It was one-and-done for both valley football teams in the Central Coast Section playoffs Saturday, Nov. 21.
After the teams finished in a three-way tie with Soquel for the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League crown, both valley teams played far from home in the first round of the playoffs and fell behind early to their opponents.
The sixth-seeded San Lorenzo Valley Cougars were toppled by the third-seeded Sacred Heart Prep of Atherton, 45-14, and the eighth-seeded Scotts Valley High Falcons were beaten soundly by speedy top seed Carmel High, 61-28.
Cougars play from behind in loss
SLV’s season was ended by a balanced Sacred Heart Prep team that limited star running back Kyle Todd’s touches by taking a 14-0 first-quarter lead, forcing the Cougars to play catch-up.
Todd rushed 14 times for 74 yards and a touchdown.
It was a blow to the Cougars, as Todd had rushed for more than 200 yards and had more than 24 carries in his previous two games.
On the flip side, Sacred Heart running backs Matt Walter and Chris Gaertner were difficult to stop, combining for 286 yards rushing and five touchdowns, with Gaertner adding four receptions for 94 yards.
After Sacred Heart jumped out to the early lead, junior Luke Roberts hauled in 14-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter for the first Cougars score. But the score was 24-7 Carmel heading into halftime.
Walter scored two touchdowns in the third quarter, the second a 50-yard scamper. Todd split Carmel’s touchdowns with one of his own, but Sacred Heart had a decisive 38-14 lead that the team would not relinquish, tacking on one final score in the fourth quarter.
Sacred Heart will play Menlo in the second round of the playoffs this weekend.
The Cougars finished the season 4-4-3, including a one-point win over Soquel.
Todd led the Central Coast Section in rushing yards (1,683) and tied for the lead in touchdowns (22).
It was an up-and-down season for the Cougars. After going 1-2-1 in the pre-league season, they played their way into the postseason by beating Soquel on a last-second touchdown and by tying with Scotts Valley and Santa Cruz to finish 3-1-2 in the SCCAL.
Carmel too much for Falcons
Scotts Valley was beaten by a dynamic performance from Carmel’s vaunted offense, which scored 61 points as it gained 568 yards in the rout.
For the Falcons, all the scoring came after halftime, as quarterback Blake Jurich connected with Ryan Estrada for two touchdowns, found receiver Aldin Barrett for another and himself caught a 15-yard heave from Barrett on a trick play.
Carmel had the game well in hand by that point, however, as running back Dylan Hopkins rushed 20 times for 135 yards and four touchdowns while catching three passes for 95 yards. Carmel quarterback Devin Pearson was a force as well, throwing for 234 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for 116 yards and a touchdown.
Scotts Valley defeated Carmel in the playoffs in 2007 and 2008, but the Padres exacted revenge this season.
The Padres play The Kings Academy in the second round. Academy sneaked by St. Francis last weekend, 22-18.
Scotts Valley finished the season 5-4-2, including a 3-1-2 record in the SCCAL. The team tied SLV and St. Francis, the other two teams from the league that reached the CCS playoffs.
Barrett starred for the team, catching 54 passes for 1,005 yards and 10 touchdowns. Jurich finished with 2,029 yards passing, throwing 20 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Last season, Jurich threw for 1,469 yards with 18 touchdowns and four interceptions.
Jake Bergman led the Falcons in rushing with 822 yards and nine touchdowns, and Ryan Estrada caught two touchdowns and rushed for six more on the season.
