Line 'em up

The San Lorenzo Valley offensive and defensive lines controlled the line of scrimmage in the Cougars 26-7 win at Watsonville on Sept. 26. Not only did the offensive line sustain scoring drives of 14 plays and 9 plays, the defensive line only allowed Watsonville to score once and that was on a 9 play, 32-yard drive after the 'Catz had recovered a fumble.

In the photo Beau Gregory finds a hole that you could drive a Volkwagon through.

The 14 play drive was probably the best of the young season as the Cougars pounded the ball relentlessly, taking nearly 8 1/2 minutes to score. Thank you line.

Hit of the night: Outside linebacker Bryce Harbert sniffed out a screen pass to a Watsonville wide reciever and came flying up from his postion to make the tackle for a three-yard loss in the first quarter.

Sharing the rock: Beau Gregory led the way with 80 yards rushing on nine carries, but his mates Bradley Hill (15 carries, 65 yards), Kyle Todd (11 carries, 45 yards) and QB Trevor Romele (6 carries, 45 yards) all averaged over four yards per carry.

Knocked his socks off: Quarterbacks are not know for their big hits, but on a bootleg, Romele leveled the defensive back trying to tackle him on the sideline before falling out of bounds after a 12-yard gain in the third quarter.

Special teams? Watsonville excelled at one thing in this contest. Blocking extra points. Two chip shots off the foot of kicker Alex Luera were blocked after Cougar touchdowns. If SLV wants to win tight games, every point will count, even the extra ones.

Photo: Courtesy of Paul Firenzi.

Jambor...D!

The Cougars finished second to Soquel in the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League jamboree on August 29. However, after some unkowns coming in, the Cougars came out with some confidence from their strong play, especially on defense. Here a couple of observations from the four scrimages played in the fog.

*The billowing smoke from the BBQ must have been at least a little bit distracting to the players waiting for their next scrimmage. The hot dogs coming off the Cabrillo College BBQ were as good as they smelled.

*Except for his number, junior Patrick Salibi could have been mistaken for his older brother Philip (A 2007 grad) on a 52-yard catch and run touchdown against Aptos. Salibi, at quarterback to start the scrimmages, showed that if he's not the one who wins the QB job will contribute in other ways on offense.

*Hit of the night: Middle linebacker Robert McKissock filled the hole against an Aptos running back and drove him back four yards before de-cleating him and smashing him to the ground.

*Play of the night: One play, especially, got a rousing cheer from the Cougar bench and coaching staff. Outside linebacker Bradley Hill made a perfect break on a short pass pattern in the right flat, knocking the ball away with his left hand and delivered a big hit on the reciever at the same time.

*With the ball in his hands, Beau Gregory always seems to fall forward for an extra two yards.