Salinas Cowboys, Palma Chieftans ready for playoff runs after rivalry game matchup

Four out of five Salinas area teams made the playoffs, all save for Everett Alvarez. The Eagles put in a fantastic effort this year but fell short to Alisal in the final game and will not be going to the playoffs.

Alisal will head to Sacred Heart prep on Saturday to take on the Gators who are 3-7 in a division 4 matchup. The North Salinas Vikings will also head out of town to San Mateo to take on the Bearcats who are 8-1 in a division 5 matchup. On Friday, Palma will welcome the St. Ignacious who are 4- to Rabobank stadium for the division 2 game. Finally, on Friday, Salinas will welcome Menlo Atherton (8-2) to The Pit at Salinas High School.

Friday night saw four Salinas-area teams play in two games with some great matchups on the field.

At Alisal high school, the Trojans welcomed the Everett Alvarez Eagles in a bid to see who would enter the at-large pool of teams in playoff contention. Alisal took an early 14-0 lead through halftime and looked great on both sides of the ball.

“I told my players to just go rep by rep,” Alisal Coach Cesar Chaidez said. “And that’s what they did.”

After halftime, the Eagles came back to score, critically missing their PAT. Although they went on a 14-point-scoring run later in the half, that missed opportunity would cost them. The game finished 21-20, with Alisal taking the victory.

“I tip my hat to Alvarez, their coaches, and players,” Chaidez said. “It was what you call a 50/50 game.”

This is a big win for Alisal, as they finish their league season 2-5 with a chance to make it in the playoffs.

“We have a shot,” Chaidez said. “It’s going to be down to the rankings, but we could be in.”

This is big news for Chaidez and his crew, as they were not expecting a playoff bid at the end of the season.

“As a program, we are headed in the right direction,” Chaidez said. “I’m proud of our coaches, players, school, and community.”

We will find out Sunday morning if the Trojans make the playoffs, but for now they can take pride in ending the Eagles (2-6) season prematurely.

Across town at Rabobank Stadium, we had an incredible rivalry matchup with the Palma Chieftains taking on the Salinas Cowboys.

It was back and forth from the start until Salinas took the lead with a Nyziah Hunter touchdown with five minutes to go in the first quarter.

Adam Shaffer extended the lead with a running touchdown before halftime, but it wasn’t all Salinas wearing out Palma. The Chieftains had two touchdowns called back, including an incredible kickoff return that would have cut the lead in half from Joe Cardinale to start the third quarter.

“When the defense plays like Salinas did tonight,” Palma Coach Jeff Carnazzo said. “It’s hard to get momentum.”

Despite Joey Finley, Luke Rossi, and Kasey Mena showing up big for Palma, the Cowboys eventually took the game at 21-0, shutting out the Chieftains.

“Salinas played well,” Carnazzo said. “But I thought our defense did a good job keeping us in it.”

Unfortunately for the Chieftains, Rossi was injured in the game’s waning minutes, and they will be asking back-up Matthew Fuqua to step up big in the playoffs. We will see what he is capable of.

Aidan Flynn, Michael Macneil, and Jacob Vega were everywhere Friday night manhandling the Palma offensive line on the Cowboys’ side. But more than that, they are excited about the overall outcome of their season.

“Our first undefeated season in 40 years feels great,” Salinas Coach Steve Zenk said. “Our offensive and defensive line played great today.”

Zenk and Carnazzo will wait along with Chaidez for Sunday to find out who they play in the playoffs. Stay tuned here for a special playoff edition of the Friday Football Preview.

This article originally appeared on Salinas Californian: Salinas Cowboys, Palma Chieftans ready for playoff runs