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Story by John Devine, Monterey Daily Herald
SALINAS - Perhaps it has become an expectation. Oh, the adrenaline rush was big. Emotions were at a fever pitch for Salinas High’s football team.
Yet, capturing the Pacific Coast Athletic League Gabilan Division football title Friday for the sixth straight year by beating its biggest rival for the sixth consecutive league season didn’t warrant much of a celebration.
“I’ve done enough sharing in my life with my twin brother,” Salinas coach Steve Zenk said. “I’m not interested in sharing the title. No thank you.”
In other words, the task is far from complete after the Cowboys clinched no worse than a share of the division crown with a 34-14 win over Palma at Rabobank Stadium.
“Don’t get me wrong, it feels really good,” Salinas tailback Nolan Borel said. “We’ll celebrate throughout the night. But it’s back to work on Monday. We want to go into the postseason with some momentum.”
The Cowboys (6-3 overall, 5-0 in division play) can clinch the title outright and record their fourth undefeated league season in six years with a win next Friday at Hollister.
Salinas is 37-2 in the Gabilan Division since Zenk took the job, with one of those losses being administered by Hollister, which can clinch a playoff spot if it can pull off an upset.
“I just told them (players) get well by Monday and let’s get back to work,” Zenk said. “It was nice to see these kids up for a game. We’ve been flat for a few games.”
Salinas will go into its regular-season finale riding a six-game winning streak - a streak that started when Zenk moved Borel to the backfield, partly because of injuries.
All the hard-hitting senior safety has done since being inserted at tailback is rush for over 100 yards for five straight games, piling up 165 yards and two touchdowns against the Chieftains.
“I had some experience back in youth football playing the position,” Borel said. “I knew I was capable of stepping in and giving our offense a lift. Our system works well. The holes are there.”
The setback puts Palma (2-7, 2-3) in a win or go home situation next week at Alvarez. A win clinches no worse than a share of fourth place in the Gabilan Division, where the top four teams earn automatic bids.
A setback would end their Central Coast Section record run of 38 straight postseason appearances. Palma - which was forced to forfeit three wins because of using an ineligible player - hasn’t had a losing season in over 40 years.
“Our playoffs start next week,” Palma coach Jeff Carnazzo said. “I told the kids we have 24 hours to feel sad. Then we have got to think about next week. If we win, we keep practicing.”
The Chieftains, who have never lost to Alvarez - a streak that dates back to the mid-1990s - have not suffered a loss this season on the road.
Salinas wasted little time putting the Chieftains on their heels when Borel took off on a 69-yard touchdown run minutes into the game, to send one side of the stadium into a roar.
“We put in the work during the week, executed our game plans and focused on the little things,” Borel said. “There was tension building up during the week. You get that feeling inside you. We left it all on the field.”
Yet, as dominant as Salinas was, it only had a 9-7 lead after Drew Molinari broke free, eluded a tackle and outran the Salinas defense 69 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter.
“Palma made a nice play,” Zenk said. “The other side also has good players. We just kind of do our own thing, keep the focus on us and keep our tempo up on offense.”
The Cowboys scored three touchdowns in the final eight minutes of the second quarter to open up a 28-7 halftime lead.
Carnazzo was referring to a pair of interceptions from Salinas linebacker Lincoln Johnson, one being a juggling catch on the run, the other leaping up to bat the pass down, only to snatch it while in midair.
“The defense was lights out,” said Zenk, the first football coach in the county to win six titles in his first six years. “That’s probably the best pursuit we’ve had all year. We had 11 guys going to the ball the entire game.”
As dynamic as Borel was in running the ball, Noah Gonzales was sharp through the air, completing 13-of-16 for 143 yards and a touchdown pass to Angelo Cimino, while adding 59 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
“He is more confident,” said Zenk, in speaking of Gonzales. “We take for granted that we had a quarterback and a pair of receivers that played together for three years last year. Chemistry takes time. And he’s 100 percent healthy.”
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15 сен 2024
