Jeremy T. Ringfield's Blog, page 285

Warriors run out of gas in loss to Spurs

On the second night of a back-to-back, the Warriors spent too long running on empty to close out the Spurs

After leading by 17 late in the third quarter, Golden State fell apart. The Warriors didn’t convert a field goal for more than six minutes of the fourth quarter. They got outscored by 25 in the last 12 minutes and 30 seconds, scoring a total of 13 fourth-quarter points.

The younger Spurs had fresher legs, and it showed in their 104-94 win over the Warriors (12-4). The Warriors needed their younger players to pick up the slack for their veterans, but Brandin Podziemski, Buddy Hield, and Moses Moody didn’t do quite enough to make up for Steph Curry (14 points on 5-for-16 shooting) and Draymond Green’s quiet nights.

Perhaps Jonathan Kuminga could have provided enough individual offense to keep the Warriors afloat late, but he got scratched due to an illness.

Victor Wembanyama scored a game-high 25 points and added nine assists, seven rebounds and three blocks. Rookie Stephon Castle added 19, including several big plays late.

The last time the Warriors blew a lead of at least 17 and lost was last January against the Nuggets.

To build their lead, the Warriors went on both an 11-0 and 7-0 run in a convincing first quarter fueled by Andrew Wiggins (20 points) and Buddy Hield. Wiggins dropped 10 in the opening period and Hield added eight, passing Joe Johnson for 19th on the all-time 3-point leaderboard with a pair of early triples.

Golden State started 5-for-11 from behind the arc, but did a ton of damage in the paint. By sealing smaller defenders like Chris Paul underneath, the back-cuts and motion offense generated consistent looks at the rim even with San Antonio shot-blockers Wembanyama and Zach Collins patrolling the lane.

Hield cashed another 3 to start the second quarter, then two Spurs closed out to him in a split-action, allowing him to dish an assist for a slipping Trayce Jackson-Davis. The Spurs were lost in Golden State’s free-flowing, outside-in offense.

But Steve Kerr had to call a timeout after San Antonio ripped off 10 straight points. Gregg Popovich wasn’t on the Spurs’ bench as he’s recovering from a stroke, but his team played the type of ball-movement basketball his greatest clubs have embraced.

Refocused, the Warriors consistently put Wembanyama in actions on the perimeter, drawing him away from the rim, forcing him to navigate screens, and making him think. Wembanyama was playing in his first game after missing the previous three with a right knee contusion, and the Warriors tested him on both ends.

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Wiggins rainbowed a 3 over Wembanyama, giving the Warriors a 50-38 lead as the game clock wound down in the first half. The Spurs’ 38 points were the fewest in any half for them this season, as Golden State’s defensive execution vastly improved from the night prior.

Lindy Waters III, starting his fifth straight game in De’Anthony Melton’s place, drilled a pair of 3s to halt a fleeting San Antonio push in the third quarter. The first of his back-to-back 3s came after two offensive rebounds — an area the Warriors controlled until the fourth quarter.

The Warriors pushed their lead to 17, bottling up Wembanyama and matching San Antonio’s energy. But five straight points, including steal-and-score, from rookie Stephon Castle brought the Spurs back within 10 entering the fourth quarter.

Castle’s sequence totally flipped the game, and appeared to give him confidence heading into the fourth.

Castle played stout defense on Curry throughout the game, limiting the two-time MVP to eight points on 30% shooting through three quarters.

With Curry and Draymond Green on the bench to start the final period, Golden State needed its bench to build up another cushion. Instead, San Antonio went on a 10-4 run, cutting the deficit to four.

So Curry and Green re-entered the game earlier than normal, checking in with over eight minutes left. They’d played 33 and 30 minutes, respectively, in New Orleans the night before.

Wembanyama inched San Antonio within one with a 3, but Curry answered with a deep triple of his own.

Castle knifed inside to tie the game at 90 with four minutes left — the Warriors’ eighth clutch game of the year. Then Castle drilled a 3, giving the Spurs their first lead since the first basket of the game.

The Warriors’ shots kept falling short. Jumps for rebounds didn’t get off the floor. The Warriors went scoreless for more than four minutes, and Curry over-dribbled for a costly turnover. Their 13 fourth-quarter points was their lowest scoring period of the season.

In a flash, the Warriors’ 17-point lead was an eight-point deficit. For the first time this season, the Warriors collapsed and couldn’t find their footing in time to steady themselves.

What Warriors’ NBA Cup knockout round berth means

By beating the Pelicans and getting some help in the form of the Nuggets’ loss to Dallas on Friday night, the Warriors became the first team in the league to punch a ticket to the knockout round of the NBA Cup.

The Warriors (12-3) are 3-0 in NBA Cup play, winners of the West Group C. Margin of victory matters in the NBA Cup, and the Warriors have won their three games by only a cumulative 12 points. But since they’re the only undefeated team in Group C and have beaten the Mavericks already, they secured a quarterfinal game.

That quarterfinal game’s time, opponent and location are to be determined, though it’ll be on either Dec. 10 or Dec. 11. The Warriors still have one group stage game remaining, on Dec. 3 against the Nuggets.

Head coach Steve Kerr and various Warriors have said that the team is motivated to win the NBA Cup, which comes with prize money for both players and coaches — with the biggest bonuses awarded to the NBA Cup champion.

“We’re going for the money, we want the money,” Brandin Podziemski said after the Pelicans win.

The Warriors have group play wins over the Mavericks, Pelicans and Grizzlies. Their participation in the single-elimination knockout round — and possibly beyond — would be an opportunity for some of Golden State’s less experienced players to feel an elevated competitive environment.

Last year, the Warriors didn’t get out of the group stage because they blew a 24-point lead to the Kings. The Lakers won last year’s NBA Cup, then called the In-Season Tournament, but didn’t carry momentum through the rest of the season.

The NBA Cup is designed to generate interest in the league before Christmas time, with the semifinals and championship played in Las Vegas. The Warriors still have work to get there, but their ticket to the dance is secured.

“That’s our goal, we want to win the whole thing,” wing Andrew Wiggins said Friday. “We feel we have a good chance. We have the squad for it.”

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— Victor Wembanyama is set to return on Saturday night in San Antonio against the Warriors. The French phenom had missed the past three games with a right knee contusion.

— Saturday night’s matchup is the back end Warriors’ second back-to-back of the season. They swept the Pelicans in two straight home games earlier this year.

— Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Gary Payton II and Lindy Waters III are each listed as probably on the official injury report with minor ailments. They’re expected to play.

— Andrew Wiggins has scored 79 combined points over the past three games, going 28-for-43 (65.1%) from the floor.

— Former Warrior Chris Paul is averaging 10.8 points and 8.6 assists per game, organizing the Spurs and helping lift them from the bottom of the lottery to .500. He’s the second-oldest active player in the league, behind only LeBron James.

— Legendary Spurs coach Gregg Popovich remains away from the team after suffering what the team described as a mild stroke earlier this month. Kerr and Popovich have been close for decades, they’ve been in touch as Popovich recovers.

“He means the world to me,” Kerr told reporters in San Antonio. It’s tough to know that he’s going through this medical situation. I think about him all the time.”

— Jonathan Kuminga was a late scratch for the Spurs game with an illness, the team said.

CIF NorCal DII girls water polo finals: Historic run ends for Stevenson in loss to San Ramon Valley

ATHERTON — When you are a sophomore and reach the pinnacle in your sport, the expectation is you will be back either to make amends or repeat the feat.

And for five members of the Stevenson girls water polo team, that has been the case over the last three years, having gone as far as the sport will take them in high school.

Yet, as a senior, whether the result is another State Northern California divisional title or a runner-up finish, having a season come to an end feels different.

“It does feel weird,” said Emmerson Ferriera, Stevenson’s all-time leading scorer. “We have had some time to reflect on the last four years with what I truly feel are my best friends. It feels final.”

Reigning Division III champions, Stevenson came up short Saturday in a 12-10 nailbiter to San Ramon Valley in the Division II title match at Sacred Heart Prep.

A postseason run that has seen the Pirates capture two Central Coast Section Division II titles and make three Northern California final appearances in a row — with one State NorCal championship — had an emotional ending for the fab five.

“I think it has already sunk in for me,” Ferriera said. “It’s bittersweet. I know there are bigger things coming. I’m so happy we made history over and over again. But I didn’t want this to end.”

Over the last three years with Ferriera, Miranda Salinger, Anna Mitchell, Arielle Dale and Sienna Cimoli, the Pirates won 68 matches and became the first boys or girls water polo team in the county to capture a CCS and State NorCal title.

In nine State Northern California divisional playoff matches over the last three years, Stevenson went 7-2, with both losses coming in the title match by two goals or less.

“There were a lot of tears and sadness,” Stevenson coach Jon Burke said. “But it wasn’t because we lost. It’s because this team will never be together again. I told the seniors this journey has been the most remarkable in my 25-year coaching career.”

Burke, who won 12 Central Coast Section titles at Sacred Heart Prep before coming to Stevenson, glanced at the brackets over the last three years and discovered that Stevenson was the only program that reached the title match each year.

“That’s an extraordinary statistic,” Burke said. “It’s a great departure to have the opportunity to compete for a NorCal title. The effort, commitment, dedication and camaraderie of this group has been outstanding.”

Over the last four years, Stevenson’s five seniors helped the program win four Gabilan Division titles, going 28-0 during that stretch, with a pair of section titles hanging in the school gym.

“For us, it doesn’t sour the season not one bit,” Burke said. “We came up a little short. We finished as strong as we could in the final period. While we were playing, 95 percent of other water polo teams were home playing Nintendo.”

Having had a goal taken away in the first period because the clock wasn’t running, the Pirates (21-10) reacted in the second period behind Ferriera and Salinger, turning a 3-2 deficit into a 7-5 halftime lead.

“That was the best quarter of water polo we’ve ever played,” said Ferriera, who along with Salinger, finished with three goals. “We were on the same page and clicking. That is a satisfying moment. We suppressed those standards.”

Riding a season high eight game winning streak coming into the title match, including a North Coast Section title, San Ramon Valley came into the title match having upset higher seeds Clovis East and top seed Davis.

“We felt good and were in control,” Burke said. “Then we made a couple of mistakes and San Ramon capitalized. There was a big swing in momentum. But we believed we could still win the game.”

While it was the final game for five seniors, Ferriera and Salinger will be teammates again, having both signed to play water polo next fall at UC Santa Barbara. A rival of theirs in college will be Cimoli, who is headed to San Jose State.

“She (Salinger) has been my best friend since the first grade,” Ferriera said. “To get to spend four more years with her will be an amazing journey.”

Dale produced two goals in her final high school match, while sophomore Charlotte Morrow and junior Jacqui Powers each had one. Mitchell finished with four saves in goal.

Storm shatters Northern California rainfall records

Sunny skies on Saturday morning gave Northern California residents a break from the two days of heavy rains that pounded the region, breaking daily rainfall records in cities from Santa Rosa to San Jose.

“We still are going to have rain these next few days, but it’s nothing like what we went through,” said meteorologist Dylan Flynn, with the National Weather Service’s Monterey office.

Downtown Santa Rosa broke a century-plus record for having the most amount of rain within a 72-hour period — 12.7 inches. The previous record was 9.72 inches.

“We broke it by a healthy margin,” Flynn said. “We’ve never seen that much of rain over three days since we started recording.”

Cheerleaders were prepared for the rain Friday night during a Carmel High football game. (Donald Fukui — Herald Correspondent)

Downtown San Francisco registered 2.97 inches of rain Friday, a total that broke the single-day record of 1.12 inches set more than 150 years ago.

In the South Bay, San Jose recorded 0.72 inches of rain, breaking a daily record set in 1964 by 0.10 inches.

The storm hit the Monterey area late Friday afternoon, with over half an inch of rain recorded overnight.

The system roared ashore on the Northern California coast Tuesday as a “ bomb cyclone,” which occurs when a cyclone intensifies rapidly. It unleashed fierce winds that toppled trees onto roads, vehicles and homes.

Flooding closed part of scenic Highway 1, also known as the Pacific Coast Highway, in Mendocino County and there was no estimate for when it would reopen, according to the California Department of Transportation.

By Friday night, some relief was already being seen in California, where the sheriff’s office in Humboldt County downgraded evacuation orders to warnings for people near the Eel River after forecasters said the waterway would see moderate but not major flooding.

Rain is likely in the Monterey area according to the National Weather Service, mainly after 4 p.m. It is expected to continue off and on through Wednesday morning.

 

Community College state cross-country finals: Blanco earns All-America honors for Hartnell

FRESNO — Overnight rain left what is normally a pristine cross-country course at Woodward Park muddy and at times treacherous on the hills.

That didn’t dampen the performance of Jesse Blanco, as the Hartnell College distance ace left his stamp on the program, adding to a growing list of All-Americas head coach Chris Zepeda has produced.

The sophomore closed a chapter in his career, overcoming slick conditions and a fall at the 2.5-mile mark of a 4.01-mile loop to take sixth overall Saturday at the State Community College cross-country championships in Fresno.

“I tried to be aggressive and tough,” said Blanco, whose knee was bloodied from the fall. “Before I entered the third mile, there is a steep hill that I used to my advantage to pass a couple of people. The last mile I just tried to pass as many people as I could.”

Falling back to 12th after falling, Blanco passed six runners over the final 1.2 miles, clocking 20 minutes and 58 seconds — the fifth fastest time in school history. The top 12 finishers in each race earn All-American status, with the top 20 gathering all-state honors.

“You have to have the highest level of self-confidence you can have to win state,” Zepeda said. “He was in the top four at the mile mark before the fall, slipping back to 12th, which created a little extra work. He didn’t let it rattle him, he stayed focused.”

Blanco, who sat out last year for personal reasons, overcame an injury in the summer, gradually increasing his mileage as the fall went on, winning a Coast Conference title as well.

“It felt slow because of the environment,” said Blanco, who won the Northern California title two weeks ago at Toro Park. “I wasn’t expecting a fast time. Today was just another race. It’s my last race, but not of my career.”

Blanco, who prepped at Salinas High, becomes the Panthers’ seventh All-America in the past eight years in cross-country. He was the only runner from Northern California to earn All-America status.

“We run our program a little differently than we did 10 or 15 years ago,” Zepeda said. “We don’t want it to feel like a job. We are consistently putting out All Americans on a yearly basis.”

As a team, the Panthers finished ninth overall, the highest-finishing team from Northern California. Following Blanco were Alvaro Ruelas, Giancarlo Mendo, Gabriel Clemente, Aaron Eldredge, Ivan Martinez and Galen Okamoto.

Coming off a disappointing effort two weeks ago after being tripped and injured at the Northern California finals, Roselyn Olivo made her last race for Hartnell memorable, earning all-state honors with a 20th-place finish.

A Coast Conference champion, the Alvarez High graduate was chasing All-American status until the final mile, yet still earned all-state honors.

“The conditions were so bad,” Olivo said. “The downhill was more about avoiding a fall. Passing was challenging. I had a good week of training. I just tried to hold up the entire race. I just didn’t have a good kick.”

Olivo dipped under 20 minutes on the 5k course, clocking 19:41.4, leading the Panthers to a sixth-place overall finish. San Diego Mesa won both the men’s and women’s state team titles.

“I’ve never seen the course so slick,” Zepeda said. “It was interesting for runners going on the second loop. Guys were trying to find footing just getting up the second hill.”

Janai Orozco provided a glimpse of the future for Hartnell, as the freshman finished 28th overall in 20:05. Two weeks ago, she was the team’s top finisher at the Northern California finals.

“She’s a really good racer,” Zepeda said. “She’s improved so much. She’s learned how to race in cross-country. In the spring, she will be competitive in track.”

Rounding out the Coast Conference champion Panthers roster were Jimena Hernandez, Lucero Benigno, Cristal Baeza, Yareli Meza and Karen Perez.

Monterey Peninsula College saw four runners pick up massive personal records, with Caleb Bouwens clocking 22:04 and Andrew Moberg running 22:53. Mary Hooper was timed in 21:26 in the women’s race, with Alana Gamino running 21:41.

Pebble Beach Concours wins international award

This year’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance was named the Motoring Event of the Year at the International Historic Motoring Awards, held in London on Friday night.

The International Historic Motoring Awards go to “the world’s best motoring event, whether a festival, concours, one-marque gathering, anniversary celebration or other collector car show, ” according to a press release from the Concours d’Elegance.

The awards are offered by Hothouse Media, which publishes Magneto and Octane magazines. The presenting sponsor was Lockton Insurance Brokers.

Concours Chairman Sandra Button accepted the award, recognizing the 1,200 volunteers who make the event possible.

“I’m here to represent the cars,” she added. “We can’t do this without them.”

Fritz Burkard’s 1934 Bugatti Type 59 Sports was named Car of the Year. The car also won best of show at the Concours, the first preservation car ever to do so. Whereas a restored car can have parts replaced or repaired, a preserved classic car keeps its original components, including the factory paint.

The 1934 Bugatti Type 59 Sports still has the upholstery originally installed at Bugatti’s factory in Molsheim, France. It also has a missing front grille and paint chips are visible around the car as are a rough scuff on its rear and fender dents.

At the awards ceremony, Button talked about the importance of caring for the cars and maintaining their authenticity — particularly as new technologies arise that can so easily change things: “We have to be fair to the cars, the history, the people. I look at the restorers and I think, ‘Please be careful. Please keep these cars real. Authenticity is all we have.’”

One of the Concours’ Best of Show Nominees, a 1948 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport Saoutchik Fastback Coupé owned by Robert Kudela of the Czech Republic, was named the Restoration of the Year. And Bruce Meyer, a longtime Concours advisor, was recognized for Personal Achievement.

 

As atmospheric river soaks California, farmworkers await flood aid promised in 2023

After flood waters from heavy rainstorms deluged two small farmworker towns in January 2023, California set aside $20 million each for the communities to rebuild.

Nearly two years later, four-fifths of that aid has not yet been distributed to flood victims of Planada in Merced County, and even less has been distributed in Pajaro in Monterey County.

While county officials and non-profit workers say the slow pace stems from a deliberative planning process and state rules requiring verification of recipients’ residency and losses, a new atmospheric river soaking Northern California is causing anxiety for locals who saw their neighborhoods destroyed once before.

Days of rain in January of 2023 caused canals and creeks to overflow in the two communities, hitting many residents with a triple whammy: displaced from their homes, their possessions destroyed, their work hours in the field cut. State lawmakers granted the relief funds in the fall of 2023. The counties divided them into various pots to cover reimbursement for belongings and wages, home repair, business losses, and infrastructure improvements to prepare for the next storm.

As of this month, about $4 million of the $20 million in state aid designated for Planada had been spent, the bulk of that in direct payments to families, Merced County spokesperson Mike North said. In Pajaro, county officials working with nonprofits have handed out about $1.3 million of its $20 million share: $450,000 in grocery gift cards to residents whose food spoiled during the flooding, plus about another $800,000 to people and businesses with larger losses not covered by federal disaster aid or private insurance.

Angela DiNovella, the executive director of Catholic Charities Diocese of Monterey – one of two organizations contracted with Monterey County to help Pajaro residents apply for the funds – said her organization’s three case workers were distributing an average of $30,000 per week to families.

One of the main challenges, she said, was verifying eligibility for families who lacked a permanent address or lived in overcrowded conditions, such as when three families share a single apartment. Some people also struggled to document how much they had lost, so caseworkers were doing the painstaking labor of reviewing photographs and trying to estimate the dollar value of each item.

“The reality is this is state funding that comes with a lot of requirements,” she said. “Our work is to be creative with the families and be on their side but even that takes time.”

Monterey County set up an assistance center in a community park this past spring to help residents apply for the aid, DiNovella said. But Danielle Rivera, an environmental planning professor at UC Berkeley who conducts fieldwork in the area, said many community members remain confused about where the state aid is going and how to benefit. And some, she said, may have moved away before they got any help.

“People were displaced from the floods – they were renting and the landlord said ‘This unit’s out of commission.’ Then that household tries to find housing somewhere else and maybe they came back to Pajaro, maybe they went to Watsonville, maybe they just left the Pajaro Valley entirely,” she said.

Residents in both communities who were undocumented could also qualify for a statewide Storm Assistance for Immigrants program, aimed at helping California flood victims who were ineligible for federal emergency assistance. The $95 million statewide program for storm victims offered a flat stipend of $1,500 per qualifying adult.

Millions in additional aid from philanthropic groups, private insurance and the Federal Emergency Management Agency has also poured into Pajaro since the floods, county officials said — though residents’ ability to access that help varied based on whether they were homeowners or legal U.S. residents.

In Planada, North said the county had nearly completed distributing funds for replacement of lost vehicles, personal property and business assets, and was moving on to help with home repair. That work “takes more time as it’s dependent upon certain detailed inspections for issues like mold, foundation damage, asbestos testing, and could require structural engineering in some cases,” he said by email.

Infrastructure projects are also moving forward, North said, though more slowly. The county has replaced a backup generator for the local community services district that failed during the floods, and is commissioning a study on how to prevent future inundations.

Half of Pajaro’s $20 million is earmarked for infrastructure and emergency preparedness projects, and Monterey County spokesperson Nick Pasculli said the county had requested bids for about half the projects.

DiNovella, whose organization also worked with families displaced by the 2020 fires in the Santa Cruz Mountains, said that communities often take years to recover from disasters and that the pace of aid in Pajaro, while slow, is sadly par for the course. The most recent batch of aid, while delayed, will give families a boost during the slow winter season when many farmworkers are barely scraping by, she said.

One Pajaro resident who got state help is Jesús Padilla, who’s lived in the town for 25 years, working the strawberry and blackberry harvests. When the floods hit, he and his family just had time to grab the three children’s birth certificates and run. They lost everything – furniture, clothes, kitchenware.

Now, he worries most about his family’s physical and mental health. Every time it rains, his children ask him, “If it keeps raining more, where will we go?”

His family had already replaced many of their belongings, but the state grant that Catholic Charities helped him obtain reimbursed some of their expenses. He has friends who are still waiting for help.

He tells them to be patient – “It seems like the process is working. Just slowly.”

Horoscopes Nov. 23, 2024: Miley Cyrus, replace what isn’t performing well with something better

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Miley Cyrus, 32; Salli Richardson-Whitfield, 57; Robin Roberts, 64; Bruce Hornsby, 70.

Happy Birthday: Control is the objective this year. Assess situations, analyze the potential outcomes and masterfully engage in the best way to continue with the most negligible fallout. Embrace change, innovate and replace what isn’t performing well with something better. Remember, life is a work in progress. It’s up to you to venture down paths that excite you and to tweak anything that doesn’t live up to its reputation. Your numbers are 8, 15, 24, 27, 31, 36, 48.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Communicate, participate and socialize, and you’ll meet someone who shares your concerns and beliefs. You have plenty to gain through the connections you make. A proposal will lead to a binding contract and a lifestyle change. Travel will be enlightening and prompt a move or change. 3 stars

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Step outside your comfort zone and do something that sparks your imagination. A shift in your appearance or lifestyle will help build enthusiasm and encourage you to expand your qualifications to fit changing markets and industries. Attend a reunion or conference. Love and romance are on the rise. 5 stars

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Take a moment to review the information and verify its authenticity. Pass along only what you feel will help and that you know is accurate. The best way to make a difference is to be direct regarding your intentions and what you can contribute. Follow-up is essential and rewarding. 2 stars

CANCER (June 21-July 22): You can reach your goal if you trust and believe in yourself. Deny outside interference from seeping into your orb, causing uncertainty or false information. Well-intended actions will impress someone in a position to help you advance or elevate your reputation. Romance is in the stars. 4 stars

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): High-energy activities, competitive games and networking or social events will bring out the best in you and attract attention from someone who’d like to spend more time with you. Keep your emotions in check, especially when dealing with financial matters, joint ventures or shared expenses. 3 stars

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Dismiss anyone using pressure tactics to push you in a questionable direction. Concentrate on your emotional well-being and what makes you happy. A romantic gesture will bring you closer to someone special. A trendy new look will boost your ego and attract attention, while a fitness routine will deliver results. 3 stars

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Think big but put a budget in place. Setting boundaries will deter others from talking you into something you don’t want to do or cannot afford. Protect your home, family and possessions from loss or damage, and research and implement a healthy lifestyle. Start a learning expedition. 3 stars

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Secure your home, possessions and investments. Adjust to what’s happening and refuse to let anyone railroad you into something unnecessary. Stay on track and focus on using your skills with precision, discipline and in a manner directly linked to the goal you wish to achieve. 4 stars

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Communication will meet with opposition if you can’t keep your facts straight. Don’t take on a challenge unprepared or allow someone to make you look bad. A positive attitude and friendly demeanor are in your best interest. Pay more attention to how you present yourself. 2 stars

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Pay attention to detail, especially when dealing with someone you love or regarding how you present yourself to others. A positive change will occur at home if you use your money efficiently and aim to reduce overhead. Self-improvement, personal gain and romance are in the stars. 5 stars

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Keep an open mind and listen carefully. The information you share will grab attention and likely put you on the spot to validate your claims. Your highest returns will come from what you do to help others. Refuse to let anyone take advantage of you. 3 stars

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Quibbling over something inconsequential wastes time. The objective is to simplify your life, not to take on too much and fall short or burn out. Take a stance and halt anything moving too quickly or making you feel uneasy or uncertain regarding your choices. Choose love over discord. 3 stars

Birthday Baby: You are unique, energetic and helpful. You are generous and proactive.

1 star: Avoid conflicts; work behind the scenes. 2 stars: You can accomplish, but don’t rely on others. 3 stars: Focus and you’ll reach your goals. 4 stars: Aim high; start new projects. 5 stars: Nothing can stop you; go for gold.

Visit Eugenialast.com, or join Eugenia on Twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn.

CCS Division V football playoffs: Alisal succumbs to Leland

SALINAS — For those seniors that had returned this year with the slogan ‘unfinished business’, there was a sense of unfulfillment in walking off the football field Friday for the final time.

Yet, it was those same seniors at Alisal that adopted a culture change, embraced a new system and coaching staff, setting the tone for the future.

“I’m just appreciative how our players embraced the changes,” Alisal coach Francisco Estrada said. “You had players that had been in a system for three years, with success. But they put their trust in us and bought into everything we asked of them.”

Getting back to the Central Coast Section finals will have to wait at least another year after the Trojans season came to an end after a 35-14 loss to Leland of San Jose in the Division V semifinals.

A year after reaching the CCS Division III title game, there were massive changes at Alisal, with a new coaching staff, a new system and a new culture.

“I think the groundwork has been laid for the future,” Estrada said. “Now there is a sense of culture. There is a sense of our footprint with coaches on campus. It’s an entire identity that matters — not just football, but everything from how we present ourselves.”

Having struggled out the gates in dropping three of its first four games, Alisal went 5-2 in the second half of the season to gather the No. 2 seed in Division V and earn a semifinal home game against the No. 3 seeded Chargers (9-3).

The Trojans came into the game 5-0 at home this year, while Leland was 7-1 in its last eight game, knocking off Stevenson 30-20 in last week’s playoff quarterfinals.

Estrada, who quarterbacked Alisal to the programs first ever league title in 2003, put his business ventures aside this year to take a job on campus, enabling him to be closer to the players to implement his culture.

“We came up short with the X’s and O’s,” Estrada said. “But we had some huge growth with personalities. These kids have bought into what we’re trying to achieve at Alisal. I so appreciative for the community support as well.”

Rain throughout the evening put a damper on the Trojans — Mission Division North runner-ups — game plan. Having gone to more a spread attack this season, Estrada was limited with the wet conditions.

“Leland is a power run team,” Estrada said. “It ran its game plan effectively. In weather conditions like this, if favors a team that does not spread it out. We struggled.”

The Trojans found themselves starring a 21-point first half deficit before Jayden Duarte broke loose on a 20-yard touchdown run to provide momentum going to halftime.

“We felt we had some momentum to start the third quarter,” Estrada said. “We got the ball to open the second half. If we put a drive together, maybe it’s a different game.”

Instead, the Trojans fumbled the snap on the third play from scrimmage and turned the ball over back to Leland, who went down and scored on a 25-yard touchdown run from Jacob Gibson to take a 29-7 lead.

“At that point, some of the air was let out,” said Estrada, whose squad advanced to the semifinals, using a touchdown from Duarte with 12 seconds left last week to beat Overfelt 21-14. “It deflated us.”

Alisal (6-6) did cut the deficit to 14 in the third quarter when Caleb Gabriel outran the Leland defense 74 yards for a touchdown, only to see the Santa Teresa Valley Division runner-ups counter with their fifth rushing touchdown of the game.

CCS Division III football playoffs: Big second half lifts Carmel past Hollister

MONTEREY — For a football program that approaches each game with a business-like mentality, for a few precious seconds on a rain-soaked field, players for Carmel High made it a point to enjoy the moment with head-first dives into the end zone.

Starring at their season potentially coming to an end — and for 22 seniors their high school careers — wasn’t an option for a program that has been chasing perfection all season.

“It’s no secret recipe,” Carmel coach Golden Anderson said. “We understand this is a 48-minute game and to keep punching. These kids weren’t afraid to lose. We came out in the second half with a blue flame.”

Outscoring Hollister 26-0 in the second half, the Padres punched their ticket to the Central Coast Section Division III title game after Friday’s 40-21 win at Monterey Peninsula College.

The only undefeated team left in the CCS at 12-0, Carmel will chase its first section title since 2009 next Friday when it faces Aptos — 49-35 winners over Palo Alto — for the Division III title at 7 p.m. at Rabobank.

“This is really rare and hard to do,” Anderson said. “I have been here before and it is a cool thing. These kids have no idea how rare this really is. It was fun to see them just being kids at the end of the game.”

Carmel and Aptos have not faced each other since 2019 when the Padres were put into the Gabilan Division for one season, falling 35-34 to the Mariners, who won CCS titles in 2014, 2015 and 2018.

This will be Anderson’s fifth strip to the section finals in his 15 seasons, having won a CCS Division IV title in his first season, going 12-0 in 2009.

Yet, the last three trips have ended in disappointment, with Carmel falling to King’s Academy 41-14 in the Division IV championship in its last appearance in 2018. Twice it has gone into the title game 12-0.

“These kids have come a long way,” Anderson said. “We have faced a lot of obstacles, facing bigger schools and ‘A’ league caliber opponents in the postseason. Hollister is physical and gave us all we could handle. We ignored the noise and kept fighting.”

One of those obstacles was the weather as rain pelted down the entire game. While it didn’t affect the turf field, concerns of being able to effectively throw the ball were erased on Carmel’s opening drive.

“We practiced with a wet ball all week,” quarterback Hudson Rutherford said. “Just getting used to it. We made practices harder than the game. We had towels to keep the balls dry. Credit my ball boy for keeping the ball dry.”

Rutherford was fearless in putting the ball in the air, particularly down field, tossing four touchdowns, including two to Ty Arnold. Yet, it was his 18-yard scoring strike to Simeon Brown to open the second half to tie the game at 21 that swung the momentum.

“One side of the stadium was sky high at the half,” Anderson said. “We talked to our kids about keeping their composure. This isn’t the first time we’ve trailed in a game. We stayed even keeled.”

All Anderson had to do was go back two weeks ago to when the Padres were trailing at the half to rival Pacific Grove on the same MPC field, in an eventual 44-41 win.

Perhaps the biggest difference was the performance of Carmel’s defense, which has struggled over the last two weeks, giving up 33 points in the second half of last week’s 56-46 win over San Mateo.

Carmel matched the physicality of the Balers, with Ashton Rees and Matt Maxon coming up from their safety positions to shut down their running game, along with defensive end Indy Gabrielson and linebacker Hiroki Cole.

“We just wanted to pin our ears back and go,” Anderson said. “We wanted to be aggressive. I felt we were a little too passive in the first half. We felt we had seen their (Hollister) playbook in the first half. They were running out of plays.”

For the first time all season, the Padres defense shutout an opponent in the second half, putting together arguably their best game of the season.

That only fueled an offense that came into the game averaging over 47 points a game this season. Limited to two possessions in the second quarter, the Padres scored on their first three possessions of the second half.

Having recovered an onside kick after tying the game at 21, Rutherford struck again when he connected with Arnold on an 14-yard scoring toss to put the Padres up for good at 28-21.

Earlier in the game, the pair hooked up for Carmel’s first touchdown on a 7-yard scoring pass on fourth down. Rutherford’s second touchdown pass to Brooklyn Ashe also came on a fourth and goal.

As dynamic as Rees was on the defensive side of the ball, the three-sport athlete also rushed for two touchdowns, with his last one in the fourth quarter insuring the Padres a trip to the section title game.

“It’s easy to understand the seniors starring at the possibility of their careers ending and being afraid this might be it,” Anderson said. “We understand the reality of it. Instead, we took the momentum and didn’t give it back.”