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Story by John Devine, Monterey Daily Herald
SALINAS - Attempts to renew an old cross-town rivalry that dates back nearly 70 years might have to be revisited.
It’s no longer a true rivalry when it’s played occasionally and is one-sided, as has been the case the past two times Salinas and North Salinas have tangled, or the last 17 meetings.
“It’s actually a hard game for me,” said Salinas coach Steve Zenk, who spent nine years at North Salinas as their coach. “Their head coach was my defensive coordinator. Five of their coaches played for me. They are adults now. But they’re still my kids.”
The reigning six-time Pacific Coast Athletic Conference Gabilan Divisions champions put on an aerial assault for their league rivals to take note of, erupting Friday for a 49-14 win over North Salinas at “The Pit.”
Owners of 17 straight wins in the series, which was scheduled as a crossover game in the Pacific Coast Athletic League, Salinas has outscored the Vikings 120-21 in the last two meetings between the two oldest public schools in Salinas.
Salinas, who once trailed in the series 24-22-1, now holds a 39-24-1 series led over North Salinas. The last time the Vikings beat Salinas was in 2008 when Zenk sported a different logo on his shirt and the teams were league rivals.
If Zenk really needed a reminder, the Cowboys will begin defense of their Gabilan Division title next Friday, hosting defending State Division 4A champion Palma.
Salinas has not lost to Palma in its last six Gabilan Division meetings. The Chieftains did beat them during the pandemic-shortened spring in 2021.
Zenk, who is now six wins shy of 100 for his coaching career - 36 of those coming while at North Salinas - has gone 38-2 as the head coach for Salinas in the Gabilan Division
“This team, this group, hasn’t won a game in the Gabilan,” Zenk said. “Last year was awesome. But it has nothing to do with this year.”
Coming off a humbling 41-14 loss to Central Section power Clovis for the second straight year, Zenk felt the players took it upon themselves to challenge each other in practice.
“I like to see who we are when it doesn’t go our way,” Zenk said. “We saw that last week. We saw it on Monday at practice. They were focused. We challenged ourselves to get better. I think we got a little better.”
The Cowboys put on an aerial assault that saw quarterback Rico Maturino throw a career-high four touchdowns - three in the first half in opening up a 35-7 cushion.
The chemistry between Maturino and Emarrcis Turner is growing, as the pair hooked up for touchdown passes of 27 and 65 yards - the second time this fall the two have connected for two touchdowns in a game.
“Rico did a great job of running our offense, patting guys on the butt if they made a mistake,” Zenk said. “He’s grown so much as a leader. He led by example tonight. He played his tail off.”
Maturino may have found another viable receiving target with speed going into next week’s Gabilan Division opener, hitting Brady Ballesteros on touchdown passes of 52 and 68 yards to pad the Cowboys lead to 35 early in the third quarter.
The senior quarterback was nearly flawless, completing 14-of-16 passes for 293 yards, with Ballesteros having 135 receiving yards on just three catches.
Big plays were a theme throughout the night as Dayven Marquez added a 67-yard touchdown run, as Salinas piled up 497 yards of offense, showcasing a balanced attack with over 200 rushing yards.
“Hopefully it’s a sign of things to come,” Zenk said. “We take what opponents give us. They were in man. We felt we could win a lot of those battles on the outside, provided our quarterback was protected.”
The final product is far from finished as Zenk continues to chase perfection for a program that has put together the most wins over the last eight years in the county.
“We got better on things we worked on in practice,” Zenk said. “We will find new things to get better at. We just try and get a little better each practice. We have great kids that accept coaching and work hard.”
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