APTOS >> Perhaps Rico Maturino was looking to make up for his absence last week. Or, a sprained ankle that saw him on crutches two weeks ago felt better.

Returning after a one-week absence, the noticeable limp was gone, while the Salinas quarterback’s arm looked in playoff form as he threw for 354 yards and four touchdowns a 56-7 win Friday over Aptos.

“If you ask him, he’s 100 percent,” Salinas coach Steve Zenk said.

Zenk’s decision to leave Maturino on the sidelines in last weeks’ 28-21 win over Monterey was simple.

“I didn’t want a nagging injury for the rest of year,” Zenk said. “I wanted him. Tonight, we saw Rico.”

The 356 yards was a career-high for Maturino, while his four touchdown passes equaled his season best. The 56 points was also a season-high for the Cowboys.

If anyone was questioning Maturino’s mobility, the senior also ran for 47 yards in five carries.

Salinas, which has already clinched a postseason spot for the 16th straight year, is one of two teams still undefeated in the Pacific Coast Athletic League Gabilan Division along with reigning State Division 4AA champion Soquel.

The Cowboys and Soquel will meet on Nov. 1 at Salinas High.

the Cowboys (6-1) have a rare nonleague game in Week 9 next Friday when they host southern section power Arroyo Grande.

The Golden Eagles are 7-1 this year and ranked No. 7 in their division in the Southern Section and No. 1 in their region.

“It will be the same approach this week,” Zenk said. “Get better on Monday. We’re playing to win the game. Arroyo Grande is on top in their division. It’s one of the premier public school programs in their area.”

Of Maturino’s 22 completions against Aptos, 12 of them went to Emarrcis Turner, who turned it into a career-high 234 receiving yard night, with a 44-yard touchdown in the third quarter.

The pair have evolved into one of the more dangerous combinations in the section, with Turner have caught 40 passes for nearly 800 yards this fall.

Maturino shared the wealth, tossing touchdown passes of 9 yards to Madden Eubanks, 37 yards to Dayven Marquez and 8 yards to Brady Ballesteros.

As dynamic as Salinas was with its aerial assault, Brandon Palma added three rushing touchdowns, while Marquez finished with 88 yards on the ground and a touchdown.

Lost in the offensive explosion was that Salinas shut down an Aptos squad that produced 34 points in last week’s win over Palma, holding them scoreless until the fourth quarter

“We did a really good job on focusing on the next play,” said Zenk, who is two wins shy of 100 for her career. “Aptos is about assignment football. I thought it was our best defensive effort since Week 1.”

Joshua Na was a menace on the defensive line for the Cowboys, while defensive back Wyatt Maravilla came up against the run to make several plays.

North Salinas 27, King City 0

North Salinas will go into next Saturday’s battle with Carmel undefeated in the Mission Division South after picking up its fourth straight win.

Carmel has won 19 consecutive regular-season games, having knocked off North Salinas 50-36 last season.

“I have seen film of Carmel,” North Salinas coach Ben Ceralde said. “Man, they are good. Carmel is very dynamic. They are going to keep us on our toes.”

The Vikings, who won seven games last year and reached the postseason as an at-large entry out of the Mission Division, are one win away from matching that total at 6-2 overall.

For the third time in four games, the Vikings’ defense was on display in shutting out an opponent — the first time since the mid-1980s that they have recorded three shutouts in a single season.

“The defense has been lights out,” Ceralde said. “They understand their roles and are playing fundamental football. On top of that, they are flying to the ball.”

Certainly, what helps a defense is playing with a lead, with North Salinas producing points on its first drive on the first of two field goals from Bryan Gutierrez.

The defense also produced points when Matthew Garcia caught a fumble in mid-air and raced 51 yards for a North Salinas touchdown.

“North Salinas did a great job tightening up on defense when we were in the red zone,” King City coach Mac Villanueva said. “It was a real struggle for us on offense. We had a hard time responding after having a touchdown called back.”

With Izaiah Gonzalez starting his second straight game behind center for North Salinas, the slot back-turned-quarterback used his legs to outrun the defense 51 yards for a touchdown, while Darrel Camel added a 33-yard touchdown run.

Knowing that winning one of its final two games will lock up a playoff spot, Ceralde was pleased with the communication up front with his offensive line.

“Our offensive line did a phenomenal job in the first half,” Ceralde said. “We still have room to get better in a lot of areas. Details is what I’ve harped on in the last two weeks. Let’s get better by sharping up our details.”

Soledad 41, Pacific Grove 21

Perhaps still feeling the sting of falling from the unbeaten ranks in the Mission Division South last week, the Breakers were outscored 21-0 in the second half in falling on the road to a much-improved Soledad squad.

Having won just one game last season, the Aztecs are 4-3 overall. More importantly, they are 2-1 in division play, sitting just a game behind co-leaders Carmel and North Salinas.

Last year three teams from the Mission Division South earned a spot in the Central Coast Section playoffs. Soledad will entertain Greenfield next week before closing the season with road games at North Salinas and King City.

“We’re finally coming together as a team,” Soledad coach Marc Villanueva said. “Our guys understand their assignments. We are playing a lot more mistake-free football.”

Having gone away from what he had run the previous two seasons, Villanueva brought in the “Pistol” offense this year. In their last two games, the Aztecs have produced 90 points.

Benefitting the most from the change has been quarterback DJ Valenzuela, who tossed a pair of touchdowns Friday and ran for one.

The offense has also created more openings for tailback Julio Camacho, who went over 100 yards on the ground, rushing for three touchdowns and being on the receiving end of a 45-yard scoring toss. Ayden Raso also caught a touchdown pass.

“two touchdowns from Andrew Nimri and one from Garret Kuska had the Breakers (5-3) tied at 21 in the second half.

Pacific Grove, which has a bye next week, will close the season with games against Rancho San Juan and Carmel.

Alisal 33, St. Francis 27

With their season in the balance, the Trojans responded with a defensive stand at the 1-yard line on the game’s final play to knock St. Francis from the unbeaten ranks in the Mission Division North.

Not only did the win reignite Alisal’s playoff chances, but it moved them into the second spot in the Mission Division North, in front of St. Francis by virtue of the win.

“All year we’ve faced a lot of adversity,” first year Alisal coach Francisco Estrada said. “We have had our backs against the wall in a lot of games. We’ve been able to stay in the fight. “

Central Coast Section Division III finalists last year, the Trojans (3-4 overall) control their fate toward the finish, visiting Seaside next Friday.

Coming the heels of an emotional loss last week to North County, Estrada chose to look at the positives, in which Alisal scored the game’s last 14 points in that 27-21 loss.

“We told the kids all week we control our destiny if we win out,” said Estrada, the quarterback on Alisal’s first-ever league title team. “It’s one game at a time. St. Francis was our next opponent. Now it’s on to Seaside.”

For all the offensive fire power on display, it was a defensive stand as time wound down that saved the Trojans’ season as Xavier Estrada, Hugo Acero and Josiah Ramos came up to make a stop at the 1-yard line as the clock ran out.

“I can’t say enough about our defense,” Estrada said.

The offense earned a few praises as well, particularly Jayden Durate, who had 173 rushing yards and touchdown runs of 68 and 42 yards for Alisal.

Jeremy Elledge and Caleb Gabriel also had 1-yard touchdown runs for Alisal, which snapped the Sharks’ five-game winning streak, dropping them to 5-2 and 2-1 in league.

Carmel 41, Rancho San Juan 13

The Padres are averaging 46.2 points a game. Over the last 19 wins, the average climbs to 47.5 points a contest.

Carmel can set a school record for consecutive wins next Saturday when it hosts North Salinas, which is 4-0 in the Mission Division South. It closes the season at Greenfield and Pacific Grove.

Coming off a bye week, the Padres scored the game’s first 41 points in the first half before a running clock was used in the second half.

Hudson Rutherford tossed touchdowns of 55 yards to Matt Maxon and 35 yards to Ty Arnold, while Dylan Hinds rushed for a pair of touchdowns, including a 64-yard run.

“We were in a unique situation where our bye also came on our fall break,” Carmel coach Golden Anderson said. “We let kids get away for a few days and recharge. We looked refreshed when we came back on Monday. We had a good week of practice.”

Jake Jackson added an 85-yard kickoff return for the Padres, while Connor Reilly capped the scoring with a 5-yard run. Simeon Brown, who had an interception erased by a penalty, recovered a fumble on the ensuing play.

Rancho San Juan, which came into the game having scored just two touchdowns all season, has dropped 13 straight games dating back to 2023. It did, however, create some building blocks for the future when quarterback Cecil Short tossed his first touchdown, 84 yards to Jayden Contreras. Elias Leao also had his first career rushing touchdown.

Santa Cruz 57, Marina 49

The Cardinals snapped a 19-game losing streak that dated back to 2022.

The last time Santa Cruz scored 50 or more points in a game was in 2017. For a program that failed to score a point last year, it has erupted for 160 points this fall.

Defense was not part of the game plan as Marina’s Donovan Maben set a school rushing record with a 301-yard effort, rushing for five touchdowns.

Marina, which held an early 15-14 lead, saw quarterback Elan Espinosa toss a pair of touchdowns to Denzel Garvin, dropping to 1-6 overall.

Stevenson 37, Pajaro Valley 7

The Pirates are playing some of their best football, improving to 4-0 in the Santa Lucia Division.

“Today was the first day where we put it all together from the opening kickoff,” Stevenson coach Kyle Cassamas said. “We cut our penalties in half. We were flying on all cylinders in all three phases of the game.”

Cassamas looked at Saturday’s game as the perfect tune-up for 7-0 San Lorenzo Valley in two weeks as Pajaro Valley came into the game undefeated in the Santa Lucia Division.

“We just knew on film Pajaro showed a lot of run,” Cassamas said. “We hadn’t played a team that was a dominant running force. We prepared for that. We were focused on defense.”

The offense, which came into the game having produced 55 or more points in two of its last three games, jumped out to a 21-point first-half lead behind quarterback Fin Mink and tailback Tono Borgamini.

Mink threw for 186 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for a touchdown, while Borgamini rushed for a season-high 145 yards and three touchdowns. Caden Olson also caught nine passes for 100 yards a score.

“We’ll use the extra week to get some guys healthy,” said Cassamas, who led Stevenson to the program’s first league title in 21 years in 2022.

The Pirates (5-2 overall) have either won or finished second in the Santa Lucia Division five straight years.

Chasing its first winning season since going 6-4 in 2007, the Grizzlies (4-4) are coached by former Salinas and MPC linebacker Casey Neligh.

Tommy Dayton put together another double-digit game in tackles for the Pirates with 14, while Reggie Bell recorded an interception, while rushing for 90 yards. Derek Diniz tallied seven tackles and added 71 receiving yards.

San Lorenzo Valley 22, Gonzales 8

Less than 12 minutes from perhaps one of the biggest upsets of the fall, the Spartans did not convert a fourth down inside their own 30-yard line.

Moments later San Lorenzo Valley was in the end zone, erasing a one-point fourth quarter deficit, scoring the game’s last 15 points to remain undefeated on the season at 7-0.

For Gonzales (3-4), this was its playoff game, as a win would have kept them in title contention with three games left. Instead, it sits two back, with the emphasis now on chasing its first winning season since 2019.

Priory 50, Trinity 14

The Warriors limped into their meeting with 8-man football power Priory of Portola Valley with just 12 healthy players and left even more battered after losing quarterback Daniel Dirkes early in the game to an injury.

As a result, the offense sputtered, finishing with 10 players in succumbing to the Priory — which suited up 44 players — owners of 20 straight league games dating back to 2019.

The Panthers have won their past three Pacific Coast League titles, improving to 5-2 overall on the season. Trinity fell to 2-4 overall, which is two more wins on the field than it achieved the previous two seasons.

Brady Ramones accounted for both touchdowns for the Warriors, rushing for one and connecting with Eli Robertson on the other. Trinity will host Anzar next Saturday at Pacific Grove High.