The Scotts Valley High football team took a major detour in its quest for a Pacific Coast Athletic League championship banner last week.
With a chance to move ahead in the league standings, the Falcons instead suffered a 24-9 defeat to Monte Vista Christian in Mission North Division action Oct. 16.
“Hats off to Monte Vista, they took it to us,” said Scotts Valley head coach Louie Walters. “We were in the red zone four times, three in the first half, and we came out with the field goal. We just got to finish drives, and that’s what we’re not doing.”
With the loss, Scotts Valley dropped to 1-1 in league play with three games remaining in the 2026 fall season.
Scotts Valley was already without star player senior Jake Locatelli, who didn’t suit up due to an injury. But they also lost key starting players in Casey Gates and Ben Luckey for a majority of the second half after they left the field with leg injuries.
Apart from a depleted roster, the Falcons had trouble converting on 4th down and short situations. The turnover on downs resulted in 14 points for the opposition.
Senior running back Jordan Ramirez hardly showed any signs of rust coming off the bye week as he finished with a game-best 111 yards rushing and a pair of touchdowns for MVC, which improved to a 1-1 record in the league standings.
They also snapped a two-game losing streak, and put themselves in prime position for an automatic berth in the Central Coast Section playoffs.
“For us as a team, it meant more than anything,” Ramirez said. “We’ve been working towards it all week practicing, playing as one team. Tonight, we really went out and did it.”
Teammate junior Brandon Hagen added 53 yards on the ground and one TD for MVC, which ran the ball effectively throughout the evening.
“I just felt the energy of our line, especially,” Ramirez said. “We give it up to our O-line and our quarterback for keeping us all on the same page.”
Senior quarterback Evan Vessey tossed for 123 yards. Emilian Tenwinkel hauled in four receptions for 68 yards, while teammate James Tipton caught three passes for 39 yards.
Junior linebacker Reece Walker led the Mustangs with eight tackles, while teammate Rocco DeBernardo recorded one sack. Jannik Bley added one blocked kick on an extra point attempt by Scotts Valley, which showed signs of life early in the fourth quarter.
Senior quarterback Bryce McDonnell connected with senior wide receiver Nick Acton for a 10-yard touchdown that cut the deficit at 24-9.
The Falcon defense also did a great job of making a couple of stops when they needed to.
But MVC’s defense came up clutch with a pair of interceptions from both Gabe Figliomeni and Kai Bergthold that helped prevent any type of a comeback.
“[McDonnell] threw some beautiful passes, and we’re trying to get some double teams on it. But he put the ball on the spot,” said MVC head coach Joe Sturdivant. “That’s always been the mindset: bend, don’t break. Don’t make bad decisions on defense. Keep the ball in front of you as best you can and make the other team earn it.”
MVC (5-2, 1-1) hopes to keep things rolling against San Lorenzo Valley High (2-5, 1-1) in Felton on Oct. 24 at 12:30pm.
“Proud of them, but we got to make smart decisions and play smart football, and sound football, and get rid of the extracurricular activity,” Sturdivant said. “We gotta go 1-0 each week. We’ll get back on the board for next week, another great team to play.”
Scotts Valley (4-3, 1-1) will attempt to bounce back against Watsonville High (3-4, 1-1) on Senior Night at Harbor High School on Oct. 23 at 7:30pm.
“We just got to get better this week,” Walters said. “The bye week, I felt hurt us a little bit because we just sat around. Next week is Senior Night, so hopefully it’ll be a big night to honor our seniors.”
Girls golf
At Scotts Valley 177, Soquel 214: The Falcons earned their eighth straight Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League crown with a victory over the Knights in league action at DeLaveaga Golf Course on Oct. 15.
Zoe Robbins led the way for Scotts Valley with a round of 30, while teammates Lizzie Goldfield and Jess Ervine each shot 34. Camille Zwerling carded a 39, followed by Campbell Flores with a 40.
Soquel’s Joey Burgos delivered a highlight play with a superb approach shot out of a tough lie to birdie the first hole.
Burgos posted a team-low 32 for Soquel, followed by Hailey Noland (42), Meisa Soga (46), Marcella Miller (46) and Aeva Osborne (48).
Scotts Valley secured the SCCAL championship title by finishing with a 9-1 record in league play, and locked up a spot in the Central Coast Section postseason tournament Nov. 3.
Up next, local golfers will compete in the SCCAL 18-hole championship tourney where play transitions from high school guidelines to standard United States Golf Association rules.
The SCCAL tournament will take place at DeLaveaga Golf Course on Oct. 27 at 11am.
Girls tennis
At Scotts Valley 5, Soquel 2: The Falcons earned a victory against the Knights in SCCAL action Tuesday afternoon.
In singles action, freshman Marta Nadyer Camilo defeated Kassidy Seibert 6-2, 6-0 at the No. 1 spot, while freshman Raaga Chandiramani topped Quinn Decelle 6-3, 1-6, 1-0 (10-8) at No. 2.
Senior Montserrat Burgos Saavedra beat Addison Amsden 6-0, 4-6, 1-0 (10-8) at No. 3, while senior Raquel Sullivan finished off the sweep with a 6-1, 6-4 win against Haven Halter at No. 4.
In doubles play, Soquel’s Sydney Ramirez and Taylor Ramirez bested senior Georgia Chetcuti and sophomore Lily Flores 6-1, 6-1 at No. 1.
Knights duo Claire Nordahl and Elsa Gellert earned a 6-1, 6-2 victory over senior Konie Lim and sophomore Polina Diaz at No. 2.
The Falcons tandem of senior Alina Charley and freshman Lillian Foss edged Finley Galvan and Ella Moreno 7-6 (7-5), 1-6, 1-0 (12-10) at No. 3 as dusk fell.
“It was an exciting day of tennis, especially with the three tiebreaker wins,” said Scotts Valley head coach Scott Goodrich. “Soquel put up a good fight and it was super close but we fought hard too. Very proud of this team.”
Scotts Valley (6-4, 6-3) will host Santa Cruz in the teams’ SCCAL and regular season finale Thursday at 4:30pm. The Falcons are set to honor seniors Montserrat Burgos Saavedra, Raquel Sullivan, Konie Lim, Alina Charley, Zicheng Zeng and Georgia Chetcuti during a Senior Day celebration.
