The Acorns rallied to briefly take the lead by the third quarter
but fell short 35-30.
By Jesse Kimbrel, special to the Times
MORGAN HILL — After Gilroy High bolted out to a 22-7 first-quarter lead against Live Oak, Friday night’s season opener had dejà vu written all over it.
However, it wasn’t going to be a Mustangs’ rout similar to the 36-13 victory in last year’s kick off. Things quickly changed as soon as the second quarter got under way and the game became one for the ages.
The Acorns rallied to briefly take the lead by the third quarter but fell short 35-30.
“It was much better than last season, we felt like we should have won the game,” said Live Oak coach, Jon Michael Porras. “They played a great game and we just gave them too many plays out there.”
Though turnovers unhinged a few scoring drives, GHS head coach Greg Garcia credited his players for staying disciplined throughout the game.
“We are not solid yet, not crisp. We aren’t there yet,” Garcia said. “We will be there. It’s going to take time. We have another team to grade ourselves against.”
Before the Mustangs ripped off 22 unanswered points, Live Oak caught Gilroy off guard with a halfback pass from Artie Valencia to Jacob Montoya for a 70-yard touchdown on its first possession to take a 7-0 lead.
The Mustangs made the most of their next few opportunities, though, first constructing a drive that ended with a 12-yard touchdown run by Christian Salazar followed by a successful 2-point conversion to take a 8-7 advantage.
Gilroy’s defense then took charge, forcing the Acorns offense to go three-and-out. A blocked punt on fourth down set up the Mustangs deep in Acorns’ territory.
The Mustangs failed to capitalize on the good field position, however, when Salazar gave the ball back to Live Oak on a fumble at the 6-yard line.
Gilroy’s defense once again responded by jumping on a fumbled snap to regain possession at the Live Oak 9-yard line. Three plays later running back Eric Vegas trampled into the end zone on a 1-yard touchdown run to expand the Mustangs’ lead to seven.
Vegas then made his presence felt on defense picking off quarterback David Pelz to give the Mustangs ideal field position once again.
With the ball on the LOHS 23-yard line, Gilroy quarterback Niko Fortino marched his team into the red zone with a couple of completions.
“When he’s on cue we’re completing a lot more passes,” Garcia said of his quarterback.
The drive was then capped off by a one-yard touchdown run from Salazar, which gave Gilroy a first quarter lead of fifteen.
The second quarter began with the ball in Live Oak’s possession, where running back Cody Van Aken ran the ball effectively, and kept the Gilroy offense on the sideline. The near five-minute drive was then finalized by a 2-yard touchdown pass from Pelz to Valencia to cut the Gilroy lead to eight after the made extra point.
After neither team mounted much of an offensive rhythm throughout much of the second quarter, the Acorns added a field goal as the period came to a close, tightening the gap into the locker room at 22-17.
Live Oak took to the ground game as the third quarter commenced, running the ball down the horse’s mouth eight different times including a 25-yard touchdown run by Van Aken that got called back on a penalty.
After the penalty Live Oak worked closer to the goal line and got creative with a fourth-down halfback pass from Valencia to Pelz that resulted in a 10-yard touchdown, giving the Acorns their first lead of the night, 23-22.
Two plays later, though, their lead was gone. Wide receiver Julius Travis took a handoff and reversed field behind the line of scrimmage then broke up field for a 76-yard touchdown run, putting the Mustangs in front once again 28-23.
Live Oak then went three-and-out and had to punt on fourth down, however, they regained possession when Gilroy muffed the put, giving them new life.
The life was short lived when Pelz fumbled the snap on the second play of the drive allowing Gilroy to regain the ball on the Live Oak 15-yard line. Two plays later Salazar scored on a 6-yard touchdown run bringing the score to 35-23 after the extra point was good.
The score stayed the same until early in the fourth quarter when Live Oak recovered a fumble in Gilroy territory and scored its final touchdown of the game on a 35-yard run.
Head Coach Greg Garcia said he was happy to get the win even tough there are always things you can improve.
Fortino had no complaints about his first game as a varsity starter.
“I feel great, and just want to thank my offensive line, I am ready to go again,” he said.
