If there
’s one thing that defines being a fan of local sports, it is
that more often than not play doesn’t stop after the regular season
is over. Simply put, in Morgan Hill, fans, coaches and athletes
alike all expect to compete in the playoffs. And most of them meet
their expectations. Never was that m
ore true than in 2004.
If there’s one thing that defines being a fan of local sports, it is that more often than not play doesn’t stop after the regular season is over.
Simply put, in Morgan Hill, fans, coaches and athletes alike all expect to compete in the playoffs. And most of them meet their expectations.
Never was that more true than in 2004.
Last year saw some of the most remarkable athletic performances in local history, replete with unprecedented success (Live Oak High junior Cobbie Jones winning the first individual girls cross-country section title in school history), revivals of former greatness (the Acorn girls soccer team’s first section championship since 1997, and the LO football team’s return to the Central Coast Section playoffs), and the birth of a new high school sports program (newly opened Sobrato High), created from scratch.
Sure, there were the disappointments – the teams that didn’t do so well or who fell short of their often lofty goals.
But 2004 will surely be remembered more for its triumphs than its shortcomings.
Following is a month-by-month recap of the year in sports:
January
Live Oak’s boys basketball team wins its eighth game in a row to improve to 11-1 overall and challenges for the best start in school history. But the Acorns fall short after losing to Aragon in Gunderson High’s Grizzly Classic.
LO’s girls soccer team shows a glimpse of its potential by capturing fourth at the prestigious 30-school Tri-Valley Classic in Walnut Creek.
49er quarterback Jeff Garcia, a Gilroy High grad, is arrested for DUI.
February
Longtime Morgan Hill Pony Baseball President and Coach Roy Jackson is honored along with the local Pony Baseball organization and LO grad Ryan Muller by the Santa Clara County Hot Stove League for their accomplishments.
LO school officials meet with beals sport to discuss the state of the recently installed Richert Field football turf, which sustained massive damage during the football season. They decide minimal use of the costly turf is the only way to keep it in top shape. Contractors are also forced to repair the recently installed track later in the year. Various other problems related to the school’s extensive renovation of its athletic facilities remain unresolved.
LO grad John Ellis qualifies for the AT&T Pro-Am at Pebble Beach in his first pro attempt.
LO’s girls soccer team wins league title and advances to CCS playoffs. The Acorns win their first two postseason matches, including a victory over nemesis Santa Teresa, then tie Leland in the Division I finals to claim a co-championship.
The Acorn boys soccer team also advances to the CCS playoffs after finishing second in league but drop their first-round match.
Also finishing second in the TCAL, the LO boys basketball team wins its first-round CCS playoff game before falling in the second round.
A record nine LO wrestlers advance to the CCS finals, with senior Mike Gamez placing sixth overall in the Heavyweight division at the section meet.
MH’s Moses Guillardo, a freshman, wins a CCS title while wrestling for Bellarmine and advances to the state tourney.
Several local girls help lead the Valley Christian girls soccer team to the first section title in school history.
LO’s first-year rugby club wins its first match.
March
Acorn senior midfielder Janae Pimentel is named TCAL MVP in soccer, and is joined by four other Acorns on the all-league first team.
Four LO boys soccer players also earn all-league first team honors.
LO’s Joel Wright and Steve Conner earn all-TCAL first team honors in basketball, but the Acorn girls are left off the all-league team entirely when Coach Richard Silva misses the league meeting. Silva later resigns.
Garcia is released by the 49ers, then signs with Cleveland after initial reports had him signing with Tampa Bay.
LO grad Drew Pearson and Pacific make the NCAA basketball tournament, and win their opener before losing to Kansas.
LO High hosts the Raymond Relays on its new track.
Morgan Hill hosts the 21st annual AAUW Wildflower Run.
April
Sobrato High announces its first football schedule (the first sports schedule in school history).
LO’s Cobbie Jones sets a new meet record at her old school, Los Gatos High.
Cordevalle holds first youth golf tourney fundraiser for Youth Golf Foundation, a newly formed non-profit organization dedicated to improving access to the game for kids of all income backgrounds.
LO grad Brandon Villafuerte starts the MLB season with the Arizona Diamondbacks’ AAA affiliate in Tucson.
Acorns Anthony Avalos and Garrett Frechette are selected to the Northern California state soccer team.
The South Valley Wine Auction raises much-needed money for the running programs at LO and other local schools.
Still under construction, the MH Aquatics Center holds its first signups.
LO’s boys volleyball team clinches the TCAL title with a second straight unbeaten (14-0) league season.
Six Acorn boys tennis players advance to the TCAL finals.
May
Both the LO boys and girls swim teams finish unbeaten in TCAL dual meets, win the TCAL championships and send 20 swimmers to CCS.
Acorn standout David Dunn wins two individual section titles and helps the LO boys swim team finish third overall at CCS.
At TCAL finals, LO’s Cobbie Jones and Billy Wong both qualify for the CCS meet in two events, leading a strong Acorn contingent.
Jones and Brandon Powell both make section finals, and Jones qualifies for state meet in the 800.
LO’s boys volleyball and baseball teams advance to CCS playoffs but both lose in the first round.
On the verge of making the CCS playoffs, the Acorn softball team drops its last four straight to miss postseason.
Acorn senior Eric Abbott is names the TCAL’s Pitcher of the Year and is joined by three other Acorns on the all-league first team, while two Acorn girls earn all-league first team honors in softball.
Three LO volleyball players make the all-TCAL first team.
Gavilan College formulates a plan to boost gender equity in sports.
Sobrato hires its first football coach, Gilroy High grad Jeff Patterson.
June
The Morgan Hill Times names three-sport star Steve Conner and soccer standout Janae Pimentel as its male and Female Athletes of the Year.
The Fifth Annual Michael Stramback Golf Tournament is held at Coyote Creek in honor of a former LO student who died in an automobile accident. The event raises scholarship money for area student-athletes.
The MH Aquatics Center holds its grand opening, and the Makos hold the first swim meet at the new swim center.
In MH Pony Baseball action, the Giants, Red Sox, Angels and Reds all win city titles in their respective divisions.
MH Pony Baseball hosts several different age group all-star tourneys at Britton Field.
July
The Central Coast Barnstormers semipro football team advances to the semifinals, but loses to the South Bay Buccaneers.
A group of petitioners ask for more representation in the Orchard Valley Youth Soccer League.
The MH Bronco A All-Star team wins the Sectional title and advances to the Regionals.
LO’s Cobbie Jones and Jonathan Kamei qualify for and compete at the Junior Olympic Nationals in Oregon.
LO grads Steve Conner and Daniel Salinas compete in the Charlie Wedemeyer High School All-Star football game against some of the area’s top seniors.
The MH Bronco A All-Stars win the Regional title and advance to the West Zone tourney in Maui, one step from the Pony Baseball World Series.
MHPB’s Pony All-Stars win the Sectional tourney title and advance to Regional tourney play.
As co-host, the MH Colt Athletics begin play in the West Zone tourney at PAL Stadium in San Jose.
The MH Pride 12U girls softball team plays at the Western World Series in Washington, winning its first two before being eliminated.
August
The OVYSL hosts the third annual Morgan Hill/Gilroy Cup with 86 of the top Division I soccer teams from all over the state competing. The OVYSL Stingrays U15 boys team wins its division.
MHPB’s Pony All-Stars win the Regional tourney title and advance to the West Zone tourney in Fullerton. The team ends up fourth overall out of a total of 128 teams in the Zone.
The MHPB Bronco A All-Stars are eliminated at the West Zone tourney.
The MH Aquatics Center hosts the Coast Valley Athletic League swim championships. The Makos take sixth overall.
The MH Water Polo Club’s 16U boys team, made up mostly of LO players, wins the prestigious Maui Invitational.
Several local swimmers earn gold for El Toro Aquatics at the South Bay Swim League finals.
Sobrato High opens, and plays its first athletic contest – a JV girls volleyball match.
The Bulldogs football team sees its first action at the SCCAL JV Jamboree.
September
LO’s football team ends its 24-game winless streak by beating visiting Alvarez 28-0 at Richert Field. It is the program’s first victory since 2001.
Sobrato’s girls volleyball team picks up the school’s first victory, beating Santa Teresa.
The Bulldog football team wins its season opener 37-12 over host Scotts Valley.
LO’s boys water polo team qualifies for the state invitational tourney by taking seventh at the highly regarded John Schmidt tournament.
The Acorn girls water polo team finishes second at its own Wahine Classic tournament at Live Oak High.
October
LO’s resurgent football team finishes its non-league schedule with a perfect 5-0 record after beating host Monterey 34-18. The Acorns also win their TCAL opener, beating North Salinas.
The OVYSL Scream U16 girls soccer team defends its District II Cup title.
LO football improves to 7-0 overall (2-0 in TCAL play) with a narrow victory at Salinas, a game marred by a postgame incident in which a Cowboys player goes after an official.
LO alum John Ellis takes 10th overall at a PGA Tour qualifier at Hollister’s San Juan Oaks Golf Club.
The Acorn football team’s win streak comes to an end in a 33-14 loss to visiting Palma.
November
Acorn cross-country standout Cobbie Jones wins a second straight TCAL title and advances with teammate Lisa Herrera and the entire LO boys team to the CCS finals.
LO’s boys water polo team competes at the state invitational tourney and takes 15th out of 16 teams.
The Acorn football team suffers its second straight loss, bowing to Hollister-San Benito 23-8. The loss was magnified when longtime assistant coach Bill Sanford got into an altercation with an official and subsequently resigned.
Both the LO boys and girls water polo squads finish the TCAL regular season undefeated in league play and also win the TCAL tourney titles. Both move on to the CCS playoffs with high expectations.
Missing an assistant coach and several key players due to injury, and ineligibility, LO’s football team pulls off a huge 28-21 comeback victory over host Gilroy in its regular-season finale. The victory clinches the Acorns’ first CCS playoff berth since 2000, and broke a four-game losing streak to the Mustangs.
LO’s girls water polo squad loses in an upset to league rival Santa Catalina in the first round of the CCS playoffs, a bitter disappointment.
The Acorn boys water polo team gets a poor seed and ends up in the same bracket as perennial power Bellarmine. LO wins its first round match, then bows to the powerful Bells in the semifinals.
The CCS recommends that LO and Sobrato both switch from the TCAL to the Blossom Valley Athletic League for the 2006-07 school year.
Cobbie Jones wins LO’s first individual section cross-country title since 1965, and advances to the state finals. She is joined by first-year varsity runner Lisa Herrera.
LO’s football team caps its season with a loss to top seed Oak Grove in the first round of the CCS playoffs.
LO’s girls volleyball team makes the CCS playoffs for the ninth straight season, wins its postseason opener, then just misses pulling off an upset against Salinas. Two Acorns earn all-league first team honors.
Ryan and Ronni Gautschi repeat as the TCAL’s MVPs, and are joined by several Acorns on the all-league water polo first team.
Cobbie Jones finishes 18th overall at a muddy state finals at Fresno’s Woodward Park.
December
LO’s Glen Webb is named TCAL Coach of the Year and five Acorns are selected to the all-league football first team.
The LO boys basketball team wins its second straight consolation title at Los Gatos High’s Wildcat Shoot-Out. The Acorns follow that up with a third-place finish at Gilroy High’s Bob Hagen tourney.
LO’s boys soccer team advances to the Homestead Christmas Cup finals but loses to Mitty on penalty kicks.
LO alums Jeff Ulbrich (49er linebacker) and Ryan Neufeld (Bills tight end) meet in an NFL game.
