CCS Division III football finals: Carmel chasing perfection in title game against Aptos

CARMEL >> There is a humbleness to Carmel High’s football team that speaks volumes to its discipline on the field, as well as its demeanor off it.

Such as when an opponent was screaming obscenities at them during halftime, there wasn’t so much as a word echoed back, just a second half beatdown.

Through a run of going 24-1 in their past 25 games, emotions have been kept in check as the Padres chase their first Central Coast Section football title in 15 years.

“This is rare and really hard to do,” Carmel coach Golden Anderson said. “We understand it’s not common to just win playoff games. We’re humbled to be in this situation.”

For the fifth time in Anderson’s tenure, the Padres are in the section finals as they’ll face Aptos in the Division III title game at 7 p.m. Friday at Rabobank Stadium in Salinas.

“We don’t care how other people perceive us,” Anderson said. “We talk about the history of the program and historical data when it comes to how rare these moments are. Most of my coaches never had this opportunity as players.”

Carmel High quarterback Hudson Rutherford, shown here last season, completed 17 of his last 20 passes in the rain last week for 196 yards and four touchdowns. (Raul Ebio – Herald Correspondent)

Over their past 25 games, the top-seeded Padres (12-0) only loss was to eventual State Division 4AA champion Soquel in last year’s CCS Division II playoffs.

Yet, no one looked at this season as redemption. The objective all year for Carmel has been to get better and identify its flaws. Of course, there are goals. And a section championship became one of them after clinching a playoff spot.

“We remember the experience,” Anderson said. “We just didn’t make enough plays to win. What’s special about this program are the former players that have come by this week. The seniors from last year’s team are the ones texting us, telling us how excited they are for us.”

For the fourth time in Anderson’s 15 seasons – not including pandemic-shortened spring – the Padres are going into the section title game undefeated.

During its 12-0 start this fall, Carmel is averaging 44.5 points a game. Its 532 points is the sixth most points in school history, having produced 676 points in 2011.

“We want to keep the pace of the game at our tempo,” Anderson said. “Whatever allows us to go at the speed we want to go, we’ll do it.”

Yet, in two of Carmel’s past three games, it has shown the ability to grind the ball and run out the last five minutes of the game, as it did against Pacific Grove and Hollister.

A big part of the Padres’ success this season has been an offensive line anchored by 6-foot-7, 285-pound Alabama-bound tackle Jackson Lloyd.

“Our line has played well as a unit,” Anderson said. “It’s an unselfish group. They will sacrifice anything for the team. They solve a lot more problems than people think and sort it out. Whether some wanted to be linemen or not, they’re volunteers, not hostages.”

That, in turn, has enabled receiver-turned-tailback Ashton Rees to become arguably the most valuable asset in Carmel’s arsenal in a pass-first offense.

What began last year as an experiment in putting the 6-2 Rees into the Wildcat position (where the running back takes the snap from center), has resulted in 31 touchdowns over his last 23 games.

“He’s a very instinctive runner,” Anderson said. “He’s gotten a little more comfort level. He’s an upright runner. He takes hits. He’s durable. You can put him at any position and he’ll excel at it. We’re trying to showcase what he can do.”

Which goes beyond running the ball as Rees can still be used as a receiver. He’s also returned a pair of kickoffs for touchdowns and intercepted a pass to seal Carmel’s win over San Mateo in the playoffs two weeks ago.

As dynamic as Carmel’s offense has been over the past two years, Aptos has caught fire in its two playoff wins, averaging 48 points a game, with the average margin of victory being 13 points.

Upsets over No. 2 seed Willow Glen and No. 3 Palo Alto have the No. 7 seeded Mariners (7-5) making their first finals appearance since 2018.

“They want to run the ball and control the pace of the game,” Anderson said. “When they have been able to do that they’ve been on the right side of things. It doesn’t mean that they can’t throw it.”

Yet, it’s not the Mariners preference, as evident by them averaging 6.5 passes a game, often what Carmel compiles in one drive.

Fourth-place finishers in the Pacific Coast Athletic League’s Gabilan Division, the Mariners haven’t had to air it out with a ground game that has combined for nearly 2,500 yards and 19 touchdowns.

Carmel wide receiver Ty Arnold is one of a large group of dangerous receivers. (Donald Fukui — Herald Correspondent)

A running back by committee approach has seen Gavin McDonald, Dylan Guisado, Casey MacConnell, DeSean Gomez and quarterback Ryan Solorio all take turns moving the chains.

That in turn has chewed time off the clock and limited opponents’ possessions, which is critical for a defense that has given up 30 or more points in eight games.

“What concerns me about their quarterback is he’s a dangerous runner,” Anderson said. “It’s a new coach. He’s tweaked a few things. But the concepts are similar.”

The two teams have met just once before, that coming when Carmel spent one season in the Gabilan Division in 2019, with Aptos prevailing 35-34.

“It’s an offense that applies a lot of pressure on you the way they come out of the huddle and snap the ball,” Anderson said. “It does not allow the defense to settle in.”

The Padres defense rose to the occasion last week in shutting out Hollister in the second half, the first time that has occurred this season.

Defensive lineman Indy Gabrielson and freshman lineman David Spencer have solidified the front seven along with linebacker Carter Lloyd and safety Skyler Brown.

As dynamic as Simeon Brown has been as one of the Padres receiving targets, the senior has seven interceptions this season.

“Aptos reminds me of most Gabilan Division programs,” Anderson said. “It is a year-round program. You can tell their kids have played a lot of football. The guys that don’t look the biggest are tough.”

What Anderson has is a group of multiple sports athletes who give him four months of their lives each season.

Among them his quarterback Hudson Rutherford, who completed 17 of his last 20 passes in the rain last week for 196 yards and four touchdowns.

Rutherford has an abundance of targets, including Brown, Ty Arnold, Stanford-bound baseball pitcher Matt Maxon and Brooklyn Ashe, all of whom have caught at least one touchdown pass in two playoff games.

“He (Rutherford) understands the line protection and being consistent with reads, getting out of bad plays and adjusting on the fly,” Anderson said. “Like most of these kids, Hudson plays three sports and he’s in competition year around. We believe that’s a plus for our athletes.”