City championship will be decided up front
MORGAN HILL — “This game is on you guys.”
The morning after his team pushed aside Christopher, 21-3, and began prepping for its first El Toro Bowl as defending runner-up, Live Oak coach Jon Michael Porras conveyed the message above to his young offensive and defensive linemen during a team meeting at Live Oak High School.
He did so as means for inspiration, but Porras was also stating a fact for today’s 7 p.m. showdown with Sobrato High School.
In case you haven’t heard, both Morgan Hill teams like to run the ball. They have done so with authority this season, leading Porras to tab seniors Cody Van Aken and Blair Zerr as the best running-back tandem LOHS has had since Dustin Muhn and Kevin Abbott combined for 2,651 yards rushing in 2005.
Sobrato’s three-headed attack of Obi Mbonu, Drew Glines and option quarterback Jerry Jacob trampled Christopher in Week Zero and led the Bulldogs (2-0) to a 35-34 upset of Leland last Friday.
A tired but true outlook: The de facto city championship will largely be decided by which team’s “big uglies” play bigger up front.
“I feel like that every game, but it’s definitely the case this week,” Sobrato coach Nick Borello said. “If our O-line doesn’t play well against their D-line, we are not going to win this game.”
Isaac Camarillo and the Acorns’ linemen feel the same way.
“If we get our blocks let our backs do their thing, we’ll deliver the win,” the senior guard/defensive tackle said.
Another chief concern is ball security. Last year, a lost fumble and a turnover-on-downs by Live Oak allowed SHS graduates Patrick Bacciarelli and Chris Bradley to account for three touchdowns in the span of eight plays. Bacciarelli rushed for another score off a turnover in the third quarter, and the rest of the game played out like a long-awaited victory lap. Sobrato won 27-6.
Porras likened it to the Bulldogs’ victory last week.
“Leland made some critical mistakes, and Sobrato took advantage — just like they did against us,” he said. “Sobrato takes advantage of every mistake you make. The grind you into the dirt. They have a distinct advantage in that they’re playing extremely well.
“(Mbonu) and (Jacob), those are the guys that we have to stop. We have to be assignment-sound on defense.”
Ah yes, defense. There is no shortage of talent for either team’s D.
The Acorns (1-1) are prepared to slow Sobrato’s wing-T attack but will be equally leery of the Bulldogs’ long-passing plays that decimated them a year ago.
“I trust our linebackers will stop the run,” Live Oak safety Ryan Hennings said. “(Our defensive backs), we’ll be ready to help, but we’re not going to get beat deep again.”
Despite his team’s turnovers, Acorns linebacker T.J. Ornduff took “sole responsibility” for the 2009 loss.
“It was our job to keep them out of the end zone,” he said. “We needed to stay mentally tough the whole way. Games like this come down to who fights more.”
Sobrato’s defense will key on Van Aken and Zerr.
“They run about five plays on offense, but they run them very well,” Borello said. “The boys are confident they can stop them. It’s not a David-versus-Goliath thing like it was for us in the past against Live Oak. They’re a good football team; we’re a good football team. I just hope confidence doesn’t go to our heads.”
Both coaches have stressed keeping their players’ emotions in check.
“We have to just focus on our assignments,” SHS wideout/defensive back Steven Villarreal said.
“We can’t be nervous,” added Jacob, who is making his fourth varsity start. “Play with confidence; play all out.”
Nightmarish memories of El Toro Bowl III are still vivid for the Acorns. From their home whites, to their collective meltdown in the second quarter, everything seemed out of place for them from the start.
“It took 10 minutes for it to fall apart,” LOHS quarterback David Pelz said. “We needed to pick our heads up. We can’t let mistakes take us out of the game again.”
Conversely, the Bulldogs aren’t letting memories of last year’s win cloud their determination.
“It was a big win for our program,” said Borello, who was on staff for Sobrato’s opening two losses in the all-time series. “I can imagine how pissed off the other side must feel. I know how badly they’re going to want to come after it this time like we did.”
Mbonu smiled when asked how often he thinks about the 2009 El Toro Bowl victory, which sparked a program-best 8-3 finish for the Bulldogs.
“It was a big victory, beating Live Oak for the first time,” he said. “But it isn’t anything if you don’t do it the next year.”
