Salinas football

 You can sum this game up in one word for the Cowboys.
 Turnovers.
 Five to be exact in a 21-14 loss to Aptos.
 It's tough to beat a team that's won three straight Central Coast Section titles and is now 31-3 against teams in the CCS over the last three plus years -- when giving them extra possessions.
 Bottom line.
 It's one game.
 Salinas has been down this path a few times. It's 2-7 in its last nine season openers, yet has reached the postseason the previous eight years.
 These aren't creampuffs the Cowboys have scheduled for season openers over the last decade.
 Still, you can't spot any team 14 points on turnovers, with mistakes that shut down drives and shifted momentum.
 There were some bright spots, such as the effort of the defense, which included a pair of sacks from  Cooper Smith. Salinas used two quarterbacks in the game. Will it settle on one?
 With the last two quarterbacks at Salinas rewriting school records, there's extra pressure to fill those shoes.