Coalinga (3-2) at Monterey Peninsula College (5-0), 1 p.m.

When head coach Ronnie Palmer talks about how he remembers the losses more than the wins, he is speaking specifically about Coalinga, which is the only program in the American Golden Coast Conference to beat MPC in the last three years.

Ironically that came at home in 2022 when Coalinga (3-2 this season) outscored MPC 15-0 in the fourth quarter to pull out a 21-17 decision, ultimately creating a tri-championship between the two teams and Merced.

Coalinga visits undefeated MPC (5-0) at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Last fall the Lobos got a measure of redemption, returning three interceptions for touchdowns in a 27-13 win en route to their second undefeated conference season in three years.

On the heels of a 23-10 conference opening win over San Jose City, the Lobos are 16-1 in conference play since Palmer took the reins of the program.

A common opponent between the two teams is Siskiyous, who the Falcons fell to in double-overtime 29-21 in Week 1, while MPC rallied from a first half deficit in Weed three weeks ago to beat them 24-17 in overtime.

Coalinga has outscored its first two conference opponents 105-20, producing 56 consecutive points after trailing 7-0 to Cabrillo last week.

Quarterback Logan Johnson threw for 273 yards and four touchdowns, with Porter Needs catching five passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns. As a team, the Falcons collected 538 yards of offense, averaging 6.9 yards on each rushing attempt.

Eric Gibson continues to evolve in the Lobos’ offense, throwing for 230 yards and two touchdowns, with Devin Ellison turning three catches into 118 yards and a touchdown against San Jose City.

In five games this fall, Ellison has 19 catches for 338 yards and five touchdowns, while teammate Nakoa Villanueva has 13 catches for 316 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

As explosive as the Lobos have been through the air, they lead the state in rushing offense at 217.5 yards a game. Kieryus Boone still leads the state in rushing yards per game at 135.2.

The Falcons have been an opportunist team, recording four turnovers in last week’s win and having created 10 turnovers in their three wins.

It’s been a committee approach all season on the Lobos defense, with Monterey High graduate Jaki Thomas compiling a team-high nine tackles last week. Two weeks earlier it was former Palma linebacker Ryan Sanders intercepting a pass in overtime.

Sanders and Kefa Pereira each had seven tackles last week, with Pereira adding a sack. Pacific Grove product Noah Garry leads the Lobos in tackles (28) and interceptions (2), while Jayden Freidt had a pick-six against San Jose City.

Special teams continue to be a strength for the Lobos, as Joey Fernandez kicked a field goal and averaged 59.8 yards on three kickoffs.

Two straight wins?

Hartnell (1-4) at Merced (1-4), 1 p.m.

Hartnell (1-4) will try to make it two straight wins when it visits Merced (1-4) for a 1 p.m. game Saturday.

Carlos Galvez may have made enough of impression at quarterback last week to enable the Panthers to move Dominic Chavez back to receiver, strengthening the team’s skill positions.

Having gotten more comfortable in grasping the system, Galvez tossed three touchdowns last week, two to sophomore Isaiah Durate in Hartnell’s first win of the season at Yuba.

Chavez, who caught Hartnell’s first touchdown pass of the season, had been moved to quarterback after a season-ending injury to Adam Shaffer in Week 1.

After failing to hold leads in their past two games in the first half, the maturity of the Panthers is starting to shake out, as shown in their outscoring Yuba 36-0 after falling behind 7-0.

Having scored just 60 points in four games — outscored 62-13 in the second half — the Panthers scored 17 points in the second half in last week’s win — the first in the Ruben Lerma era.

Merced also snapped a four-game losing streak last week with a 31-23 win over Gavilan, a team the Panthers fell to a week earlier when they failed to hold a 10-point lead in a 21-17 setback.

Hartnell can expect a heavy dose of Blue Devil tailback Tyler Jacklich, who turned 35 carries into 174 yards and three touchdowns last week, while adding 33 yards and a touchdown catch. Teammate Able Bravo chalked up 78 rushing yards.

Merced only completed six passes in last week’s win. The Panthers have been a ball-hawking defense in their past two games, with Elijah Perkins and Alvarez graduate Jacob Peinado having pick-sixes in back-to-back games.

Justin Pascone has rushed for touchdowns in each of his last two games for the Panthers, while Durate has been the team’s primary receiving target, as well as returning kickoffs on special teams and spending time in the secondary on defense as well.

Hartnell beat Merced 29-6 last year, with Durate catching six passes for 48 yards, and adding an interception on defense along with Jonathan Gray.

Salinas graduate Christopher Phillips leads Hartnell in tackles with 27, while Gray, a reigning all-conference defensive back, has 24 tackles and a pick, with Isias Morin contributing 22 tackles.