San Lorenzo Valley continues to operate at peak efficiency after a 2-0 start in Pacific Coast Athletic League Mission Division-North play this season.
The latest accomplishment for the Cougars was a thrilling come-from-behind 23-21 victory over St. Francis on Oct. 18.
With one minute remaining in the contest, SLV senior Gabe Machado hauled in a quick screen pass and took it downfield into the end zone for the go-ahead score.
“I knew I was gonna do something with it,” Machado said. “I just see green to the left, follow the blockers. They armed tackled me, I popped out the side and I was like ‘Oh my God, no way.’ It was a crazy feeling.”
Prior to that, junior quarterback Myles Schindler hit senior receiver Kenji Pane on a post route for a 40-yard pass that set the Cougars up for the game-winning touchdown.
“We knew it was gonna be a close game,” said SLV head coach David Grant. “I’m just so excited for the way that our team finished.”
In the fourth quarter, junior kicker Kolby Handley made a 27-yard field goal that gave SLV the lead at 17-14. Grant said it turned out to be one of the biggest plays of the afternoon even though it was a TD that sealed the deal.
“It took a little bit of the pressure knowing if this is the final score, it came down to that field goal,” he said.
SLV was coming off a 13-7 victory over rival Scotts Valley in the teams’ Mission-North opener on Oct. 11.
Machado had family visiting from out of town to attend the biggest contest of the season. He said getting the win meant a lot because it’s the first time they beat the Falcons in two consecutive years since 2005-06.
“I was freaking preparing all week, getting my mind right,” Machado said. “Saturday, I woke up, I couldn’t even eat. I was so nervous all day.”
Grant added their annual meeting against Scotts Valley is something the community looks forward to. But he said at the same time it was somewhat frightening because of what was on the line, including a head start in the Mission-North standings.
“It’s a league game, it’s a rivalry game, there’s just a lot at stake,” said Grant. “They really took it seriously, and I think it showed from the very first possession.”
Machado mentioned beating Scotts Valley was also a bit of a statement, especially for any doubters thinking SLV would get trampled after getting promoted from the Santa Lucia—the lowest tier of the four divisions within the PCAL.
“Two wins in a new league, it shows we can run with them,” Machado said. “We’re not just coming into this league to get blown out. We want this. We want to make a playoff run, it got taken from us last year.”
In 2024, SLV fell short of capturing the Santa Lucia Division crown to defending champion Stevenson while also missing the Central Coast Section playoffs.
Needless to say, it left a bad taste in their mouths. Yet, Machado has been able to put the past in the rearview mirror so they can focus on the task ahead.
“That’s our biggest goal first—winning league,” Machado said. “We want to put a banner up in that gym.”
Machado said their mission begins by locking at practice, running all of their plays super crisp and maintaining the level of energy they’ve harnessed throughout the fall campaign.
As a senior, it’s Machado’s final chance to ever win a league title and he wants to take advantage of the moment.
“We’re in the driver’s seat right now, 2-0, so we just got to focus,” he said. “The biggest thing is Monte Vista right now.”
SLV (5-2, 2-0) plays at Monte Vista Christian (4-3, 1-1) in PCAL Mission-North action Thursday at 7:30pm.
The Cougars will close out the remaining portion of their league schedule in Felton starting with Watsonville on Nov. 1, followed by North Monterey County on Nov. 8. Both games are slated to kick off at 12:30pm.
Grant said being the new members of the Mission-North is exactly what they want because of the challenging competition, and atmosphere.
“We have to focus on one opponent at a time, that’s really it,” Grant said. “We’ve really just tried to make sure everybody gets our whole focus. If we really want to do big things this season, we have to just put our whole focus on the next opponent.”
