Palma vs Ailsal CCS 2023

By JOHN DEVINE
SALINAS - As players began pointing toward their index fingers to indicate rings are coming, emotions began to spill out on a football season filled with adversity, obstacles and uncertainty.
Eight weeks earlier, Palma was told it was 0-5 after being forced to forfeit three wins. It walked out of Rabobank Stadium Friday night with its 12th Central Coast Section football title.
“This was a historic victory,” Palma coach Jeff Carnazzo said. “It’s been a rollercoaster ride. But we’re on the upside of the coaster. Let’s celebrate this and see how long we can stay on the ride.”
The Chieftains are headed to the Northern California divisional playoffs for just the second time in the program’s history after a 38-20 win over Alisal in the Division III finals. The Chieftains will travel to Hughson, near Modesto, for a 6 p.m. game Saturday in Division 4-A. Hughson is 10-3 and beat Bradshaw Christian 40-39 in the Sac Joaquin Section Division 6 title game.
For Carnazzo, who has a county record 207 wins in his career, this was his fifth section title in his 23 years as the head coach at Palma.
“Do you remember eight weeks ago when I broke the news to you that we were 0-5,” said Carnazzo, in addressing the team. “It’s been an uphill battle. You will always be known as the 2023 team that won a section title.”
While Carnazzo called the title historic, Alisal rewrote its school record for wins and consecutive wins in advancing to the CCS title game for the first time in the program’s history.
“This trophy is a symbol of these kids’ hard work and effort,” Alisal coach Cesar Chaidez said of the second-place trophy. “I reminded them that we made history. We accomplished something that no other team has done at Alisal.”
The Trojans broke the school record for wins in their regular season finale, then extended it by two with upset wins in the playoffs over No. 2 seed Capuchino of San Bruno and No. 6 Scotts Valley.
“That team (Alisal) over there got a lot better from the last time we faced them,” said Carnazzo, whose squad improved to 37-0 lifetime on the field against Alisal. “This was a battle.”
The two teams had faced each other back on Sept. 15, with the Chieftains scoring the first 35 points in a 42-15 win. A week later, Palma learned that it would have to forfeit the win, along with two others for using an ineligible player.
“Excitement,” said quarterback Thomas Nunes, who picked up Carnazzo as the clock wound down. “We have been working for this. This is something we haven’t done in a while. We’re the only team left in the county still playing.”
wners of four straight wins and 6-2 since the forfeits, Palma (6-7) will learn who it will face Sunday. It has put in to be a host for the Northern California playoffs.
“We might be here or we might be near the California border,” Carnazzo said. “Who cares. We are still playing football.”
Only two programs in the county have ever reached the Northern California playoffs since its inception over a decade ago, with Salinas going in 2017 and Palma making an appearance in 2016.
In 2016, the Chieftains were in the Division 4AA playoffs, falling at home to Campolindo of Moraga 30-21.
The Chieftains run to a CCS Division III title included a 38-10 win over Hollister - which snapped a four-game home losing streak this year, and a 28-21 win over top-seed Menlo-Atherton.
The senior quarterback repeated the feat on Palma’s second drive, when he read the defense and ran untouched 53 yards for a touchdown to put them up 14-6 as the first quarter expired.
Nunes had 119 yards on his first two carries of the game for Palma, before tossing a hitch to Logan Saldate, who broke free 45 yards for a touchdown and 21-13 lead with 4 minutes and 42 seconds left in the first half.
“Palma’s team speed was a factor,” said Chaidez, the only coach at Alisal to have playoff wins. “They have athletes. But we made a game of it. It’s tough to lose. We expected a different outcome. But I couldn’t be prouder.”
Gonzales, who has 27 touchdowns this year, added his second in the second quarter - with the aid of a leaping catch in traffic from Brian Picazo on a fourth-down pass from Santiago Chaidez - to cut the deficit to 14-13.
Yet, where Gonzales may have made a bigger impact came just before halftime on defense, when he and 10 other Trojans swarmed to the ball to stop Palma twice at the 1-yard line as the first half expired.
“I’m at a loss for words for the pride I feel for these guys,” Chaidez said. “It’s a team that will be remembered here for a very long time.”
The momentum from the stop didn’t extend into the second half as Palma again struck quickly when Eli Dukes broke free on a 76-yard touchdown run - Palma’s fourth touchdown of 45 yards or longer.
As has been the case throughout the Chieftains’ postseason run, their defense held an opponent scoreless in the third quarter as linebacker Noah Orozco was a menace in the middle.

[@831golf]

Proud of my ALISAL boys!

[@40831CP]

First off, congrats to Palma for handling business on the field, in the playoffs. They're playoff situation exposes the flawed playoff system that has screwed many teams. Lets start with the fact they are an "A" league team who played D1 last year, and is competing in D3 this year.?? Alisal was dropped out of the Gabilan division because they could not complete with those caliber of teams. So why put them in the same division in the playoffs? This decision robbed a damn good Alisal team of a CCS title and set up Palma for the run they are on currently as the NorCal state representatives in the state finals. All Gabilan division teams should be D1 or D2. Playoff format and seedings need to change ASAP.

[@julianquintero7177]

When you gonna post the Super Bowl for mbyfl

[@831athletix4]

🏆💯

[@RomanBarba-v8v]

The problem here is that Palma has few guys from Gonzales on this team. Take away from Gonzales high school that has a small student body of 780 students and only 334 boys. This why Palma always winning, they take away from other schools.

[@nosir1440]

Ain’t no way a team with a losing record got into the playoffs. So unfair. Ccs just handed Palma a championship even tho they cheated the first half of the season lol.

[@TomatoTamayo16255]

True like who put Palma in division 4