SALINAS >> Aptos High’s awesome run in the Central Coast Section football playoffs came to a screeching halt in the second half of its championship battle against unbeaten and top-seeded Carmel on Friday night.

The No. 7 seed Mariners trailed by six points midway through the third quarter when Carmel’s Mathew Maxon hauled in a touchdown pass to extend the Padres’ lead to 13. Shortly thereafter, Aptos fumbled away any shot at turning in another stunner.

Carmel produced four unanswered touchdowns to open the second half, three coming on Aptos turnovers, and pulled away for a 62-35 trouncing in front of a hearty crowd gathered at Rabobank Stadium.

“It’s definitely a tough loss,” Mariners senior quarterback Ryan Solorio said. “We were on a roll right there. We were coming off beating teams we shouldn’t have been beating. This is a game right here where it sucks to watch it go away. Everyone here watching could see our offense was striking down the field. It was still going to be a shootout until a couple of those onside kicks, stuff like that.

“At the end of the day, I’m still, of course, always proud of my team. I couldn’t have asked for anything better, and I love them with all my heart.”

After handing No. 2 seed Willow Glen its first loss, 47-35, in the quarterfinals, and upsetting No. 3 Palo Alto 49-35 in the semifinals, the Mariners entered the final hoping to earn their sixth section title, the first under first-year head coach Zach Hewett.

The explosive Padres (13-0 overall) made sure that didn’t happen.

“That was everything I was expecting,” Hewett said. “The first half, that played out more or less to the script I had in my mind, where we moved the ball very successfully, they moved the ball very successfully. I would’ve rather they wouldn’t been able to steal a possession with the onside kick, but that’s the way I thought it was going to go. … Second half snowballed pretty quick.”

The Mariners (7-6) held their heads high in defeat. Reaching the section final seemed like a far-fetched goal after tying for fourth place in the Gabilan Division, the top tier of the Pacific Coast Athletic League, but they made it reality.

As expected, there were plenty of tears shed as the Mariners realized they had just played their final game together. There were also plenty of smiles.

“We’re so resilient,” said lineman Logan Brantley. “I love these guys so much. They’re everything to me. I wish I could play more with them. I love football, I’ve played it for a long time. I couldn’t ask for a better senior season, I’m not going to lie, not one bit.”

Mariners senior running back/linebacker Nate Garcia was carted off the field and sent to the hospital after enduring a leg injury in first quarter. Many of his teammates chatted with him on FaceTime after the game. They wished their fallen brother the best, and sent him their love.

The Padres took advantage of their bruising offensive line — which includes 6-foot-7, 290-pound University of Alabama commit Jackson Lloyd — and played good enough defense to earn their second section crown, and first since 2009, which also came under the guidance of longtime coach Golden Anderson.

The Padres also made finals in 2010, ’11, and ’18, but emerged on the losing end.

“It’s not really what it means to me, it’s what it means to the kids, the community,” Anderson said. “There was a time, four or five years ago, we might’ve not had football anymore. Our numbers were so low. I’m just so proud of these kids to get into this opportunity and make the most of the opportunity.”

They’ll advance to a CIF NorCal Regional bowl game for the first time in school history. Matchups will be announced Sunday.

Aptos’ season is done. It was a heck of a ride.

“In playoffs, once you’re in, you try to make some noise. And we did that.” Hewett said. “I think we did a good job of announcing we’re not taking a step back. Like, we are who we are. If you let us into the playoffs, we’ve got a good chance of making a run.”

Carmel averaged 52.6 points in its three postseason wins. It beat No. 8 San Mateo 56-46 in the quarterfinals and No. 4 Hollister 40-21 in the semifinals.

Receiver Brooklyn Ashe said the Padres, the PCAL’s Mission South Division champion, played with a chip on their shoulder. The program had made earlier than expected exits from the playoffs over much of the past decade, but it was intent on proving it could beat teams from A-rated league despite playing in a B-rated league. Including Aptos, the Padres beat three Gabilan Division teams this season.

“They were doubting us,” said Ashe, noting that the Padres had some haters. “They were saying we weren’t in the Gabilan, we weren’t good, we were just beating up on bad teams. … I really glad for my team. I’m glad I got to help them out.”

Carmel finished with 485 yards on offense, the bulk of it coming via its air attack. Padres quarterback Hudson Rutherford completed 23 of 29 passes for 301 yards and four touchdowns. He also threw an interception to Damian Suchil.

Rutherford threw two scoring passes to Simeon Brown, and one each to Ashe and Mathew Maxon.

Brown also threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Ashe on an end-around pass trick play.

Ashe finished with 12 catches for 188 yards, and running back Ashton Rees finished with 23 carries for 151 yards and four touchdowns.

Anderson praised his receiving corps.

“They did a great job against a good plan,” he said. “They (the Mariners) were not letting us throw the ball down the field, so we tried to take some stuff underneath. Brooklyn had a heck of a game for us today. He’s kinda a forgotten guy for us. And then, when it mattered at the end, Simeon rose up and took over that fourth quarter.”

Aptos, working with a short field for much of the night thanks to Carmel’s numerous squib and pooch kickoffs, gained 307 yards on offense. It finished with 47 carries for 287 yards and five touchdowns.

Suchil led the way for Aptos; he ran for 100 yards and a touchdown on eight carries. Casey MacConnell ran for 55 yards and a touchdown on eight carries, and Solorio ran for 36 yards and a touchdown on nine carries.

Solorio’s rushing total took a hit after he pounced on a fumbled pitch for a 10-yard loss and was sacked for a 10-yard loss on the same series early in the fourth quarter, which ended with him throwing an interception.

The teams traded the lead four times in the first half, but Rees gave the Padres the lead for good with his 21-yard run with 1:19 left in the half.

The Padres recovered their onside kick and found the end zone 13 seconds later, when Ashe hauled in a 40-yard pass.

That proved to be plenty of time for their Mariners to streak 54 yards to end zone on their next offensive series. Gavin McDonald and Suchil ran for big gains to set up Solorio’s 5-yard touchdown run with 8 seconds left, which narrowed Aptos’ deficit to 34-28 at the half.

Maxon capped a lengthy drive with his touchdown reception midway through the third quarter, and the Mariners’ blunders snowballed from a fumbled punt return, to another fumble, and then an interception, and the Padres capitalized on each turnover to break the game open.

The Mariners, hungry to end the game on a high note, produced the final score on MacConnell’s 19-yard run with 4:13 remaining.