Jim Kelly has known the time was coming. With two straight Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division defeats and three divisional losses to date (both firsts in his tenure), the Carlmont High girls soccer coach has almost become resigned to it.

His program’s run of eight straight Bay championships is coming to an end.

Let’s say that again (the first part, that is): Eight straight Bay championships. Incredible.

Nine seasons ago, Kelly came in with a bang—downing then-powerhouse Menlo-Atherton to secure the title for the Scots in his first season. And then the championships kept coming … and coming … and coming.

In sum, Kelly lost a TOTAL of three Bay games entering this season.

But with red-hot Burlingame quickly distancing itself from its foes—the Panthers can clinch the Bay title with their next win or tie—Kelly took a few moments Wednesday to reflect on a special streak that is about to run its course.

“The whole time, I was aware it was an amazing thing,” he said. “I’ve always known it was going to come to an end. For eight years it was like, ‘When is it going to end?’ You could never think you’d do it again.”

Asked the origins of the Scots’ dominance, Kelly pointed toward the time when he assisted Michael Flynn at PAL-rival Aragon, of all teams.

“I’ll never forget the game I coached against Carlmont when I was (in my second year) at Aragon,” he said. “I remember looking at the talent Carlmont had … and I realized if I ever had the chance, I had to coach that team.”

Of the Scots’ success, Kelly said: “It’s mostly the players. … As far as memories, I have more memories of the players than the particular games we played.” On that note, he said the offensive stars, in particular, were what fueled the streak.

“In the eight years I did it, I always had some really, really top-flight forwards,” Kelly related.

When asked what stood out to him about the run, Kelly immediately listed “the back-to-back years we were undefeated and untied.” Then, he fondly remembered a four-year stretch, spanning the freshman-through-senior years of Mara Fintzi and Sammy Kirberg, which included the two perfect Bay seasons and two straight Central Coast Section Division I championships.

But Kelly got the feeling early on that this might be the season someone finally topped his side. After the Scots went 0-1-2 in their first stretch against Aragon, Woodside and Burlingame, the Carlmont coach knew an offense that too often couldn’t finish its scoring opportunities would be “the challenge.”

“(That) stretch pretty much told me that, yup, this is going to be pretty tough to do if we can’t score,” he said.

Reminded that the Scots scored just twice in those three games, Kelly laughed: “Two goals, but plenty of opportunities.”

This season, Kelly has also had to come to grips with something Carlmont opponents suffered repeatedly at the hands of the Scots throughout the years–the come-from-ahead loss.

“There’s all kinds of firsts (this season). I’ve given up leads for ties, but I don’t think I’ve ever lost a lead and lost a victory,” he said. “That’s a tough pill to swallow.”

As for seeing the hopes of a ninth straight title gradually slip away this season, the Carlmont coach said: “You’ve got to give a lot of credit to the other teams, and especially Burlingame. They’ve always been in second place, and they’ve always been a tough opponent where games could go one way or another.”

Professing pride in how the Bay landscape has become full of dangerous teams, Kelly referenced his preseason prediction that Woodside would be the team no one wants to play.

“Woodside’s defense is phenomenal,” he continued. “(And) Aragon’s loaded with talent, and they’re only going to get better.”

Even as Carlmont cedes its throne, Kelly said the mentality of his side’s opponents would likely remain the same for the near future. Carlmont has always been the team to beat. Even as the streak ends, Kelly believes opponents will continue to use that run as motivation and inspiration, just as they did when they took their shot at the Scots over the years.

“I don’t think that’s going to change,” he said.