MONTEREY >> The highlight reel tells quite a story. Yet, until you witness it in person, you can’t fully appreciate the talents of Devin Ellison.

Come up and face guard the Monterey Peninsula College receiver and he’ll blow past you. Give him the respect and cushion he deserves and Ellison will take a short pass and explode into the open field or tap dance down the sidelines.

“We knew this last year,” MPC coach Ronnie Palmer said. “We just weren’t able to use him last year. Devin has stayed very hungry and humble. This is shaping up to be a career year for him.”

Ellison was on the receiving end of three first half touchdowns Saturday from Eric Gibson, including a 73-yarder as the Lobos remained undefeated after a 38-21 win over visiting Coalinga.

One of five teams still undefeated in the state, the reigning three-time American Golden Coast Conference champions stretched their conference winning streak to 12 games.

MPC is 17-1 in conference play since Palmer took over the program, with that one loss ironically coming against Coalinga in 2022 at home.

“Coalinga came in 2-0 in conference,” Palmer said. “And we haven’t forgotten that loss. But this game today was about us. We have some stuff to clean up. I can’t wait to get to the film. It was fun to see our guys grow up a little bit.”

The remainder of the Lobos’ schedule includes four teams that are a combined 5-18 this year.

“I think our energy stays focused on our goals,” Palmer said. “We’re maturing. The 1-0 standard each week is showing up. Our team has matured from our first scrimmage.”

Injuries left the Lobos with just 48 players in uniform as the sidelines resembled a MASH unit. Yet, those who are healthy continue to execute in all three phases of the game.

“We’re deep at a number of positions,” Palmer said. “Injuries are a part of football. One thing we have is a next-man-up mentality of players. I’m excited to see them grow as a team.”

Ellison, who came into the game averaging 72 receiving yards a game, had that on one catch, going over 100 yards in the first half alone. The freshman receiver has eight touchdown catches in six games to lead the conference.

“He’s better than any receiver I’ve ever coached,” Palmer said. “It’s not just his ability to make plays. He blocks very well, breaks tackles and does things after the catch. He’s an FBC player. Some of the unselfish acts are the best plays for us.”

Playing its first home game since Sept. 21, MPC has held its last four opponents to 21 points or fewer, with Jayden Friedt picking off a pass for the second straight game, his fourth of the season.

A ball-hawking defense that returned six interceptions for touchdowns in 2023, the Lobos have intercepted 16 passes this fall, having gotten stronger in the secondary with the return of Maurice Mathis, who had a pick along with Jaki Thomas.

“Jayden just processes the game,” Palmer said. “Maurice’s one-handed interception was phenomenal. There are a lot of guys that are starting to figure it out.”

For the first time in two weeks, the Lobos weren’t playing from behind as Gibson engineered the opening drive, hitting Ellison on a fourth-and-1 from the 1-yard line for a touchdown.

The ability to air it out in the first half softened up the Falcons’ defense, enabling the state’s leading rusher to get loose when Kieryus Boone bolted 70 yards for a touchdown run in the second half.

“I’m sure their game plan was to stop our run game,” Palmer said. “We pride ourselves on getting the ball to our playmakers.”

Special teams continue to be a strength for the Lobos, as Joey Fernandez sent two kickoffs into the end zone, while averaging over 40 yards a punt. Salinas graduate Isaac Mancera added a second-half field goal.

“We didn’t play great defense in the second half,” Palmer said. “But the offense had some mighty big plays to put the game away. We had some adversity this week — family issues and personal challenges. It was nice to see the guys have some fun.”

Merced 21, Hartnell 14

Nobody waits for the growing pains to subside. A week after going on the road for their first win, a second-half comeback fell short in the Panthers’ loss at Merced.

Having improved throughout the season in a 1-5 start — including holding leads in three games, Hartnell failed to produce a point in the first half for the first time all season.

As a result, it found itself staring at a 21-point deficit in the third quarter before Dominic Chavez was brought in to quarterback the offense in the second half.

The former Soledad High signal caller engineered a pair of scoring drives in the second half, hitting Anzar product Max Castro on a 22-yard touchdown pass and North Salinas graduate Justin Pascone on a 3-yard scoring toss with 1:55 remaining.

Chavez, who transferred to Hartnell this fall as a receiver/defensive back, has been behind center in five of the Panthers’ six games this season with two starts. He threw for 233 yards, with 12 of his 28 completions going to Castro, who had 141 receiving yards.

Hartnell has been forced to platoon quarterbacks after the loss of Adam Shaffer, who accounted for 18 touchdowns last year and the first three this season before suffering a season-ending knee injury.

Minus the 36-point eruption in last week’s win at Yuba, the Panthers have struggled offensively all season, averaging 10.6 points a game in its five losses without Shaffer behind center.

Elijah Perkins collected two more interceptions for Hartnell, while Isaiah Williams had one. Michael Hatten and Khameron Perkins both had five tackles.

Hartnell will search for its first home win and its first conference win next Saturday when it faces Cabrillo, which won its first game of the season, beating Gavilan 40-7.