Mbonu’s career-high 172 yards rushing and two touchdowns not
enough for Sobrato
MORGAN HILL — From their Zero Week upset of Leland, to the El Toro Bowl and parts of last week’s loss to Independence, Sobrato has shown it can battle back from almost any deficit.
After dropping to 0-2 in the Santa Teresa Division on Saturday –- the result of another thriller, this time a 49-30 loss to Lincoln –- the Bulldogs will need one of their biggest comebacks yet to make the Central Coast Section playoffs.
Sobrato’s remaining schedule includes winnable home games against Gunderson, Branham and Evergreen Valley but two very challenging road contests at Willow Glen and Westmont.
The top three teams will likely advance.
“We’re trying not to look at the big picture right now,” Sobrato wingback Derrick Taylor said. “We have to just focus on our next opponent and go from there.”
As the Lions (3-2 overall, 2-0 league) discovered Saturday at Richert Field, you can’t turn your back on these Bulldogs.
Sobrato scored three consecutive touchdowns in the second quarter, including Jerry Jacob’s 4-yard pass to Steve Villarreal as time expired, to overcome a 16-point deficit. The Bulldogs had the momentum and a 30-28 lead at halftime but did not score again.
Josh Ayala answered with two of his four touchdowns, and Michael Hidalgo added a 49-yard rushing score for good measure as the Lions handed Sobrato a third consecutive loss.
Lincoln gradually slowed the Bulldogs’ star fullback, Obi Mbonu, but not before he ripped off two touchdowns and 123 rushing yards in the first half. Mbonu finished with a career-high 172 yards in 20 carries, bursting up the middle and carrying defenders.
Untouched, he scored on an 80-yard trap play that pulled Sobrato within 21-12 at the end of the first quarter and also plowed into the end zone from a yard out with 1:58 left in the second, trimming the Lions’ lead to 28-24.
“He’s an amazing player,” Lincoln coach Kevin Collins said. “He’s as good a running back as we’re going to see.
“Sobrato’s a good team, too. People might not realize that based on their record. But they have some great athletes, and they’re well coached.”
The Bulldogs’ special teams had a disastrous night, starting with Stephen Robertson’s 89-yard return for a touchdown on the opening kick-off. Sobrato failed all five conversion tries.
“I’m not making excuses after this one. We had too many mistakes,” Bulldogs coach Nick Borello said. “We need to execute better. We’re not looking for moral victories.”
Already short-handed by injuries to two-way lineman Skyler King, defensive back Conor Havstad and tight end/linebacker Alex Hagiperos, the Bulldogs lost another key player to injury in safety/wideout Frank Palmer.
Those took a toll as the game went on.
“We had most of our starters going both ways and playing on special teams,” Borello said. “We’re just snake-bit.”
Jacob rushed for 29 yards and a score and completed 11 of 18 for 117 yards with touchdown passes of eight and four yards to Villarreal -– a solid night save for three interceptions. Two of those went to cornerback Mark Balliet, who returned the first one 42 yards for a touchdown to push Lincoln ahead 21-6.
Sobrato (2-3 overall) committed four turnovers.
“We do this every game, where we get some momentum and get overconfident,” said Villarreal, who also picked off a pass by Lions quarterback Chris Pope and recovered a fumble at cornerback. “We did some good things tonight, but we’ve got to play hard the whole game; every guy following their assignment on every play.”
Taylor and Drew Glines rushed for 42 yards apiece with Taylor adding 64 yards on play-action swing passes.
After Hidalgo’s touchdown run made it 42-30 with 2:14 left, Glines returned the ensuing kick-off 78 yards, but the play was called back for an illegal block. Ayala picked off Jacob on the next play then scored on a 33-yard sweep.
The 6-foot-1, 185-pound tailback finished with 144 rushing yards.
“It took some big plays by a lot of different guys to put them away and get a shutout in the second half,” Collins said.
The Bulldogs made it exciting in the second half when they scored twice in the final two minutes.
After Mbonu’s 1-yard dive for a touchdown, Sobrato held Lincoln to four plays, using timeouts wisely, and regained possession with 58 seconds left. Villarreal scooped up a fumbled toss to Robertson on fourth-and-one at the Lincoln 6-yard line.
Villarreal dropped a touchdown pass on the next play. Jacob was then sacked and, on third-and-goal, scrambled nine yards to the Lions’ 4 with 12 seconds remaining. Jacob got the snap off with two ticks left, scrambled to his left and threw a perfectly placed strike to Villarreal, who caught it on a jump less than a yard into the end zone before being shoved out by defenders.
“We showed a lot coming back like that,” Borello said. “But we’re still making too many mistakes and not executing like we could be. I still think we’re a lot better team.”
NO NEED FOR ‘DOGS TO PANIC: An 0-2 start in league play means an outright Santa Teresa championship is likely out of the question for Sobrato, but the Bulldogs still control their own destiny toward making the CCS playoffs.
If they lose again, they will need help.
Five teams lie ahead of Sobrato in the division standings, and the Bulldogs have yet to face three. Because the first tie-breaker is head-to-head competition, Sobrato is in position to leapfrog Westmont Nov. 12, when the two teams end the regular season against each other.
The Bulldogs can clog up the division race Oct. 29 against Willow Glen; the Rams are one of three teams who are still unbeaten in league, joining Independence and Lincoln. That changes Friday when the 76ers visit Lincoln on the same night Sobrato hosts a key game against Gunderson. The Bulldogs then face winless Branham and later host a winnable game against Evergreen Valley on Nov. 5.
Sobrato would benefit from a Rams victory over Independence on Oct. 22, since the Bulldogs have already lost to the 76ers and playoff-ineligible Lincoln; the Lions play in the annual Big Bone Game after the season.
The Santa Teresa could earn three playoff berths, though, it seems unlikely if Lincoln places third outright or better.
