SOQUEL >> There weren’t many smiling faces on Soquel High’s football team Thursday night.

Sure, the Knights remained unbeaten in the Pacific Coast Athletic League Gabilan Division play with their 35-7 win over Alvarez, but their offense was short on tempo and discipline and the team was heavy on penalties.

Soquel was flagged seven times for 76 yards in the first half, when it found itself deadlocked at 7-all against an opponent it was supposed to be annihilating.

Calpreps.com’s computer generated predictions had the Knights winning 46-0, and many of the Knights knew they were heavily favored. They were a tad overconfident.

“It’s not a win we’re proud of,” said Tanner Trowbridge, a senior defensive end for the Knights. “We gotta be better; we gotta start quicker. I don’t know what it is.”

It wasn’t a horrible showing by any means, but the Knights, the defending CIF Division 4AA state champion, have set the bar high — perfection is the goal.

Soquel finished with 284 yards on offense, including 134 yards rushing on 31 attempts. TyReis Lundy led the way with 67 yards on 13 carries. Quarterback Sam Whelan completed 10 of 12 passes for 150 yards.

“I think we played a lot better on offense, coming out strong,” Whelan said. “I think our defense did a good job finishing. Because we didn’t start great, but they did finish well. And that’s what matters, really. And I think our offense this season hasn’t started very well, but I think this week we did start well, I think we had a good fire in us.”

Alvarez rushed for 131 yards on 32 attempts, and passed for 13 yards.

“Normally, our defense, we’re having fun out there; we’re flying around, flying to the ball, eleven hats to the ball every play,” Trowbridge said. “We came out and just kinda got in our heads, I think. We came back at half, we fixed what was going on in the locker room, and shut ’em out in the second half, as it should’ve been. … That’s what we expect. We have a league championship caliber team and we need to play to that level.”

The Knights (5-2, 3-0) are one of two unbeaten teams left in Gabilan play. The other is defending division champion Salinas (5-1, 3-0). The Cowboys play at Aptos (4-3, 1-2) on Friday night.

Alvarez (2-5, 0-3) was fully intent on pulling the upset, and played a solid game.

“It didn’t go as planned,” said Eagles quarterback Abel Bailon, “but I’m not too upset about it because no one really quit on each other. We played to the end.”

Soquel scored twice in the final 3:38 of the first half, and tacked on two more scores in the second half to put the game out of reach.

Whelan rushed for a pair of touchdowns and passed for another in the win. His second scoring run, which came midway through the third quarter, was set up by Trowbridge’s fumble recovery at Alvarez’s 7-yard line and put the Knights ahead 28-7.

“I wanted to scoop and score,” Trowbridge said. “But my legs got tackled. I have a turf burn to show for it.”

Soquel’s Kelton Forbus capped scoring with his 5-yard scoring run with 11:05 remaining, and Deion Williams recovered a fumble in the end zone with 4:11 left to help keep Alvarez scoreless in the second half.

Vaughn Bredy scored on a 1-yard on the Knights’ first offensive series to cap a 10-play, 85-yard drive.

Alvarez responded on its next possession. Running back Roman Garcia hauled in an 8-yard scoring pass from Bailon.

The Knights earned some breathing room late in the second quarter. Whelan connected with tight end Django Daillak for a 38-yard touchdown with 3:38 left. The extra-point kick was blocked by Alejandro Esquivel.

Soquel’s defense tightened up and forced the Eagles to punt, and the Knights marched 55 yards to set up Whelan’s 6-yard scoring run with 8 seconds on the clock.

Whelan pretended to autograph the football after his touchdown run and tossed it to an official, who rewarded him with a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

“I did sign an autograph,” Whelan said. “I didn’t really have an inspiration. I’d just seen it before and I wanted to do it. I know it was probably not the best idea.”

The penalty was enforced on the extra-point kick, and the Knights elected to go for a two-point conversion from the 19-yard line. Whelan hooked up with Hudson Summerrill for a successful conversion.

No doubt, Whelan and Knights were chewed out at halftime. And, again, after the game.

Whelan said he learned his lesson: No more autographs.

“On the field, yeah,” he said.