SOQUEL >> Soquel High football coach Dwight Lowery hadn’t had an ice bath since he last played defensive back in the NFL, close to a decade ago.

With the temperature in the high 40s, defensive linemen Tanner Trowbridge and Masen Coso gave their parka wearing coach an equally cold ice water shower, after the Knights closed their regular season with a 45-0 win over Aptos to finish unbeaten in the Pacific Coast Athletic League Gabilan Division on Friday night.

“Oh man, it was cold,” Lowery said. “It was quite the journey. We have a great team, great players. They work hard. … For the most part, these guys have done a great job supporting each other and playing for each other, and learning what that process is like throughout the season. It’s just good to see them get rewarded.”

It was the first time any team from Santa Cruz County has gone unbeaten in the Gabilan Division, the top level of the three-level, four-division equity league. It was also the Knights’ first shutout of the season.

“It’s a good feeling, it really is,” said Knights running back TyReis Lundy.

Next up? The Central Coast Section playoffs. Unlike a year ago, when Soquel finished second in the Gabilan and went 5-0 in the postseason to win its first CIF state championship, the Knights (8-2, 6-0) won’t be placed in Division II in the section playoffs. The public school is among the top eight schools in most every ranking and will make its debut in the prestigious Open Division.

“I think we’re ready, just keep doing what we’re doing,” Knights quarterback Sam Whelan said. “We still gotta stay humble because these teams are going to be good. We know we’re good, but it’s another level up there.”

Aptos (5-5, 2-4), a five-time section champion, is also playoff-off bound after tying Palma (5-5, 2-4) for fourth place. The Mariners secured the tiebreaker for the league’s fourth and final automatic berth thanks to its 34-31 win over the Chieftains on Oct. 11. Aptos will likely be placed in Division III as a low seed or IV as a high seed.

“I told them, ‘We’re in the last part of our season now,’ ” first-year Mariners coach Zach Hewett said. “There’s preseason season, the league season, and now it’s postseason, like it’s the final season. My message to them is we just want to keep this team together. Because once we’re done playing, this group will be ever again. And so, one of the things we should be playing for is to keep this group together as long as we can. Whatever division that is, cool. We believe we have the ability to do something.”

Both teams will learn their postseason placement, seed and first-round opponent at Sunday’s CCS seeding meeting in San Jose.

The Knights carry a ton of confidence into the playoffs after posting a feel-good win on senior night.

Whelan passed for three touchdowns, and Lundy rushed for 164 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 12 carries.

“He’s doing a really good of just taking command of the offense,” said Lowery, of his quarterback.

Lundy eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark on the season with his second score, a 60-yard run with 9:57 left in the third quarter, and was rested for the remainder of the game. His backup, Keyandre Bailey, didn’t miss a beat. He ran for 111 yards, including a 23-yard touchdown, on 10 carries.

“Credit to the offensive line, those guys have been blocking their tales off all season long,” Lowery said. “Their versatility, in terms of the different kinds of schemes we can deploy, just a very tight-knit group. Very smart, very physical, and they play for each other.”

Whelan, who completed six of his eight passes for 121 yards, threw two scoring strikes to Hudson Summerrill and one to D’Rell Hopkins.

Kicker Cash Moran booted a 30-yard field goal and made all six of his extra-point kicks.

Soquel finished with 407 yards on offense, including 286 yards rushing on 29 attempts.

Aptos, led by Dylan Guisado and Gavin McDonald out of the offensive backfield, finished with 79 yards rushing on 35 carries, and went 4-of-8 passing for zero yards.

“Our defense, it’s just our chemistry, man,” said Knights linebacker Ben Palma. “In practice, we always saying, ‘Everyone’s got to get to the ball.’ We want the whole team on the ball and it just turns out in the game.”

Aptos was shut out for the first time since falling 21-0 to Placer in Auburn on Sept. 8, 2017.

Gavin Boston recovered a fumble to give the Mariners’ possession at the Soquel’s 35-yard line one play into the second half, but the Knights’ defense held tough.

Later in the third quarter, the Mariners marched from their own 36 to the Knights’ 4 before turning the ball over on downs. Soquel stormed 94 yards on nine plays, and Bailey capped scoring with 3:08 left.

North Monterey County 34, Watsonville 13

CASTROVILLE >> The Wildcatz gave up a pair of defensive touchdowns in a 20-second span late in the fourth quarter of their PCAL Mission North Division loss Friday night.

NMC (7-3, 5-1) won its first league title outright in 25 years.

Anthony Landa’s 55-yard reception to NMC’s 2-yard line set up running back Abraham Martinez’s touchdown run to knot the score at 7-all, but the Condors’ Marcos Mendoza turned a screen pass into 65-yard touchdown with three seconds left in the first half for a 13-7 lead.

Watsonville holder Nate Aguilar threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Patrick Miller-Brown on a fake field-goal attempt to tie the score at 13 in the third quarter.

Quarterback AJ Gomez threw a 24-yard touchdown pass, on a tipped ball, to Jacob Read, to give the Condors the lead for good.

With less than two minutes remaining, NMC’s Gabe Raya returned a fumble for a touchdown. And the Condors’ Arnie Jimenez had a 57-yard scoop-and-score on the Wildcatz’s next offensive series.

Alisal 33, Scotts Valley 14

SALINAS >> The Trojans knocked off the Falcons in the teams’ regular-season finale Friday and secured the Mission North Division’s second automatic berth into the CCS playoffs by finishing in second place.

The playoffs-bound Trojans (5-5, 4-2) led 14-7 at the half.

Scotts Valley running back Eli Velez, who finished with 1,652 rushing yards this season, scored on a 10-yard rusn in the first quarter. Sophomore quarterback Ryder Quicli threw a touchdown pass to Seemus Drees in the fourth quarter.

The youth-laden Falcons (3-7, 2-4), who battled injuries and inexperience all season, finish tied for fifth place a year after winning the division title.

“Youngest team I’ve had in the history of the school due to unfortunate, crazy injuries, non-stop all year,” Falcons coach Louie Walters said. “The future looks bright at SV with all the playing time the younger kids got.”

Senior linebacker Jess Ringel made 12 tackles and a fumble recovery for the Falcons.