Monterey football

 It's like clockwork at each stop in Dan Brown's coaching tenure.
 Take your lumps in Year 1. Reap the benefits in Year 2.
 The Toreadores certainly took a beating last year in going 2-8, seeing a run of six straight playoff appearances end.
 Granted the cupboard was bare. The numbers in the program dwindled when Monterey didn't make a decision on a new coach until five weeks before the season started.
 Implementing a new system didn't work with the personnel Brown was handed.
 And lets not fool ourselves this fall. The Pacific Division is not the Gabilan Division.
 Still, if you've seen where Monterey has come in the last five weeks, the progress has been extreme.
 Outscored 157-33 in their first three games, the Toreadores have turned a corner, scoring 79 points in two wins.
 Are they a Pacific Division contender? Absolutely. You would not have said that after Week 2.
 So what changed?
 Well, for starters some of the discipline issues off the field got cleaned up. On the field, Monterey began taking care of the ball.
 Sophomore Evans Charles is seeing the field much better, as evident by his 8-of-12 effort for 143 yards and three touchdowns in Friday's win over Pajaro Valley.
 Bishop Ward looks like the running back Brown envisioned and Marcus Dorn Jr. is a nightmare for opponents after the catch.
 Not lost in the turnaround is the defense, anchored by Wesley Tuavao, Mercury Compagno, Nathan Lubbe and Stephen Bradford.
 Monterey has not allowed a point in the first half in its last two games. That's a recipe for success.