SALINAS VALLEY — Greenfield High began Santa Lucia Divisional play with a 22-20 win over the host Marina Mariners last Thursday night.
The Bruins held a 16-0 halftime lead but the Mariners fought back to make it a two-point contest.
Greenfield took a 6-0 lead in the first quarter with a five-yard touchdown run by running back Damian Martinez, followed by a missed point-after attempt.
The Bruins padded the lead to 13-0 with a five-yard touchdown pass play from Daniel Nava to Anthony Perez. Greenfield completed the first quarter with a 35-yard field goal attempt by Anthony Zuniga that pushed the lead to 16-0.
In the second quarter, Mariner quarterback Jaxon Key threw a 73-yard touchdown pass to Denzel Garvin, and Marina scored the PAT to cut the Greenfield lead to 16-7 at the end of the first half.
The Bruins completed a drive in the third quarter with a two-yard scoring run by Martinez for a 22-7 Greenfield advantage after a missed PAT.
The Mariners made the game interesting with a seven-yard touchdown run by Key in the third with a PAT, trimming the Bruin advantage to 22-14. In the final quarter, Happy Fuiava scored on a kick return for the final 22-20 tally. Greenfield played the clock in the closing minutes to send the Mariners home with a loss.
Offensively, Martinez led Greenfield with 54 yards on 25 carries and a touchdown. Defensively, Kenny Pajas finished with two interceptions.
The Bruins are 1-0 in the Santa Lucia Division and 2-1 overall, with a game this Friday against Gonzales. Marina fell to 0-1 in the division and are 1-3 overall.
GONZALES
The Gonzales Spartans were beaten 40-7 last Friday in their Santa Lucia Divisional opener by the Seaside Spartans. Gonzales is now 0-1 in the Santa Lucia and 0-3 overall.
Seaside running back Josiah Escort scored four rushing touchdowns to lead his team in scoring.
Seaside led 14-0 after an Escort touchdown and an interception for a touchdown by Ariel Villalobos. In the second quarter, Escort completed the first half scoring with a short touchdown for a 20-0 Seaside lead.
The visiting Spartans kept up their scoring in the second half with a touchdown run by Escort and a 52-yard scoring run by Noah Sanks to put Seaside up 34-0 after the PAT. Escort completed the Seaside scoring with his fourth touchdown of the game in the fourth quarter.
Gonzales scored its lone touchdown late in the fourth with a running clock as quarterback Jeffrey Schweitzer threw a 7-yard pass to Santiago Cuevas for a score. David Juarez scored the PAT for Gonzales.
“Jordan Askew and Santiago Cuevas combined for four catches on the night,” said Gonzales head coach Eddy Ramirez. “Damian Amador rushed for 50 yards on nine attempts and Aaron Hernandez rushed for 40 yards. On defense, Jesus Lopez had eight tackles and we had another strong showing by Ryan Maciel. Seaside was just the better team. This Friday, Greenfield is going to be a challenge as they pound the ball, as they are a time control running offense.”
The host Spartans are 0-1 in the Santa Lucia Division and 0-3 overall. Seaside is 1-0 in the Santa Lucia and 2-2 overall. On Friday, Gonzales is at Greenfield, while Seaside will host Santa Cruz.
SOLEDAD
The Soledad Aztecs completed the pre-season schedule with an 0-4 record as they lost to Mission North foe St. Francis of Watsonville at home last Friday by a 13-6 score.
With 12.5 seconds left in the first quarter, Soledad was flagged for a facemask that kept the ball in the Sharks’ hands. As the second quarter began, Jacob Fonseca scored a touchdown for St. Francis from two yards out. After the Shark PAT, the visitors took a 7-0 lead.
Soledad scored an eight-yard touchdown by Christian Gonzales just minutes later for the Aztecs but were unable to convert on the point-after to leave the score at 7-6 at the half.
In the fourth quarter, Frankie Ortiz scored on a 15-yard touchdown run, but the missed PAT had the Aztecs down just 13-6 with 1:13 left to play in the game. Soledad was unable to mount a threat in the final drive.
Soledad quarterback Calvin DeShazo threw for 80 yards and Daniel Garcia finished for 85 rushing yards.
“The defense played well,” said Aztec head coach Eric Rodriguez. “We just had a lot of mental mistakes. A defensive stand out for us was Jaden Cisneros.”
The Aztecs start the Mission Division on Friday at Watsonville, and St. Francis will host Robert Louis Stevenson on Saturday.
