Santa Cruz blasts Monterey for best start since ’93 | High school football

MONTEREY — Santa Cruz High and Monterey’s meeting on the football field Friday was billed as can’t-miss game. The Pacific Coast Athletic League Mission Division opener for both teams, the longtime rivals, boasting plenty of star power, were both unbeaten with three lopsided wins.

But the Cardinals’ playmaking defense and special teams turned it into a dud early and prevailed 42-13 Friday night at Monterey Peninsula College.

The Cardinals are 4-0 for the first time since 1993 after posting their first win over the Toreadores since ’07.

“I know what we’re capable of,” said Bubba Trumbull, who has led the Cardinals to two Central Coast Section titles in his 14 years as head coach. “They got a lot of great athletes on that other sideline. I mean all three phases contributed. We got a touchdown on an interception, a blocked punt for a score … and we needed that, because our offense stalled out a couple times in the red zone. We made the field goals, but we needed all three phases tonight.”

Santa Cruz made sure it was a nightmarish evening for Toreadores quarterback Matthew Gallagher, who entered with six touchdown passes and zero interceptions. Under duress for much of the first half, the quarterback was sacked five times and threw three interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns.

“I couldn’t read the defense they were throwing at me,” Gallagher said. “I couldn’t find the open guy.”

Cardinals wide receiver/defensive back Caleb Womack, who has a scholarship offer from Division I FCS program Davidson, scored twice. The Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League’s reigning 100-meter track champion had a 78-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter to put the Cardinals up 10-0 and added a 40-yard interception return in the third quarter to make it 33-13.

Junior kicker/linebacker Casey Rodger booted three field goals, four extra-point kicks, and returned an interception 15 yards for a touchdown early in the second quarter.

“I expected us to win by a lot,” Rodger said. “I expected us to come out hard and beat them. I think we had good stunts up front and our coaching was good. Our defensive coordinator (Sergio Escobar) called the right plays at the right times.”

Also in the second quarter, Patrick Tripier blocked a Toreadores’ punt in the end zone and recovered the football for a touchdown.

Myles Reber also had interception for the Cardinals on the second play of the game.

Rodger, senior linebackers Ben Lucchesi and Gabe Uribe, Jose Chavez Grimaldo, a 6-foot-2, 280-pound junior lineman, and sophomore linebacker Malakai Ross Graves recorded sacks.

Santa Cruz was able to pull of its biggest win of the season despite a sub-par showing on offense. It was held to 13 yards rushing in the first half but finished with 135 yards on 31 carries. Star running back Qwentin Brown had 71 of those yards on 17 carries. And quarterback Josh Bendix finished 5-of-18 passing for 122 yards — 78 coming on his big strike to Womack. Three passes were batted down at the line of scrimmage and another was dropped.

The Cardinals’ other touchdown on offense was produced by Andrew Whitmeyer, who scored on a 26-yard run with 2:43 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Monterey had some big plays, just not enough to match the Cardinals.

Santa Cruz led 24-0 in the second quarter when the Toreadores’ Tkai Thomas recovered a fumbled punt and returned it 30 yards for a score. It brought to life an otherwise eerily quiet Toreadores cheering section.

The Cardinals thought it recorded a safety seconds before halftime, but officials marked the ball one inch from the goal line. Gallagher dropped back in the end zone and connected with Thomas, who raced the distance of the field for a 99-yard score as the buzzer sounded.

Monterey was unable to sustain any momentum from that play. It was kept off the scoreboard in the second half.

With running back Tayvaun Gilliam bottled up, the Toreadores finished with 19 yards rushing on 26 carries.

Santa Cruz’s defense made 12 tackles for a loss of yards. Chavez Grimaldo and fellow lineman Jack Bacon (6-5, 230) stuffed Monterey’s interior run game.

Gallagher completed 7 of 19 passes for 128 yards.

“We’ve been watching a lot of film,” Womack said. “We knew they were going to be a good team. They came out and proved themselves, but we’ve been putting in tons of work and it showed today.”

WEEK 5 SCORES

Friday
Santa Cruz 42, Monterey 13
At Scotts Valley 49, Watsonville 13
Soquel 14, at Gonzales 6
Christopher 35, at MVC 0
At Aptos 38, Seaside 12
Saturday
St. Francis 42, at Stevenson 12
Harbor 34, at George Washington (S.F.) 30
NMC 17, at SLV 14
Greenfield 21, at Pajaro Valley 18

WEEK 6 SCHEDULE

Friday
SLV at Watsonville, 7 p.m.
Santa Cruz vs. North Salinas at Rabobank Stadium, 7 p.m.
Scotts Valley at NMC, 7:30 p.m.
Aptos at Everett Alvarez, 7:30 p.m.
Gilroy at Soquel, 7:30 p.m.
Greenfield vs. St. Francis at Santa Cruz High, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday
Stevenson at Pajaro Valley: 2 p.m.