APTOS >> St. Francis High football players had every reason to hang their heads in a key league battle against Scotts Valley on Thursday night at Cabrillo College.

Instead, the Sharks elected to show their unity and heart, and rallied for a 18-14 win to keep them in contention for one of the Pacific Coast Athletic League Mission North Division’s two postseason berths.

Running back Joseph Dayritt rushed for 157 yards and three touchdowns on 33 carries, and cornerback Mason Borrego sealed the win with an interception in the end zone in the final minute.

“It means so much because we have so many injured guys, and we worried we were going to be complacent,” Dayritt said. “But this time, we pushed through and stayed together as a team. We were united and we played all four quarters of the ballgame at our own pace, and I loved it.”

The cards were stacked against the small-roster Sharks.

Quarterback/linebacker Javier DaRosa-Fonseca, St. Francis’ leader on both sides of the ball, was sidelined by a fractured fibula sustained late in last week’s win over Alisal.

The Sharks were dealing with other injuries too, which forced players into increased playing time, some at new positions.

And there were some costly blunders made against the defensive-minded Falcons, including an overthrown ball to a wide open receiver in the secondary, a misses extra-point kick, and a failed field goal attempt that struck the crossbar.

“We just keep fighting, we keep pushing through,” Dayritt said. “That’s why I love the St. Francis Sharks. We don’t ever stop. We keep pushing and we stay together.”

The Sharks didn’t bat an eye. Instead, they continued to focus on playing for each other and their most rewarding win of the season.

“We had some guys that couldn’t play this week and it’s like, ‘Hey, lets roll with the punches and go.’ ” Sharks coach John Ausman said. “We had some guys step up. … It was just that mentality of guys playing for each other. To witness that is a cool thing.”

Scotts Valley has also battled a myriad of costly injuries this season, and has dealt with the growing pains of a youth-laden roster that includes just three senior starters.

Still, the Falcons jumped out to14-6 at the half, despite losing a fumble on the opening kickoff.

Dayritt gave the Sharks a 6-0 lead on their second offensive series in the first quarter, but the Falcons stormed back behind a pair of rushing touchdowns from running back Eli Velez, from 5 and 24 yards out.

Velez’s first touchdown was set up by punter Vaughn Chomentowski’s 28-yard run on a fourth-and-9 play from the Falcons’ 46-yard line.

Velez finished with 156 yards rushing on 29 carries.

Dayritt pulled the Sharks within two points with his 17-yard scoring run midway through the third quarter. St. Francis went for a two-point conversion, but defensive lineman Khaliel Millhouse greeted Dayritt with a big hit just shy of the goal line.

St. Francis lineman Nick Paz stripped Scotts Valley of the ball late in the third quarter, and teammate John Croghan recovered it. But the Sharks were unable to convert the turnover into points. They attempted a 30-yard field goal that hit the cross bar and bounced back into the end zone.

The Sharks’ defense forced a three-an-out, and took over at their own 43-yard line. Dayriit capped a 12-play scoring drive with his 12-yard run with 2:52 left.

“They came up with the big runs and we didn’t stop them,” Falcons coach Louie Walters said. “And we didn’t get the big runs when we needed to. It was a good high school football game, we just got the short end of it.”

The Sharks threw an incomplete pass on their two-point conversion attempt.

The Falcons marched from their own 34-yard line on their final drive, which ended with Borrego making his huge interception in the end zone.

Borrego, a receiver/defensive back who missed five weeks with Achilles tendinitis, made up for lost time.

“I’ve been waiting for this big play and it feels so good,” he said. “Words can’t explain it. We worked on that fake hitch and go all week, so I was ready for that. When he threw it, I was like, ‘Oh baby, this is my shot.’ “

St. Francis finished with 164 yards rushing on 42 attempts, and 74 yards passing. Quarterback Jacob Jimenez completed 9 of his 12 attempts and was sacked three times.

Linebacker Jesse Ringel had two sacks for the Falcons, and Chomentowski had one.

Scotts Valley rushed for 203 yards on 34 attempts, and quarterback Ryder Quilici completed 4 of 13 passes for 62 yards.

St. Francis linemen Croghan, Nick Paz, Nicolas Ibarra, and Marcus Gonzalez, as well as outside linebackers Evan Dyer and Chax Gottlieb-Maier, were instrumental in containing Velez.

The Sharks (6-2, 3-1) host North Monterey County (5-2, 3-0) on Nov. 2 at 12:30 p.m.

Scotts Valley (3-6, 2-3) has a bye next week and closes its season at Alisal (3-4, 2-1) in Salinas on Nov. 8 at 7:30 p.m.

Aptos 23, Alvarez 22

SALINAS >> Sophomore kicker River Cook booted a 37-yard field goal as time expired to lift the Mariners in their thrilling PCAL Gabilan Division road game. It was his first varsity field goal.

Cook quickly found himself at the bottom of a 30-person dogpile, stacked high with jubilant teammates.

“If it was a 37-yard field goal, the kick was 37 and a half yards,” said Mariners coach Zach Hewett. “Two referees signaled it good, but it was just barely over. And it was absolute pandemonium for about five minutes, absolute craziness.”

The Eagles went up 22-20 after making a 30-yard field goal with 52 seconds left. Aptos’ Julian Torres applied pressure on an incomplete pass that forced Alvarez into taking the kick.

The game was a blur for Hewett, especially the game-winning drive.

“All I know is we went from the right side of the field to the left side,” he said of his team’s march down the field.

On the final drive, Mariners quarterback Ryan Solorio connected with Damian Suchil for a 20-yard gain, Casey Macconnell ran for 13 yards, and Moises Torres had a 10-yard run.

With less than 10 seconds remaining, Solorio scrambled to avoid pressure and heaved the ball to Macconnell in the corner of the end zone.

“I was scared Solorio was going to scramble us out of time,” Hewett said. “Casey Macconnell almost made the touchdown reception, and the defender almost had an interception.”

The ball fell incomplete, and the Mariners called a timeout with 1.3 second left.

“I told the kids, ‘Slow down and breathe. Exhale, and think about your job. And lets go break their hearts,’ ” Hewett said.

Cook did just that.

The Mariners led 7-6 at the half. Solorio, Nate Garcia, and Suchil rushed for touchdowns.

“Nothing went our way until the last kick there,” Hewett said. “The kids had every reason to fold and they didn’t. I’m really proud of them.

“We struggled to move the ball and struggled in stopping the run. We did enough to hang around and stole it at the end.”

Aptos (5-4, 2-3) has a bye next week and closes the regular season at Soquel (5-2, 3-0) on Nov. 8 at 7:30 p.m.