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Watsonville High sophomore Aaliyah Arellano stepped in a different role earlier this season as the Wildcatz’s new starting quarterback. (Raul Ebio/The Pajaronian)
Watsonville senior Stephanie Martinez and the rest of the Wildcatz crew are back on track after brushing off what seemed to be a shaky start to the 2025 fall campaign.
On Wednesday, they extended their win streak to four straight—three in the past three days—following a 6-0 victory over Hollister in Pacific Coast Athletic League Gabilan Division action.
With the win, Watsonville improved to a 5-5 overall record, and are 3-5 in league play.
“It’s really big,” Martinez said about their current win streak. “We were on that losing streak, but playing against Alisal we got momentum. Ever since then, I feel we can keep on going with this winning streak.”
Watsonville sophomore quarterback Aaliyah Arellano connected with junior receiver Taylor Alves on a 2-yard touchdown pass for the game’s lone score Wednesday evening.
“They’re all new to varsity, so that’s been a transition,” Watsonville head coach Zach Cook said about the underclassmen. “They’re adjusting really well. It’s taken a little bit of time, but for the most part, we’ve been really close.”
On Tuesday, Arellano accounted for six touchdowns in a 39-0 blowout win over Alvarez in non-league play. She tossed four touchdowns and had a pair of receiving TDs, both thrown by junior quarterback Brianna Guzman.
Senior receiver Aliah Anaya hauled in three of Arellano’s touchdown passes, while teammate sophomore Audrina Rodriguez had one reception in the end zone.
Martinez said having the younger players step up and push each other has been the key to their success thus far.
“I feel their hunger for the game in a way,” Martinez said. “Some show up to practice every day and make sure they’re noticing other people’s body language.”
Watsonville juniors Jocelyn Avalos and Amaya Silva each had one interception, while Alves recorded four sacks in Tuesday’s game.
Alves has been a nightmare for opposing quarterbacks this season. She added four more in Wednesday’s win over Hollister, giving her a total of 26 sacks.
“We kind of were still trying to get to know each other, and click,” Martinez said. “And I feel right now we’re clicking.”
Arellano came through with a clutch touchdown pass to freshman Yoselin Delgadillo, and then scored the go-ahead extra point attempt on a quarterback keeper in Monday’s 13-12 win against Carmel.
“[Carmel was] really much bigger than us,” Cook said. “Then we had some very opportunistic interceptions that kind of helped us go.”
Prior to their midseason turnaround, Watsonville was on a three-game losing streak. Martinez and Anaya talked amongst each other, and decided that a team meeting was necessary.
“We like to make sure that we have time to circle up and express our feelings,” Martinez said. “Just let everything out in a nice way, obviously. I feel like that kind of made us bond more together and not get frustrated with each other.”
After hashing things out, they regrouped and have never looked back.
“We’ve been here for three years, so we’ve experienced multiple things with our team like understanding what needed to be done, and doing it really helped us,” Martinez said.
Watsonville was runner-up in last year’s PCAL’s end-of-the-season tournament, falling to King City in the championship game. Martinez said ever since they lost it’s been all about getting back to that point and this time winning it all.
This year that would mean capturing a Central Coast Section title with the introduction of the inaugural playoff tournament.
“We emphasized intensity, putting in work,” she said. “Just knowing anybody can win, it’s a 50-50 [chance].”
Martinez added that part of getting back to a championship caliber-type team is to consistently play up to their level, and never overlook an opponent no matter what their overall record might indicate.
In a way, that’s been the case for the ‘Catz after starting the season 1-5. But, a majority of those losses came within at least one score with the exception of a 32-0 trounce to St. Francis on Sept. 10.
Martinez said sometimes all it takes is a bit of belief.
“We just had to be confident in ourselves, because we have the skills,” Martinez said. “Overall, the goal is to grow as a team, make it to CCS and just show that Watsonville can really be up there.”
Next up, Watsonville (5-5, 3-5) plays at King City (5-7, 2-6) on Sept. 29 at 6:30pm.
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