorial Invitational at North Monterey County High on Sept. 6.
Decleve finished behind Evergreen Valley junior Sivani Kaliki (17:37) in second and Saint Francis sophomore Brinley Pickett (17:33), who won the three-mile race in a field of 149 runners.
The Falcons took third as a team with a score of 51 points, followed by Evergreen Valley (63) in second and this year’s champion Saint Francis of Mountain View (51).
Other top Falcon finishers included junior Hanna Shehorn (18:15) in 11th, senior Dylan Turzak (19:51; 39th), senior Jennifer Brownfield (20:04; 43rd), junior Hailey Shehorn (20:17; 44th) and freshman Ada Tanner (26:33; 142nd).
SLV sophomore Skyla Leggett placed 49th in 20:33, followed by juniors Beth Gabrielson (21:13) in 62nd and Stella Gerlach (22:48) in 96th.
Scotts Valley is scheduled to compete at the Baylands Invitational at Baylands Park in Sunnyvale on Saturday morning.
SLV will compete at the Second Annual Tom Leikam Invitational at Pinto Lake County Park in Watsonville on Sept. 20. Varsity races are scheduled to begin at 10am.
Boys’ cross country
Locals compete at Jackie Henderson Memorial: San Lorenzo Valley junior Jonathan Santi placed 65th in 16:44 at the Sixth Annual Jackie Henderson Memorial Invitational at North Monterey County High on Sept. 6.
Teammate sophomore Lukas Reynolds (19:02) took 173rd, followed by senior Daniel Peabody (19:28; 186th), junior Miles Hash (19:44; 193rd), senior Lukas Stewman (20:47; 204th), junior Chase Hash (21:56; 213th) and junior Max Saslawsky (24:51; 217th).
Jackson Stull, a junior, was the top finisher for Scotts Valley, placing 74th in 16:51. Teammate senior William von Haunalter (17:41) took 126th, followed by senior Jacob Ezgar (17:51; 136th), junior Joshua Adams (17:52; 137th) and sophomore Cullen Dickenson (19:05; 177th).
Prep flag football
Scotts Valley 40, San Lorenzo Valley 0: Leanna Hinn, Natalia Lapiol, Hannah Shehorn, Brooklyn Williams and Presley Pastrell each recorded one interception for the Falcons en route to a shutout win over the Cougars in the teams’ Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League opener Sept. 3.
Pastrell returned her interception for a touchdown, while Lucy Gramkowski had four sacks.
On offense, Lyla Rebbert, Brooke Lesniak and Gabby Casillas each had one TD, while Brooklyn Willams scored twice for Scotts Valley (1-0, 1-0), which plays Harbor (0-0) in SCCAL action at Aptos High on Wednesday at 7pm.
SLV (0-1, 0-1) plays at Aptos (0-2, 0-2), also Wednesday at 8:15pm.
Girls’ volleyball
Scotts Valley 3, at Palma 0: Senior Rylee Giesen had a game-best 15 kills and nine digs in the Falcons’ three-set 25-15, 25-19, 26-24 victory over the Chieftains in non-league play Sept. 4.
Teammate senior Aila Papadopoulos finished with 13 kills and six digs, while Ava Dumesny had a game-best 26 assists.
Makayla McDonnell added six kills and a pair of blocks for Scotts Valley (2-0), which plays at Harbor in SCCAL action Thursday at 6:30pm.
