Gonzales-Carmel football

Central Coast Section Division V semifinals
Saturday's game
Gonzales (11-0) vs. Carmel (11-0) at Monterey Peninsula College, 7 p.m.
 Four teams remain undefeated in the Central Coast Section.
 Two of them are squaring off in the Division V semifinals as the Spartans will look to snap a 15-year losing streak to their former Mission Trail Athletic League rivals.
 The two teams have had two weeks to prepare for each other after the CCS held them back a week so that all semifinal games would be played on the same weekend.
 The third quarter has been a game changer all fall for the Padres, having outscored opponents 124-0. Gonzales isn't far behind, having outscored teams 139-21 in the third quarter.
 Payton Flores has put together the third highest rushing total in county history with 2,344 yards and 30 touchdowns for Gonzales.
 Quarterback Raul Morales is coming off a 201 yard, four touchdown rushing effort. He's also thrown for nearly 1,500 yards and 17 touchdowns this season, eight to Dominic Emery.
 Both teams are coming off 54 point uprisings, with Carmel running off 47 straight points in erasing a 21-7 deficit in beating Mt. Pleasant.
 Dakota Mornhinweg is coming off a five-touchdown effort for the Padres, including a 103-yard pick six. The junior has nearly 2,000 rushing and receiving yards.
 Kai Lee has tossed 27 touchdown passes this year for Carmel, spreading the ball around the field to the likes of Mornhinweg, Rashaan Ward and Luke Melcher.
 The Padres defense has recorded four shutouts. Robert Brown has 11 sacks while Lavar Edwards has a team high four interceptions.
 Nael Vasquez has been a demon on defense for Gonzales with 114 tackles, having returned a fumble and interception for touchdowns this fall.
 Pablo Villasenor has been a beast on the interior line for the Spartans, sharing the team lead in sacks with Vasquez and Jose Lopez, while Jayson and Payton Flores each have four interceptions.
 Turnovers are game changers in the postseason. So are special teams. Melcher has returned six punts or kickoffs for touchdowns for Carmel in the last three years.