Defense carries Sobrato through tense second half; Mbonu rushes
for 138 yards two touchdowns, Glines totals 137 and two scores for
Bulldogs
MORGAN HILL — Their best interior linemen are sophomores, same with their lead tailback and several other starters. Underclassmen are everywhere you look on their side of the football field.
The Bulldogs of Sobrato High School are a young team still trying to find its identity in the third week of Santa Teresa Division play.
They had been here before –- close game, fourth quarter, time winding down –- six days ago and fell apart. Together, they learned how to finish Friday against Gunderson. The defense knocked down what the offense set up in the first half, and Sobrato won 34-18 at Richert Field.
“It’s coming around. It’s finally starting to come around,” Obi Mbonu said of the Bulldogs’ confidence after rushing for 138 yards and two touchdowns. “I’m still getting there myself. Right now, we’re growing up.”
Mbonu made the learning process as painless as possible in the first half, doing the special things he does with a football in his hands. The 5-foot-8, 185-pound junior fullback rushed for 25 yards in his first carry, eight in his second, and reached the end zone from 23 and 31 yards out in his third and fifth attempts, bumping outside and smashing through defenders.
Mbonu shared the spotlight with tailback Drew Glines, who rushed for one yard less –- 137 –- and had two scores of his own in the second half, a 6-yard dash and a 42-yard scamper that broke Gunderson’s back with 10:46 remaining.
“They both run the ball so well. They feed off each other,” said SHS coach Nick Borello, whose team won for the first time in five weeks and snapped a three-game slide. “Drew was huge for us tonight. He’s another young guy, and he’s trying to build up some confidence. Tonight definitely helped.”
The Bulldogs (3-3 overall, 1-2 league) outgained the Grizzlies 391-230 but needed their defense to seal the deal on homecoming night.
After Glines’ first touchdown run pushed Sobrato ahead 19-18, the Bulldogs’ offense suddenly lost its momentum. Gunderson was in position to take command during the third quarter but was turned away on several key defensive plays. Sobrato end Simon Schmidt knocked down two passes at the line of scrimmage, and cornerback Steven Villarreal intercepted a Francisco Rodriguez pass and tackled Trevon Adams in the flat on a reverse play to turn over the ball on downs.
“When our offense wasn’t clicking, our D was huge,” senior two-way tackle Gustavo Ramirez said. “We muffed a couple things on offense, but we came through on defense.”
Mbonu’s two scores gave Sobrato a 12-0 lead -– yes, special teams are still a problem for SHS -– in the first quarter, but Gunderson (3-3, 1-2) pulled even on consecutive series. Rodriguez weaved a 16-yard touchdown pass through three defenders to Niko Evaristo, and Aaron Catacutan recovered a blocked punt by Evaristo on the ensuing Sobrato drive.
The Bulldogs did produce two successful PAT kicks by Shawn Henner and an improvised 2-point conversion run by quarterback Jerry Jacob -– he couldn’t get down the hold.
“I don’t know what it is, but special teams are just killing us,” Borello said.
Rodriguez, who completed eight of 20 for 147 yards, connected with Lodi Vertilus for a 24-yard strike that gave Gunderson the lead, 18-12, at halftime.
The Bulldogs were in business on the next drive until Grizzlies defensive tackle Jordan Melovdov intercepted a screen pass at the Gunderson 14. Sobrato’s Conor Havstad picked off Rodriguez three plays later.
“A lot of guys stepped up for us,” Schmidt said of the defense.
“We got back to basics with our assignments this week. We kept it simple. Tonight, we just played sound. … I think we turned the corner.”
The issue was still in doubt until Glines broke loose on a 42-yard “buck” sweep, the Bulldogs’ bread-and-butter.
“Drew was a monster tonight,” Mbonu said.
With 2:41 left, Jacob threw a 35-yard play-action strike to wide-open tight end Alex Hagiperos for the game’s final score.
Sobrato will learn more about itself soon. The Bulldogs host Branham next week with a showdown against first-place Willow Glen looming.
