Aptos-Palma football

Friday's game
Aptos (1-2) vs. Palma (1-2) at Rabobank, 7:30 p.m.
 Two programs that have combined for 11 straight league titles in their respective leagues are now in the same division.
 Neither showed glimpses of that dominance in the preseason. Then again Aptos lost to two teams that are a combined 6-1, while Palma fell to a team that played for a state title last fall.
 The Chieftains ground game, which had been missing in their first two games, came alive against Menlo last week with sophomore Anthony Villegas chalking up 161 yards on 27 carries.
 While Palma wants to be more balanced this fall, the offense revolves around its ability to grind with methodical time consuming drives.
 The results were evident on the defensive side, as the Chieftains allowed just 14 points last week -- with one score coming late in the game.
 Aptos could have moved to another league when the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League disbanded last winter. It choose the Gabilan Division, believing it can compete for supremacy.
 With good reason. During its runs of six straight SCCAL titles, it was 7-3 against teams from the Gabilan Division. All three losses, however, have come from Palma.