CASTROVILLE >> As players from the sidelines sprinted toward Arnie Jimenez in the end zone, reality began to sink in for North County football coach Juan Cuevas.

While a share of the title had already been locked up a week earlier, having it to yourself for the first time 25 years was a moment Cuevas didn’t want to let go of.

“I’ve been staring at the floor in the locker room trying to process it all,” said Cuevas, who described the game’s closing moments. “I stayed on the field a little longer after the game, soaking it all in, letting it sink in.”

The Condors wrapped up the Pacific Coast Athletic League Mission Division North title Friday, using two defensive touchdowns in the fourth quarter for a 34-13 win over rival Watsonville.

“I kind of feels like an out of body experience,” North County quarterback AJ Gomez said. “It’s truly a surreal feeling and I’m super blessed to be a part of this team and making history.”

Owners of the second most league titles in the county behind Palma, North County is going back to the postseason for the first time since 2010.

“I might order a double of flapjacks tonight,” said Cuevas, who in his four seasons at North County has improved in the win column in each of his last three years.

Playing the role of spoiler, the Wildcatz tied the game at 13 when they turned a fake field goal into a touchdown with 8:30 left in the third quarter.

What transpired after that was a run of 21 unanswered points by North County, two coming on defensive touchdowns when Gabe Raya returned a fumble for six.

On the ensuing series, Jimenez met the runner and ball at the same time on a pitch in the backfield. The defensive lineman took the ball and turned into a sprinter, racing 57 yards for a touchdown with 1:34 left.

“At that point, I couldn’t keep calm,” Cuevas said. “That’s when it hit me. It was a real emotional moment. I think after the game it hit the players.”

Gomez continued his breakout year with three more touchdowns passes, giving him 20 on the season, the most by a Condors quarterback since AJ Jimenez tossed 21 in 2010.

“I have had family in the past come through this school and experience the greatness and glory of championships,” Gomez said. “To be thrown into that boat with them is amazing. I’m super thankful the work we’ve all put in has paid off.”

Salinas 31, Hollister 14

Steve Zenk became the fourth coach in the county to achieve 100 wins Friday as the Cowboys will be making a 16th straight appearance in the playoffs.

Zenk joins Palma’s Jeff Carnazzo, Seaside’s Al Avila and Carmel’s Golden Anderson as current coaches in the county that have won 100 or more games in their coaching tenure, with Carnazzo holding the county record with 213.

In seven seasons at Salinas, Zenk has posted a 43-3 Gabilan Division record, the best seven-year stretch among any programs in the PCAL.

Bouncing back from last week’s loss, the Cowboys (8-2) built a 17-0 lead on the first of three touchdown passes from Rico Maturino, who has tossed 10 touchdowns since returning from a sprained ankle.

Maturino threw for 286 yards, while showing no lingering effects from the ankle sprain, adding 48 yards on the ground.

Maturino connected twice with Amani Laing, before turning to his favorite target Emarrcis Turner for a touchdown in the second half to blow the game open. Laing and Turner combined for 10 catches for 196 yards.

Palma 42, Alvarez 19

Ensuring itself a trip to the postseason for a record 40th straight season meant going into playoff mode a week early as the Chieftains left no lingering doubts after rolling past Alvarez.

While the point projections had Palma landing in the playoffs regardless of Friday’s outcome, head coach Jeff Carnazzo didn’t want any lingering anxiety leading up to the seeding meet.

“We wanted to win the game more than anything,” Carnazzo said. “I told the kids this is our biggest game of the season. Practice all week had a playoff-type feel.”

Alvarez — which has never beaten Palma — jumped out to a 7-0 lead on Abel Bailon’s 15-yard touchdown pass to Aiden Jones.

Coming off a win over Hollister last week, the Eagles needed a win over Palma to have any shot at returning to the postseason for the first time since 2016. Instead, it could be ticketed for the Mission Division next fall.

The Chieftains regrouped, running off 28 straight unanswered points behind a pair of touchdown runs from Eli Dukes and the first of two touchdown passes from sophomore quarterback Patrick Driscoll.

Dukes, who has gone over 100 yards rushing eight times this season, finished with three touchdowns, while Driscoll connected with Caden Scherer for his second scoring toss. Scherer also returned a fumble for a touchdown.

Roman Garcia, who became the first Alvarez running back to go over 1,000 rushing yards since 2017, scored his ninth touchdown of the season, while Cash Barrientos added an 18-yard touchdown run.

Monterey 41, Seaside 7

A rivalry now into its 59th season has also been one-sided the past two seasons, as the Toreadores tuned up for the playoffs with a 41-7 win at Seaside to retain the perpetual Battle of the Bay trophy.

Owners of four straight wins and five of the last six in the series, Monterey now holds a 31-27-1 advantage, having outscored the Spartans 91-21 in the last two meetings.

“Our theme for the week is our standard doesn’t change based on who we play,” Monterey coach Alex Besaw said. “We were not concerned about the playoffs. We were completely focused on making sure we play to our standard this week.”

Monterey finished 6-4 overall and third in the Gabilan Division with a 4-2 mark.

The Toreadores have to played their past four games without starting quarterback Preston White, who is likely out for the season with a dislocated throwing shoulder.

A more simplified offense and an opportunist defense anchored by linebacker Soakai Funaki and defensive tackle Elijah Fisher has seen the Toreadores go 3-1 in White’s absence.

Funaki is making a case for the area’s top defensive player, having been a disruptive force all season, while Fisher, Jamar Aquino, Isaiah Gonzales and Kai Vaughn all had interceptions for the Toreadores.

Freshman quarterback Daniel Pena saw his first action in the second half, potentially creating a quarterback competition this week in practice.

Besaw has leaned more on the Toreadores ground game, where Enobong Wirth has put together a 1,000-yard rushing season, going over 100 yards rushing for the sixth time this season.

Wirth opened the scoring with a 65-yard touchdown run, then added a 11-yard run, before sitting out most of the second half, where Funaki got a rare carry, bolting 50 yards for six.

In White’s absence, Besaw has scaled back his offense, yet not abandoning the passing game, which possesses one of the top receivers in the section in Kavon Collins.

While Collins’s touches have decreased since White’s injury, he did catch a touchdown pass on Saturday and provided some key blocks for the ground game.

The Spartans (1-9), who had just three seniors on the field, watched their younger players grow up when Josiah Escort broke a pair of tackles and outran Monterey’s defense 44 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter.

Stevenson 54, Marina 0

Champions of the Santa Lucia Division for the second time in three years, the Pirates tuned up for the postseason, completing an undefeated league season.

Stevenson (7-2), which is making just its second playoff appearance in the past 25 years, closed the season with five straight wins, including a win over then 8-0 San Lorenzo Valley.

Unlike its last playoff appearance, when the Pirates fell in the opening round of the Central Coast Section Division V tournament to Palo Alto, an “A” league program, only “B” and “C” league teams will be put in the Division V bracket.

“We have kept the focus on a week-to-week basis,” Stevenson coach Kyle Cassamas said. “We feel people have forgotten about us here. We have a chip on our shoulder.”

Stevenson, which is 20-2 over the past four years in the Santa Lucia Division, swept through the division, with the average margin of victory being 26.8 points — including a narrow 24-21 win over Gonzales.

“We’ve been playing this style of football for a while,” Cassamas said. “The hard work over time is starting to pay off. Now we have a group of student-athletes that are football players. We have a sense of urgency, seeing what we have grown into as a program.”

Fin Mink was sharp behind center for Stevenson, completing 15-of-22 passes for 261 yards and four touchdowns, two of which went to Caden Olson. Flint Dickson and Jett Jones also caught touchdown passes.

Jones also rushed for a touchdown, along with Derek Diniz and Tono Borgamini, while Kekoa Williams ran back a fumble for six.

Alisal 33, Scotts Valley 14

A week after being upset by Watsonville, the Trojans bounced back, clinching a spot in the postseason after knocking off defending Mission Division North champion Scotts Valley.

Alisal closed the season by winning three of its final four games to clinch the No. 2 spot in the Mission, finishing 5-5 overall.

Alisal, which beat Scotts Valley last year to earn a trip to the section title game, erased a 7-0 deficit by running off 33 straight points, with Jayden Durate and Caleb Gabriel each rushing for a pair of touchdowns.

As pleased as Estrada was with his offensive flow and defensive dominance, his special teams excelled as well with Gustavo Matts kicking a pair of field goals.

Gonzales 42, Harbor 6

The Spartans improved in the win column for the fourth straight year, producing their first winning season since 2019, finishing the fall 6-4.

With renovations to its stadium and field under construction, Gonzales played 10 road games, using four different sites to call home, including its season finale at Salinas High.

“This team finished the season the way we’ve been playing all year and that is playing for each other and being a family,” Gonzales coach Eddy Ramirez said. “It has been hard saying goodbye and taking all these pictures.”

Quarterback Ray Blanco rushed for a pair of touchdowns for the Spartans, while Juan Luis Arriola, Tony Garcia, Ely Cisneros and Jason Tejeda all added rushing touchdowns.

Greenfield 33, Rancho San Juan 6

The move to the Mission Division South was a rough one for the reigning Santa Lucia Division champion Bruins, who snapped a seven-game losing streak to close the season.

Despite its 3-7 overall record, Greenfield put together one of the better defenses in the Mission, allowing the third lowest amount of points in its division — losing four games this past season by seven points or less.

Naythen Hernandez accounted for three touchdowns for Greenfield, catching touchdown passes of 32 and 55 yards from Chris Morris, while adding a 5-yard run. AJ Martinez and Travis Ryan also had touchdown runs.

King City 21, Soledad 0

Any thoughts the Aztecs had on earning an at-large playoff spot were dashed after being shut out by King City.

After running off three straight wins to move into a tie for second place in the Mission Division South, Soledad (5-5) dropped its final two games, mustering just seven points.

The Mustangs, meanwhile, closed the season with two straight wins to finish 5-5 overall, recording back-to-back shutouts for the first time since 2021.

One of those sophomores Villanueva inserted into the starting lineup in the second half of the year was quarterback Rocky Vasquez, who tossed his first touchdown of the season to Joel Carrillo with 6:06 left in the game to put King City up 14-0.

Sophomore tailback Carson Tidwell rushed for over 100 yards and a pair of touchdowns, giving him 15 rushing touchdowns on the season and 17 overall.

Fabian Herrera closed a chapter in his high school career with his sixth interception of the season, second in the county only to Carmel’s Simon Brown’s seven.