San Lorenzo Valley defeated Santa Cruz 43-9 on Oct. 28. The Cougars, 6-3 overall and 3-1 in league play, host defending Santa Cruz Coast League champion Aptos on Saturday, Nov. 5, at 2 p.m.
The Scotts Valley High School girls’ volleyball program is having its most successful season in school history with a current record of 18 wins and 8 losses.
Tyler Stow connected on a school-record five touchdown passes -- three of them to Carson Spence in second-half explosion -- as Scotts Valley won The Big Game of the Santa Cruz Mountains on Oct. 22, 35-14.The game, played under a bright blue sky before a packed stadium at SLV, was knotted 7-7 at the half.Last year Scotts Valley won 52-51 in a five-overtime thriller, but the excitement this year in the second half was all Falcon.The defensive unit for Scotts Valley held SLV’s power offense scoreless nearly the entire second half, while Stow went to work on the Cougar secondary.Spence would finish with four catches for 101 years, and Stow’s passing total reached 257 yards at game’s end.Elias Avalos had two sacks, and Tanner Gilton, Anthony Locatelli, Josh Eskew and Jason Bucio each had one. Bucio also blocked a field goal attempt.Falcon coach Louie Walters notched his 101st victory against his alma mater where he was a one-time assistant.The game had more on the line than mountain bragging rights, as the winner would be in a good position to secure a spot in the CCS playoffs.SLV travels to Santa Cruz next week, then hosts Aptos, which has won five straight league titles.Scotts Valley came within one touchdown of knocking off Aptos at home.The Falcons host Soquel in an afternoon game at home next weekend, then end their regular season at night at home against Santa Cruz.Kyle Rajala and Ryan Johnston each caught touchdown passes from Stow, who was 11-16.For SLV, Jackson Turner caught a TD pass from Tanner Murray in the first quarter, then Scott Poetzinger, the game’s leading rusher with 84 yards, scored with 8 seconds left in the game.
Scotts Valley came so very close to its first victory of the season against Carmel at Monterey Peninsula College, the home team got the breaks at the end.
The visiting Balboa High team came to the Santa Cruz mountain field of San Lorenzo Valley off a winning record a year ago in a tough San Francisco prep league.
The Scotts Valley Falcons lost two-thirds of last year’s team, five of 11 starters on defense and offense.But Louie Walters’ boys are always tapped as one of the top teams in the league, and this year is no exception.Quarterback Tyler Stow led an almost-successful second half comeback with six straight completions against Los Altos on Aug. 26, a promising start for the Falcons.Walters is making some adjustments in his backfield, with Tyler Stone moving to fullback and Tanner Gilton moving from fullback to tailback.He says Gilton is the player to watch, and his second half performance in the first game set him off on a good start at the new position.Walters also lists running back Trevor Ponos and wide receivers RJ Johnston and Jason Bucio as keys to Falcon success this season.The coach said Tyler Stow has emerged as the team leader, and that showed in the quarterback’s second half against Los Altos.“We’re going to continue to run the ball – it’s a Scotts Valley tradition,” Walters said.He also said he liked the way his swarming defense stifled the Los Altos running game for much of the game, which was marred by costly turnovers.The defense will be led by defensive end Jason Bucio, 6-4, 230.Walters acknowledged that his biggest challenge is all of the new varsity players, but is mindful of the fact that last year’s junior varsity team shared the league title with Aptos and Santa Cruz.When asked for one word that summed up this year’s squad? “Heart”That was clearly on display in the opener.   2016 SCHEDULE Aug. 26, 7:30 p.m.Los Altos             Sept. 2 7:30 p.m.Carmel (Carmel )at Monterey Peninsula College             Sept. 9, 7:30 p.m.Watsonville at Scotts Valley Sept. 16, 7:30 p.m.Seaside at Seaside  Sept. 23, 7:30 p.m.         Eureka at Eureka             Oct. 7, 7:30 p.m.Aptos at Aptos             Oct. 14, 7 p.m.Harbor at Scotts Valley Oct. 2, 2 p.m.San Lorenzo Valley at SLV Oct. 9, 2 p.m.Soquel at Scotts Valley Nov. 4, 7:30 p.m.Santa Cruz at Scotts Valley
October is National Pedestrian Safety Month, and Scotts Valley Police Department is urging drivers to exercise extra caution to protect pedestrians.
According to the National...