Scotts Valley’s dream of a perfect season was on the line in last week’s battle of the unbeatens against Stevenson.
Those aspirations came to a crashing halt as the Falcons fell to the Pirates, 17-7, in the teams’ non-league football finale Oct. 4.
“I just think they came out a little bit stronger than we did, and we kind of shot ourselves in the foot a couple times,” said Scotts Valley senior Caden Kilpatrick. “We hung in there in the second half, held them to three points against the best offense we’ll see all year. But, I really think it just came down to our own mental mistakes.”
The Falcon starting quarterback scored the team’s lone touchdown of the afternoon that put them within one score of the Pirates at 14-7 early in the fourth quarter.
But prior to that, Kilpatrick had a huge 65-yard touchdown run in the third quarter that was called back due to a holding penalty on the offense.
In the second quarter, a well-orchestrated hook-and-ladder play to senior Vaughn Chomentowski put Scotts Valley in prime position to tie the game at 7-all.
Instead, another unclear holding penalty was called on the Falcons to negate the big gain.
“It was an even game, two teams that played really hard, and two teams that are pretty good football teams,” said Scotts Valley head coach Louie Walters. “Caden Kilpatrick played a hell of a game. Our defense played a hell of a game. We can’t win big games by shooting ourselves in the foot.”
Despite the “drive killers” on offense, Scotts Valley’s defense held its own by containing a potent Stevenson offense that was averaging 40.5 points per game going into last week’s contest.
The Pirates came storming out of the gates by nearly returning the opening kick off for a score. A couple of plays later, senior running back Tono Borgamini scored from 1 yard out that gave them a 7-0 lead early in the first quarter.
Borgamini finished with 70 rushing yards on 24 carries.
Stevenson senior quarterback Fin Mink made it a two score game with his 1-yard rushing touchdown just before halftime. He completed 15-of-26 pass attempts for 136 passing yards.
Teammate senior Caden Olson hauled in nine catches for 83 receiving yards.
“They were just getting us on a lot of screens, just the short-game stuff,” said Kilpatrick. “But we had a really good preparation all week. They were just getting some short, quick passes that they took the distance multiple times.”
While under center, Kilpatrick said Stevenson’s defensive line, especially senior Cody Thacher, proved to be troublesome the entire afternoon.
“It was really hard for us to get momentum and get our offense going,” said Kilpatrick. “We just couldn’t stay on schedule.”
Kilpatrick’s 2-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter provided a much-needed spark for the Falcons, who had cut the deficit in half at 14-7.
However, the Pirates responded with a game-sealing drive that was capped off with a 24-yard field goal.
“The game plan was to try and control the ball, and keep our defense off the field. That was the goal,” said Walters. “I thought we did a pretty good job. Stevenson is legit. That is a good football team.”
Up next, Scotts Valley (4-1) begins Pacific Coast Athletic League Mission Division-North play against San Lorenzo Valley at Harbor High on Saturday at 7:30pm.
At Soledad 35, San Lorenzo Valley 21: The Cougars fell to the Aztecs in the teams’ non-league finale on Oct. 2. SLV (3-2) will begin PCAL Mission Division-North play against Scotts Valley at Harbor High School on Saturday at 7:30pm.
High school Flag football
Falcons, Cougars fall in SCCAL play: Scotts Valley extended its losing streak to two following a 38-25 defeat to Aptos in Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League action at Soquel High on Oct. 1.
San Lorenzo Valley remains winless after a 52-6 loss to Soquel in league action also at Soquel High on Oct. 1.
Next up, Scotts Valley (3-2) plays San Lorenzo Valley at Harbor High School on Wednesday at 7pm.
Girls’ cross country
SV’s Decleve takes second at Artichoke Invitational: Scotts Valley senior Ava Decleve and UCLA commit took second in 13 minutes, 44 seconds at the Artichoke Invitational on Oct. 4.
Sonoma Academy junior Josie Hill (13:35) won the race on the three-mile course at Half Moon Bay High, followed by Decleve and Las Lomas sophomore Ella Malick (13:56) in third.
Scotts Valley junior Hanna Shehorn (13:58) placed fourth, while Northgate junior Olivia Joseph (14:00) took fifth.
Northgate won the team title with a score of 36 points, followed by Scotts Valley (81) in second and Las Lomas (95) in third.
SLV sophomore Skyla Leggett (15:12) placed 17th, while Scotts Valley senior Jennifer Brownfield (15:39) and sophomore Stella Sutcliffe (15:44) took 24th and 25th, respectively.
Boys’ cross country
SV’s Weiss has top-10 finish at Artichoke Invitational: Scotts Valley senior Aaron Weiss placed seventh in 12:28 at the Artichoke Invitational on Oct. 4.
Teammate junior Jackson Stull (12:53) took 20th, while SLV junior Jonathan Santi (13:15) placed 43rd.
Girls’ golf
Falcons remain undefeated in SCCAL play: Scotts Valley senior Lauren Ohlsson shot a 30 on the front six holes at Seascape Golf Club to earn medalist honors, and the Falcons edged Aptos, 205-207, in Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League play Tuesday afternoon.
Teammate Campbell Flores shot a 38, followed by Lizzie Goldfield (44), Zoe Robbins (45) and Camille Zwerling (48).
Last week, Ohlsson shot a 1-over par 24 on the front six at DeLaveaga Golf Course to earn medalist honors in the Falcons’ 176-235 win over Harbor in league play Oct. 2. She recorded a par on every hole except for hole No. 3.
Teammates Zoe Robbins and Lizzie Goldfield each shot a 33 for the Falcons. Robbins drained a par on holes No. 1 and 5, while Goldfield recorded a birdie on the first hole.
Campbell Flores shot a 40 and Camille Zwerling shot a 46 for Scotts Valley, which improved to a 6-0 record in league play this season.
The Falcons continue league play against SLV at Boulder Creek Golf and Country Club on Thursday at 4:30pm.
Girls’ tennis
Santa Cruz 4, at Scotts Valley 3: The Cardinals won three of four singles matches, and one of three doubles matches to secure the win over the Falcons in SCCAL action Tuesday afternoon.
In singles play, Scotts Valley’s Georgia Chetcutti won in straight sets 6-3, 6-3 at No. 4, while Santa Cruz’s Francesca Garces, Julia Kennedy and Camille Lambert each also won their matches in straight sets.
Scotts Valley’s Montserrat Burgos-Saavedra and Raquel Sullivan defeated Lauren Vermeil and Natalie Wolkstein in a three-set tiebreaker 6-2, 2-6, 1-0 (10-6) at No. 1 doubles.
At No. 2 doubles, Santa Cruz’s Zosia Hayes and Lu Mohamed beat Konie Lim and Alina Cherley in straight sets 6-1, 6-3.
And in the days’ longest match, which ended in darkness, Zicheng Zeng and Lily Flores of Scotts Valley beat Viv Bench and Camille Samios 6-4, 5-7, 1-0 (10-6) at No. 3.
Next up, Scotts Valley (2-6, 2-3) hosts Harbor on Thursday at 4pm.
Girls’ volleyball
Falcons sweep league season series against Harbor: Scotts Valley senior Hayden Smith had 16 kills and eight digs, and the Falcons defeated Harbor in four sets 21-25, 25-16, 25-16, 25-18 in SCCAL action Tuesday evening.
The Falcon outside hitter added four aces and a pair of blocks, while teammate senior Rylee Giesen compiled 15 kills, 12 digs, two aces and two blocks.
Ava Dumesny, a junior, tallied 22 assists, while senior Harlan Hennager added six kills and four blocks for Scotts Valley, which remains atop of the SCCAL standings with a 7-1 record.
With the win, it also marks the first-ever regular league season sweep over Harbor in the program’s history.
Makayla McDonnell had three aces, three kills and a pair of blocks, while Aila Papadopoulos had eight digs and two aces. Zoe Norris contributed five kills and one block, and Dylan Wing finished with three aces and seven digs.
Smith compiled 20 kills, 17 digs and a pair of blocks for the Falcons in a loss to Soquel in five sets 25-20, 20-25, 25-23, 25-23, 16-14 on Sept. 30.
Teammate Rylee Giesen had 11 kills, 16 digs and six aces, while junior Zoë Norris, had seven kills, four digs and two blocks. Harlen Hennager, a senior, finished with eight kills, three digs and one block, while senior Makayla McDonnell had three kills, three blocks and a pair of digs.
The Falcons bounced back by defeating Santa Cruz in another thriller that went five sets 21-25, 25-20, 25-12, 18-25, 20-18 on Oct. 2.
Smith tallied 21 kills and 12 digs, while Giesen had 16 kills and 11 digs. Ava Dumesny, a junior, contributed a team-best 34 assists and 10 digs, while teammate senior Aila Papadopoulos finished with 12 digs and a pair of aces.
Next up, Scotts Valley (13-3, 7-1) plays at Aptos in SCCAL play on Thursday at 6:30pm.
