SALINAS — The burst of speed when Eli Dukes hits the hole shows up on film. So does the physicality in which he runs the football with.
What the tape doesn’t tell an opponent is the vision that the Palma tailback showcases, or the balance he possesses when staying on his feet, in extending runs.
“You can hear him coming,” Monterey coach Alex Besaw said. “I haven’t seen someone run like that in this area in a long time. He has tremendous balance when he makes those cuts at full speed.”
Dukes turned three carries into 135 yards and three touchdowns in the first half Friday, propelling the Chieftains to a 41-7 decision over Monterey in a battle of undefeated teams.
Add two more runs of 42 and 28 yards and Dukes went over 200 yards on the ground in the first half on just five carries, giving him a little over 700 yards in four games, with limited touches.
“Why stop running it if we’re not going to stop it?” Besaw said. “Hopefully, we have short memories. We did not have any answers tonight. I got outcoached tonight.”
Palma, who erupted for 54 points in last week’s win over Alisal, had 41 after its first drive in the third quarter, prompting the game to go to a running clock. It will go into its bye week averaging 46 points a game.
Just one team in the Pacific Coast Athletic League has averaged over 40 points a game through a 10-game regular season in the last decade, and that’s been Carmel, who has accomplished it four times.
“It was a lot of big plays,” Palma coach Jeff Carnazzo said. “Eli is playing this game at a different level. We haven’t seen anything like this in a long time. The sky is the limit.”
Dukes, who ran for 215 yards as a freshman in the state title game in 2023 for the Chieftains, went over 2,000 yards rushing last year as a sophomore.
Running behind an offensive line anchored by Job Barroso and Kaden Colon, the 5-foot-11, 190-pound four-sport standout is on pace to rush for 1,750 yards in 10 games, having touched the ball just 45 times this season.
“We’re (offensive line) covering up and putting a hat on the opponent,” Carnazzo said. “The offensive line is having fun watching Eli run. We look at our end zone camera and say ‘look at the push we’re getting up front.?”
Dukes’ second carry of the game was a 38-yard touchdown run. His fourth carry resulted in a 47-yard sprint to the end zone, with his sixth touch ending with a 52-yard touchdown run.
“He was pretty impressive with his strength and balance,” said Besaw, who came into the game 2-0 lifetime coaching against the Chieftains. “Tonight was bad. We’ll find ways to get better.”
Somewhat overshadowed by Dukes’ highlight reel performance was the effort of David Garcia, who rushed for over 100 yards and two touchdowns, including a 28-yard scoring run on his first carry in the first quarter.
“It’s a nice 1-2 punch,” said Carnazzo, in speaking about Dukes and Garcia, who have 18 rushing touchdowns between them.
Because Palma never had a drive longer than six plays among their five possessions in the first half, it put the ball in the air just once.
“We didn’t get the opportunities to work on our passing game, which we need to work on,” Carnazzo said. “It’s something that we’re going to have to have down the road.”
As dynamic as the Chieftains offense was for the fourth straight game, it was their defense that Carnazzo said will make him rest easier at night.
After surrendering 28 points to Alisal, the Chieftains kept Monterey — who had scored 75 points in its last two games — out of the end zone in the first half, stopping two fourth-down attempts as well.
Linebacker Wyatt Deverick was a demon on defense for Palma, while Cesar Mercado dominated the trenches, with Ayden Lopez stepping in and making an impact as well.
“I sleep better when we play defense,” Carnazzo said. “We were really good on the edges. We struggled with that last week. We worked on it all week, knowing Monterey’s speed. It’s nice to see it come to fruition on Friday night.”
The Toreadores, who played the entire second half without quarterback Bronson Gulley, who suffered an injury to his non-throwing shoulder, won’t have a lot of time to dwell on the setback, as they will have a short week, traveling to Alisal next Thursday.
“Our youth got exposed tonight,” Besaw said. “Sometimes the game looked a little too fast for us. It was not like we were shooting ourselves in the foot. Palma was superior tonight. I’ve got to do a better job.”
