Valley Christian-Palma football

Central Coast Section Open Division III finals
Friday game
Palma (10-2) vs. Valley Christian (11-1) at Oak Grove High, 7 p.m.

Jeff Carnazzo took a look at film of previous meetings with Valley Christian that date back to 2000.
What he discovered wasn’t unexpected.
"It’s the same offense and defense,’’ Carnazzo said. "Nothing has changed. That’s what happens when you have stability and success.’’
You can make the same argument for the Chieftains, who have won 10 straight going into their battle with Valley Christian.
This will be the third time since 2005 that the two teams have played for a CCS championship, with the Warriors having won both by a combine score of 75-28.
"It’s a formidable task,’’ Carnazzo said. "If you’re in the WCAL, you are battle tested. That’s why so many of their teams end up in the CCS finals in their respective divisions.’’
Palma has struggled of late in the postseason against teams from the West Catholic Athletic league, having dropped six straight, including a 14-7 decision to the Warriors in the first round in 2014.
"We’ve had our success against teams in the WCAL as well,’’ Carnazzo said. "It’s a good brand of football that’s played in the WCAL.’’
Carnazzo may have been glancing at film of Valley Christian in 2000 because that is the last time Palma has beaten them in the playoffs, holding on for a 14-10 win in the semifinals.
The Warriors have won the last four postseason meetings against Palma, posting a 35-14 decision in the 2005 finals, and a 40-10 win in the 2010 championship.
"For us, it’s a matter of finishing,’’ said Carnazzo, who has four CCS titles to his credit since 2000. "We didn’t do that in Week 2 against St. Francis.’’
Neither did Valley Christian in its battle with St. Francis, falling 13-10 in overtime. The Lancers also got past Palma 8-7 with a late fourth quarter touchdown.
"As coaches, we look at comparative scores,’’ Carnazzo said. "What else do you have? You look at film. But it doesn’t take much to realize they are very talented.’’
The two teams are similar in their styles in that both like to grind and chew up the clock and rely on a physical front seven on defense to shut teams down.
"No doubt, they’re going to run the ball,’’ Carnazzo said. "That’s what they do. It’s very effective. The quarterback can throw when they need too. But he’s fast and able to run on quarterback draws.’’
The Warriors have two dangerous running backs in Javon Sturns, who has rushed for nearly 1,200 yards, and Isaiah Rodriguez, who has 900 yards in nine games.
"Their strength is running offensive play power,’’ Carnazzo said. "We have done a pretty good job in stopping that.’’
Palma held San Benito to 109 yards in rushing offense in knocking them from the unbeaten ranks in Week 11, and limited St. Francis to 100 yards in rushing in Week 2
While the Warriors have two backs that have combined for over 2,000 rushing yards, Palma has one in record setting tailback Emilio Martinez.
The senior, who came into the season with 33 career rushing touchdowns in his first two seasons, has 35 this year, to go along with 2,068 yards in 11 games.
"He’s one of the best running backs in the state,’’ insisted Carnazzo. "It’s baffling he doesn’t have more than a couple of offers. It’s a huge misjudgment when looking at his size.’’
The 5-foot-9 Martinez, who has sprinters speed, has piled up 601 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns in two postseason wins. Twelve of his touchdown runs this year have been of 35 yards or longer.
"He’s doing this against quality teams,’’ Carnazzo said.
And with the backing of arguably one of the best offensive lines in the CCS, anchored by Stanford University bound Drew Dalman, Nick Georgalos, Robert Hernandez, Beau Winslow and Josh Koberg.
"Because we’re built up front, we wear on people early on,’’ Carnazzo said. "We’ll adjust and use our discipline up front as a strength. We hope to finish teams in the fourth quarter.’’
The 270-pound Dalman also presents problems on defense for opponents, having compiled seven sacks.
"He plays to the echo of the whistle and then helps you up,’’ said Carnazzo, in speaking of Dalman.
Since giving up 52 points in a season opening loss to 12-0 Sutter, the Chieftains starting unit has allowed 60 points during its 10-game winning streak.
Michael Zaragoza has recorded eight sacks while Stan Smith has been a menace in the middle of the defense for Palma.
"We’ve been tackling better,’’ Carnazzo said. "We’ll need to on Friday night. This is a multi-talented offense that’s balanced with how they run the ball.’’