MONTEREY >> The new theme at Monterey High going into the football postseason, one that coach Alex Besaw has echoed since the first quarter of a game three weeks ago, is “let’s find a different way to win a football game.”

The reality of not having three-year starting quarterback Preston White is being used as a rallying point as Monterey turned to its defense and sophomore quarterback Bronson Gulley for a 27-20 win over Palma at Monterey Peninsula College.

The Toreadores have extended the leash for Gulley, a quarterback thrown into the fire where players on his own team are still learning his name. Adjustments from this point on will likely dictate simplified schemes.

“It’s been a good learning experience for me as a coach to adjust and not force a scheme on kids that doesn’t work,” Besaw said. “I am doing things differently than my Oregon roots. We as coaches have to put our kids in situations to be successful on the field.”

The setback was crippling for Palma, which now must beat Alvarez next Friday to finish no worse than a tie for fifth in the Gabilan Division. While only four teams earn automatic spots, five teams from the Gabilan have made the postseason since the Pacific Coast Athletic League’s inception.

“We still control our fate,” Palma coach Jeff Carnazzo said. “We can’t rely on anyone else’s help. We’ve been in a lot of games. We have to learn to finish. These kids do not know about 1984. But it’s about next week.”

Carnazzo mentions 1984 in reference to the last time Palma missed the postseason, which came during his junior season when he was a tailback/linebacker — when Alvarez wasn’t even a school yet.

The situation is similar to last season when the Chieftains needed to beat Alvarez in the final game of the year to secure a playoff spot after forfeiting three games earlier in the season. That ultimately turned into a state championship run.

“We have to pick up the pieces and go,” Carnazzo said. “We made a lot of mistakes tonight. Coaches made mistakes, players made mistakes. It was all the way around. That’s not to discredit Monterey.”

Picking up the pieces is what Monterey has had to do since White dislocated his right throwing shoulder in a non-contact play three weeks ago against Hollister. The Toreadores went to the Wildcat formation where there is not quarterback in the lineup. .

Gulley was brought up the following week and it was a trial by fire experience against defending state champion Soquel, a 33-6 Monterey loss.

“That’s a tough opponent to make your first start,” Besaw said.

Gulley was much more efficient in his second start, turning five completions into two touchdowns to Kavon Collins for the Toreadores (5-4), who will face Seaside next Saturday in the annual “Battle of the Bay.”

“I’ve seen what he can do in practice,” Besaw said. “Bronson is just inexperienced. It’s about getting as many reps as we can for him. He’s shown signs of throwing a really good ball. He’s a bright kid. He catches on quickly.”

It doesn’t hurt that Gulley has veteran leadership in front of him on the offensive line and playmakers like Enobong Wirth and Collins making plays in big moments.

Wirth went over 200 yards rushing for the third time this year, chalking up 207 yards on 26 carries, including a 70-yard touchdown run to open the game.

“When he gets into the second level, he doesn’t go down with just one tackle,” said Besaw. “He’s sneaky fast. His cuts are insane. He just outran the defense.”

With Palma forced to focus its attention on Wirth, Besaw opened the offense slightly with Gulley, who found Collins on a short route, which the veteran receiver turned into a 65-yard touchdown.

Given a short field after linebacker Soakai Funaki fell on a fumble, Gulley and Collins hooked up again on a 26-yard scoring toss to stake the Toreadores to a 20-10 lead.

“We had no answer for Soakai,” Carnazzo said.

Yet, the Chieftains turned a 10-point deficit into a 20-20 tie in a matter of 20 seconds when they recovered a fumble after kicking a field goal, setting up Patrick Driscoll’s 20-yard touchdown pass to Jaden Paul just before halftime.

“That was a mistake on my part,” Besaw said. “I should’ve just taken a knee and gone into halftime with the lead. Instead, we fumble the ball at the 20-yard line and Palma ties the game.”

The momentum generated from the turn of events, however, didn’t turn the game around as Palma went three-and-out after receiving the second-half kickoff.

“We had a chance to double dip,” Carnazzo said. “That first drive was a microcosm of the second half. We could not move the ball. The second half came down to a field position game. We played from the shadow of our own goal posts.”

Some of that had to do with the Toreadores’ defense, particularly Funaki, who was a disruptive force with help from Elijah Fisher and Dekota Ordonio, whose interception with 1:20 left sealed the game.

“Soakai disrupted their timing on what they wanted to do on offense,” Besaw said. “He was phenomenal on defense. He was a big part in getting them off schedule. And Elijah was also opening holes for Enobong on offense as our center.”

Wirth, who has over 1,000 rushing yards, broke up a tie game with a 32-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, as the Monterey defense pitched shutout in the second half.

“Palma is a good running team,” said Besaw, who spent three years there as an offensive assistant. “We alerted our kids to their tendencies, tried to take that away from them and put them in positions they did not want to be in.”