Salinas-North Salinas football

Friday's game
Salinas (1-1) vs. North Salinas (1-0) at Rabobank, 7:30 p.m.
 Being in different leagues doesn't change the fact that this is a natural rivalry of  55 years.
 It has been one-sided of late with Salinas having won the last six meetings between the two teams, holding a 32-23 series lead over North Salinas in the annual 'Big Game'.
 North Salinas will be playing with heavy hearts and emotion tonight after the tragic loss of one of their teammates.
 Salinas returns to the site where it fell in last year's CCS Division I finals. In fact, it has dropped its last two games at Rabobank.
 The Cowboys did little wrong in their lopsided win over Pioneer last week, even producing points on special teams when Ryan Jensen took off on a fake punt for a touchdown.
 North Salinas' defense registered two touchdowns two weeks ago in an upset of Alvarez, taking an interception and fumble back for six points. Yet, the offense turned the ball over four times.
 These teams are similar in that both rely heavily on their quarterback to make things happen, and a tenacious defense to make plays, as evident by Salinas creating six turnovers last week.
 Matt Castaneda has thrown four touchdown passes for Salinas and leads the team in rushing while  Tim Burkhardt led the Vikings in rushing in their season opener.
 Salinas' only win at Rabobank came in the stadiums inaugural season when it defeated North Salinas 35-10 in the first prep game played there in 2013.