SANTA CRUZ >> Don’t feed the bears.

The Grizzlies came to town hungry and feasted on early turnovers, and never looked back.

Pajaro Valley’s football team scored on all six of its possession in the first half and roared to a 46-10 win over Santa Cruz in the teams’ Pacific Coast Athletic League Santa Lucia Division game Saturday night.

The Grizzlies (3-3, 2-0) ran the ball with authority and produced 396 yards and five touchdowns on 39 carries. That effort helped the program secure its first three-win season since 2018.

“It means a lot for us,” Grizzlies defensive back Toni Bahena said. “We’re 2 and 0 in league for the first time ever, and I think we’re going to keep that streak going.”

Quarterback Miguel Solano ran for 103 yards and a touchdown on five carries, Brian Flores ran for 88 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries. Jose Perez ran for 52 yards and a touchdown on eight carries, and Eddie Mendoza ran for a score.

Sophomore Adrian Mendoza was the workhorse and went for 139 yards on 13 carries.

“I just like running the ball; it just makes me feel better,” Mendoza said. “I just want go for the touchdowns and stuff. Thank you to my linemen.”

And on defense, the Grizzlies ripped, clawed and punched at the ball with ferocity on nearly every tackle attempt. The Cardinals were stripped of the ball after pass completions on their first two offensive plays and the Grizzlies recovered the ball and converted both turnovers into points.

“We practiced for it,” Bahena said. “We really wanted it, so we got it.”

Pajaro Valley led 19-0 lead midway through the first quarter. But the dagger came one play after Flores scored on a 1-yard run to cap six-play, 94-yard drive, which featured a 65-yard run from Solano and a 40-yard run from Flores.

On the ensuing kickoff, Bahena ripped the ball from a Cardinal as he was fighting for extra yards in a pile of defenders, and returned it 35 yards for his first career touchdown and a 33-0 lead.

Asked what he was most impressed with, Bahena offered, “Definitely the turnovers. We had a lot of good ones.”

His was huge. No doubt. “It was really exciting,” he said. “It was very surreal. I didn’t believe it, at first. I didn’t realize where I was, I just started running. But I got there and we made it.”

Bahena couldn’t believe it. The Cardinals couldn’t believe it, and neither could Bahena’s teammates.

“The strip really surprised me,” Mendoza said. “That was my favorite play of the game. I was just shocked.”

Everything that could go right did in the first half for the Grizzlies. Solano completed a 44-yard touchdown pass to Izaak Ocampo on a 3rd-and-18 play, and Eddie Mendoza capped an 80-yard drive with a 2-yard run for the Grizzlies’ final score. Adrian Mendoza fueled the Grizzlies’ final scoring drive with a 69-yard gain.

The Cardinals declined a running clock in the third quarter and produced a more inspired effort on both sides of the ball.

Kicker Anderson Hernandez got the Cardinals (0-6, 0-2) on the board with his 27-yard field goal to finish off a 12-play drive.

Santa Cruz’s Kaden Steele recovered a fumble at the Grizzlies’ 10-yard line following a high snap on a botched punt attempt, which set up the final score of the game. Junior quarterback Neven Ristic connected with junior receiver Soji Agbelekale for an 11-yard touchdown with 1:14 left in the third.

That was the last Santa Cruz touched the ball. A running clock was enforced in the fourth quarter, and Pajaro Valley earned enough first downs to kill the final penalty-filled 12 minutes.

Santa Cruz finished with 131 yards on offense, including 103 passing.

Ristic, who also plays cornerback, and Steele stepped up their play on defense and the Cardinals closed the game strong.

“I was trying to get them to keep their energy high and keep their momentum going,” Ristic said, “because we have a lot of trouble with a lot of things and losing focus. If we can keep that focus, we’ll have a good season. We’re a finesse team. We need to be more of a physical, power run team: Flip that switch from being finesse and only throwing the ball to getting to be more power run and have more people backing us and wanting to hit and wanting to tackle.”

The Cardinals look for an improved start when they take on Stevenson (3-2, 2-0) in Pebble Beach on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

The Grizzlies look to extend their win streak to three games when they host Harbor (1-4, 0-2) on Saturday at 12:30 p.m.