The 76-year-old tradition of the Carmel Padres facing off against the Pacific Grove Breakers replayed once again on Friday, November 8th. This year, the Carmel Varsity team extended their nine year winning streak with a final score of 44-41. However, the narrow 3-point loss marks the closest score since PG’s last victory in 2014 and brings optimism for future Shoe Games. Additionally, the Breakers JV team reclaimed the Sock over the Carmel JV, casting a bright light on the rivalry.
Despite narrowly missing the playoffs this year, the Varsity football team was still motivated for a good performance against Carmel in their final game of the season. Head Coach Jeff Gray states that “We felt like the team was prepared and healthy” even when going up against a talented school such as Carmel.
Throughout the first half, PG took and maintained an early lead, mainly running the ball and attempting to keep the ball away from the Carmel offense as long as they could. At halftime, PG was up 27-14, almost doubling the score of the Padres. Coach Gray attributes the early success to key players such as senior Gideon Llantero and junior quarterback Brody Edmonds. Another advantage for PG was our exceptionally strong special teams. Talent on the returning end ran the ball back for two long kick returns, one resulting in a pivotal touchdown from senior Ben Garry.
Unfortunately, after halftime, Carmel proved their dominance as a second-half team with an exhausting no-huddle offense, ultimately coming back to win the game 44-41 after fending off the Breakers in the final minutes.
As is the case with every year, all of the seniors will be dearly missed due to their profound impact on the program. Coach Gray shares that “We will miss a lot of these seniors. This was a very special class.” Despite this, he remains optimistic for next year due to talent from returning players and success from the underclassmen. The Shoe Game tradition remains alive and well, and close games in recent years hint at a Breaker victory in the near future.
