APTOS >> More than half of the high school football programs in Santa Cruz County saw their first action of the season at the annual jamboree at Cabrillo College on Saturday evening. A couple of them, Aptos and Scotts Valley, looked near midseason form.

It was a warmup for coaches, athletes, officials and journalists as each team competed in six 10-minute scrimmages, three on offense and three on defense. A running clock was used for each session.

Though no scores were kept, there were plenty of standout performances.

Aptos looked good, real good, with quarterback Joshua Bermio seeing his first varsity action.

“We wanted to use this as a really good practice to kinda leapfrog us into that first week,” said Thad Moren, the Mariners’ offensive coordinator.

The Mariners scored five touchdowns against Santa Cruz. Deric Moren scored on 26-yard run, Bermio connected with Scott Catesi on a 56-yard score, and turned in a 65-yard touchdown run, DeSean Gomez scored on a 20-yard run, and Dylan Guisado scored on a 46-yard run.

Guisado also scored on a 16-yard run against Scotts Valley.

“We want to work on tempo, so we came out trying to work on that,” Moren said. “We want to be able to break the huddle and use that to our advantage and use our quickness for that. I honestly don’t think we’re at the level we can be at. We definitely can work on that.”

Every team, including Aptos, made some early season blunders. Ryan Solorio had his apparent 42-yard touchdown reception, on a pass from Bermio, negated by a penalty for an illegal man downfield.

The Mariners’ defense didn’t record a sack, but they applied some pressure that resulted in ill-advised throws. Aptos made a pair of interceptions. Josh Couchman’s came against Santa Cruz, and Damian Suchill’s came against SLV.

Keiran McCue made a big hit against Santa Cruz.

Scotts Valley scored three touchdowns, despite losing one of its better playmakers, senior receiver/safety Jacob Womack, for the season with a torn Achillies tendon earlier this week in a non-football incident.

“I feel so bad for him,” Falcons coach Louie Walters said. “He was in everyone’s thoughts, for sure.”

Sophomore quarterback Ryder Quilici impressed with both his throws and scrambling ability.

“Ryder Quilici makes plays,” Walters said.

Niko Smutzer scored on a 4-yard run versus Watsonville. Quilici connected with Jesse Ringel for a 17-yard TD pass versus Watsonville. Ringel spun his way through three defenders and dove across the goal line for the score.

Senior running Eli Velez produced several long gains. He had a 21-yard touchdown run negated by a holding penalty against SLV, but scored from 11 yards out three plays later.

“He looks a lot better,” Walters said of Velez. “He’s faster and stronger. He spent a lot of working with Reggie (Stephens, a personal coach) in the offseason.”

On defense, the Falcons’ Isaac Currie made a touchdown saving tackle on Watsonville’s Anthony Razzo after Razzo’s 37-yard reception, and Vaughn Chomentowski drilled Wildcatz receiver Nathaniel Aguilar on a pass play over the middle.

San Lorenzo Valley looked vastly improved. The Cougars scored four touchdowns and had two takeaways.

“We talked about coming out here,” Cougars coach David Grant said. “We wanted to keep everybody healthy. We want to see effort, we want to see attitude. We want to see stuff that we’ve really been emphasizing for the first two weeks.

“As far as defense goes, I thought we brought energy. I thought we tackled pretty well. We pursued pretty well. On offense, just looking at where we were last year, running a new offense, and where we are now, the kids get it a lot more. So I feel like we’re in a very different spot this season, as far as making progress. … These guys have worked so friggin’ hard in the offseason. I mean, it’s only the jamboree, but it shows.”

Justin Griffis scored on a 4-yard run versus Harbor, Brodie Prater scored on a 4-yard run against Aptos, and Gabe Machado scored on a 1-yard run against Scotts Valley. Alex Aguilar scored on a 38-yard pass play from returning quarterback Jack Dagan against the Falcons.

Aguilar made an interception against Harbor; and teammate Jordan Renteria had an interception against Scotts Valley.

Evan Jordan had a sack and forced fumble versus Harbor, and Gio Ricigliano made a sack against Aptos.

Haden Woolworth drilled an Aptos running back for a 2-yard loss on probably the biggest hit of the night. Woolworth didn’t attempt to wrap up the ballcarrier, but he will probably get a free pass from his coaches, given the outcome.

Watsonville gave every indication that it intends be a force in league play. The Wildcatz were big, physical and hyped up.

They scored just one touchdown, but they got after it on defense and made two takeaways.

Alex Barajas-Garcia connected with Miciah Davis on 20-yard touchdown pass against Santa Cruz. The score was set up by Abraham Martinez’s 34-yard run.

Jesse Medina made a fumble recovery against Harbor, and Isaias Gonzalez recorded an interception against Santa Cruz.

Victor Ramirez and Marcos Villalta made sacks against Harbor. Adan Magana had a big hit on Pirates receiver Israel Lopez.

After a lackluster showing in last year’s jamboree, Santa Cruz had an improved effort. The Cardinals have some good size at the skill positions. Speed, too.

Receiver Soji Agbelekale scored on a 37-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Neven Ristic against Watsonville, and Adrian Pendergast made an impressive leaping catch on a pass from Neven Ristic for a 15-yard gain against Aptos.

Santa Cruz cornerback Jahmai Douyon recorded an interception on a tipped ball against Watsonville. He had an open field in front of him, but officials blew the play dead after the turnover. Pick-6s are no longer allowed in the jamboree.

Cardinals linemen Ismael Rivas and Ethan Romanowsky combined for a sack against Watsonville, and AJ DeCosta had his apparent interception negated by a defensive holding call.

Brodie Hale finished with seven receptions for the Cardinals, and turned in the biggest offensive hit to cap his 10-yard reception against Watsonville.

Harbor was kept out of the end zone, but that’s only because an offensive penalty negated running back Fausto Gonzales’ apparent 45-yard touchdown run.

The Pirates got after the ball on defense. They recorded a sack, and Pirates linebacker David Quintanilla and lineman Logan Bennett made fumble recoveries on back-to-back plays against Santa Cruz.

Quintanilla also turned in one of the bigger hits. He drilled a Watsonville running back the second he received a handoff from the quarterback for a 6-yard loss.

Contact Jim Seimas at jseimas@santacruzsentinel.com.