SOLEDAD — The last time Soledad Aztecs were on the field, they had lost to Everett Alvarez at home going into a bye week.
After a week to heal up, the Aztecs played in their final pre-season game last Friday against the North Monterey County Condors before they open up with league play starting this week.
“It was a tremendous help,” said Soledad Head Coach Jose Martinez about the week off. “It allowed a lot of my guys to get healthy.”
Although Soledad had a chance to rest up, they had two starters out with separated shoulders that occurred during their last game with Everett Alvarez. According to Martinez, the status of the players going into the league opener is still unknown.
In another interesting move, Soledad changed quarterbacks, from Bryan Acero to Dominic Chavez. Acero had three touchdown passes and one rushing touchdown in the first game of the season against Greenfield.
With a new quarterback at the helm, it took some time for the Aztec offense to get going as they went scoreless in the first quarter.
North Monterey County’s Gio Mellin struck first with a touchdown, with the Condors up 7-0.
Starting in the second quarter, the Aztecs put a drive together and started to develop some rhythm. Chavez got into the endzone to cut the lead to 7-6.
It wouldn’t take long for the Condors’ Nico Torres to score a touchdown run that put North Monterey County up 14-6.
Right before the half, the Aztecs showed off how explosive their offense can be. Chavez completed a 65-yard pass to Isaiah Cruz, giving him his fourth touchdown of the season and making the score 14-12.
The Aztecs offense got another opportunity to show off their explosive offense. With five seconds left in the half, Chavez connected with Soledad’s Josiah Cruz for a 68-yard touchdown.
Soledad took the lead going into halftime, 19-14.
The Aztecs held the Condors scoreless for the rest of the game, while adding to their lead in the third quarter. Soledad’s Arnold Bernal ran the ball into the end zone from 14 yards out to increase the score to 26-14.
The Aztecs got into the win column heading into league play this Friday, where they will compete at home against North Salinas, which is also coming off of a win.
Although this is a good start going into league play, the Aztecs will still have some critical players hurt with no timetable to return. It will be interesting to see if the offense can keep the momentum going with the competition increasing.
