Pacific Grove-Soledad football

Friday's game
Pacific Grove (5-3) at Soledad (5-3), 7:30 p.m
 The Breakers destiny towards a third straight Mission Trail Athletic League title is in their hands.
 At the same time, their postseason hopes could be on the line Friday when they visit Soledad.
 A loss to the Aztecs would not only eliminate them from title consideration, but it could put Pacific Grove's playoff hopes in jeopardy.
 "We haven't really talked about the playoffs,'' Pacific Grove coach Chris Morgan said. "We need to go 1-0 this week. If we do that, it puts us in a better position for the future.''
 The Breakers close the season at unbeaten Carmel.
 Soledad meanwhile, is still clinging to hopes of defending its share of the title. For that to happen, it would need to beat the Breakers and hope for a Carmel loss in its season finale.
 "Our approach is this is a game that could put us in a great position to make the postseason,'' Soledad coach Frankie Berlanga said.
 The Aztecs have won their last nine MTAL home games, with their last home setback coming from Pacific Grove in 2014.
 In fact, the Breakers have won the last three meetings between the two teams and are 15-1-1 overall against Soledad.
 "They've had our number,'' said Berlanga, who guided Soledad to a share of its first ever league title last season.
 While the Aztecs are 4-1 in the MTAL, they changed quarterbacks last week. The result saw Robbie Santa Ana complete 15-of-21 for 200 yards and two touchdowns.
 "We use the personnel at quarterback to put us in the best position to be successful,'' Berlanga said. "I liked what I saw in practice. He took advantage of an opportunity and capitalized."
 Opponents have had moderate success in throwing the ball against Pacific Grove this fall.
 "We've been preaching we need to be better tacklers,'' Morgan said. "That's one of the cores of the sport. We need to cut down on the mental mistakes on the defensive side of the ball.''
 The Aztecs are still going to pound the ball behind Emmanuel Ortega, who is headed for his second straight 1,000 yard rushing season.
 "He's a talented back,'' Morgan said. "If you don't prepare for him or stop him, the play action stuff they do will kill you. I don't think their changes offensively will force us to change what we do.''
 The strength of Soledad has been its defense, anchored by Andrew Hernandez, who has 109 tackles, and Daniel Contawe and his 11 sacks.
 A ball hawking defense, led by Aaron Rodriguez' four interceptions, has seen the Aztecs pick off 12 passes, while the interior line has 35 sacks.
 "I think we match up well with anybody,'' Berlanga said. "We are confident in what we offer and what we bring. But we're always flexible in making adjustments throughout the game.''
 Soledad's defense won't face a better all-around back than quarterback Noah Cryns, who has over 2,000 yards in offense, having rushed for 14 touchdowns and thrown for 11.
 "He's a quarterback,'' said Morgan, who moved Cryns this fall from tailback to behind center. "But I don't consider him a quarterback. He's just a kid on the field making plays.''
 Berlanga agreed.
 "The offense is run through him,'' Berlanga said. "He touches the ball on every single. He's going to be a 1,000 yard rusher and a 1,000 yard passer. He's a big piece to everything they do.''
 So is MTAL 100 meter sprint champion Nick Coppla, who has caught eight touchdowns, rushed for five and returned a kickoff for six.
 "You have to be aware of him on sweeps,'' Berlanga said.
 Pacific Grove, who has put together three straight seasons of 10 or more wins, is undefeated in the month of October .
 "The last three weeks, we just got back to simplifying things and letting our senior leadership take over,'' Morgan said. "And we got back to full strength.''