SEASIDE — The setting didn’t quite have the buzz that created an adrenaline rush that oozed through the veins of players the last time these two peninsula football institutions met 19 years ago.
Then again, that was for a Central Coast Section Small School Championship. This was a season opener for Seaside and Pacific Grove, two teams searching for an identity on Friday.
Nearly two decades since Seaside won its first section title with a 28-14 win over the Breakers, the only reminders from that electric battle is head coach Al Avila still pacing the sidelines for the Spartans, with his mentor Andy Gray now an assistant at Pacific Grove.
The Breakers made two first quarter touchdowns from Northrop Kirk stand up, opening the season with a 14-7 win at Seaside, their third straight season-opening win.
“It was a strange win,” Pacific Grove coach Jeff Gray said. “I thought we’d put a few more numbers on the board after our start. As the offensive coordinator, I’m a little disappointed. It was a great win for the defense.”
Over the last two years, Pacific Grove has started the year 6-0 and 5-1, before injuries caught up to them in the second half of both seasons, going 1-3 down the stretch to miss the postseason.
“We can build off this if we’re healthy,” Seaside coach Al Avila said. “We lost a couple of kids. I don’t know the extent of the injuries. The kids that came in played hard and tough. We just don’t have the depth to absorb one or two injuries.”
Coming off a 1-9 season and dropped to the Santa Lucia Division this season has raised questions about whether Seaside’s annual Battle of the Bay with Gabilan Division nemesis Monterey next week will continue in the future.
“We’re facing kids that live in Seaside,” Avila said. “We’re trying to sustain our program. I don’t know if we should be playing a team that’s got more freshmen out than we have in our entire program.”
Seaside has just 38 players in its entire program, a number that will likely shrink next week when it faces Monterey on Saturday at Monterey Peninsula College.
“We lost two kids tonight that likely won’t be available next week,” Avila said. “One will be a big blow to the line. Can we survive our preseason to get to league? I did see a lot of growth. We had a lot of teaching moments. ”
Such as the opening kickoff when Seaside was penalized twice, once for being offside and the other for kicking it out of bounds.
“I’m thinking, is this a bad omen?” Avila said.
Gray’s disappointment in the offense likely stemmed after Pacific Grove failed to produce a point after scoring on two of its first three possessions to open up a 14-point lead.
Quarterback Ersi Kullolli was efficient when putting the ball in the air, finding tailback Northrop Kirk on a screen pass, in which the sophomore tailback darted 11 yards for the game’s first touchdown.
Kirk, who along with Garrett Kuska, took turns grinding the ball for the Breakers, added a second touchdown in the opening quarter when he slipped through a seam and landed in the end zone nine yards later.
Yet, when Pacific Grove failed to produce points inside its 5-yard line just before halftime on a missed field goal, it gave Seaside some momentum going into the second half.
“We made adjustments,” Avila said. “I sort of panicked in the first half and started doing more stuff when we lost a starter. Our guys were thinking too much. We made things simpler in the second half and let them play.”
Aided by a muffed punt at the 10-yard line, the Spartans cut the deficit to seven two plays later when Josiah Escort got into the end zone in the fourth quarter.
“When we missed that field goal, the game kind of changed,” Gray said. “Seaside took advantage of our weaknesses. I thought our defense stepped up.”
Particularly linebacker Ryder Gamecho, who was a demon on defense, while Cameron Talley came up with an interception in the end zone in the second quarter to keep Seaside off the scoreboard.
“Cameron’s not a starter,” said Gray, who Breakers will host Greenfield next Saturday. “But he played like one. Our backups had to come in and perform. We had a solid goal line stand. We have a lot of work in front of us. But we will build off this.”
