Both the San Lorenzo Valley and Scotts Valley High School football teams ran into stout opposition in Week 2 and hope to turn the tide in Week 3.
Scotts Valley
Scotts Valley High will travel to Le Grand to face the Bulldogs of Le Grand High at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 14.
The Falcons are coming off a 40-7 loss to Central High School in Texas during their annual out-of-state preseason trip.
In that game, Central opened with a 99-yard return touchdown on its way to scoring three touchdowns in each of the first two quarters. The home team took a 40-0 lead into halftime.
The Falcons got on the board when Garrett Johnston plunged into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown midway through the fourth quarter.
Ari Wargon led the way with 17 carries for 87 yards for the Falcons, while Johnston was 7-for-17 passing for 83 yards with two interceptions.
Friday’s game pits Scotts Valley against the 1-1 Bulldogs, who fell 25-10 to Livingston High of Livingston last weekend.
San Lorenzo Valley
The Cougars hope to improve on offense on Saturday, Sept. 15, against the Knights of Hillsdale High after falling a week earlier, 27-12, to visiting Edison High of Stockton.
In last week’s game, the Cougars scored all their points on two interception returns for touchdowns in the first half, among their six interceptions on the day.
Edison opened the scoring by returning an errant throw from sophomore quarterback Isaac Newberry 25 yards for a touchdown. The visitors muffed the extra point. On the following Edison possession, SLV’s Trevor Patterson returned a Julian Garcia pass 30 yards for a touchdown.
A short time later, the Cougar linebacker Robby Biagiotti intercepted Garcia for a 40-yard touchdown return. SLV was unable to convert either extra point and took a 12-6 lead into halftime.
“Our defense started out really strong,” Biagiotti said after the game. “We were able to net their fast players. After halftime, we weren’t able to stop their quick guys. We weren’t getting their cutbacks.”
In the second half, SLV missed a field goal on its opening possession, followed by Patterson’s third interception of the contest. However, the drive stalled when Edison intercepted a Newberry pass near the end zone.
After a scoreless third quarter, Edison ran in three touchdowns as the Cougar defense seemed to tire in the fourth, taking a 27-12 lead that they would not relinquish.
“We played good, hard defense,” said Doug Morris, the SLV head coach. “If we could have gotten our offense going, it might have been a different outcome.”
The Cougars forced seven turnovers in all, including Patterson’s three interceptions and single interceptions by Biagiotti, Duncan Mackie and Ben Knudson. Mackie also recovered a fumble in the first half.
Kjell Johnson rushed for 51 yards on 11 carries, and Jayson Bryson provided a spark with six carries for 36 yards.
Newberry finished 9-for-27 with 99 yards and three interceptions. However, he found a rhythm with Lucas Sinnott, who had eight catches for 87 yards, often catching short passes and gaining yardage after breaking the first tackle.
SLV will travel to Hillsdale High School in San Mateo at 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 15. Hillsdale is 0-2 on the season.
