Monterey-Seaside football

Saturday's game
Monterey (1-0) vs. Seaside (0-0) at MPC, 2 p.m.
 If it isn't already odd that these two long time rivals are meeting before Labor Day, how about the fact that Seaside will be on the home side at MPC for the first time since 1980.
 With three consecutive wins over the Toreadores, Seaside has evened the Battle of the Bay all-time series at 27-27-1. It has never taken the lead in the series.
 The last two years have been lopsided results with the Spartans outscoring Monterey 87-31. The year before, a two-point conversion in overtime lifted Seaside to a 22-21 win.
 Monterey took advantage of four first quarter turnovers last week in a confidence building 37-14 win over North of Bakersfield, while Seaside sat and observed.
 The physicality that both teams expect to bring on defense provides a nastiness to this rivalry. But being over aggressive often leads to mistakes and breakdowns.
 No program in the county has the speed to match up with the Toreadores on the outside. But you still have to get the ball out to your receivers.
 Because Monterey played on a short field most of the first half last week and built an early 28 point lead, it didn't have to stretch the field like it wanted to.
 Look for the Spartans to put the ball into the hands of running back Eljiah Robinson and let him run behind that punishing offensive line.
 Seaside was 6-0 last fall when it scored 30 or more points, including a 43-15 win over Monterey. But it was winless when it failed to reach that mark.
 The last time the Toreadores beat Seaside in 2014 is the last time they produced a winning season and reached the playoffs.
 The winner of this game has made the postseason 16 out of the last 17 years. The loser has managed just four playoff appearances.