Prep Football: Live Oak must play clean against Cougars

There was hardly more that could have gone right for Live Oak at Gilroy.
The Acorns (1-0) got off to a fast start, broke big plays, sustained drives, put up points, played suffocating defense and got their backups into the game early.
Most importantly, Live Oak got out of Gilroy with a win and got out healthy.
“It was nice to get out there and execute the plays properly like we were supposed to and then it was nice to see everyone else play and get some success,” said Live Oak Coach Mike Gemo.
But Live Oak has to put all that good in the rearview mirror and must get ready for a Christopher team who did much of the same thing the Acorns did last week.
The Cougars are coming off a 52-12 win over Sobrato after pulling ahead 38-0 at halftime.
“They played the game  all four quarters,” Gemo said. “They were ready to go. They run their offense efficiently and they take it to you defensively. You got to be ready for them.”
Christopher’s quarterback Matt Adamkiewicz threw for 288 yards and four touchdowns and ran in two more against Sobrato on Saturday.
He primarily hit two targets in PJ Reichert and Xander Bowers, who provided a one-two knockout blow to the Bulldogs.
Reichert was a big target for the screen game and helped get the Cougars into the end zone.
Bowers proved to be a potent deep threat that simply out jumped Sobrato’s best defender.
Gemo said playing Christopher this week means his boys have to come out and execute.
“Out of this game, I want to make sure our team comes out and plays physical football and is assignment sound,” Gemo said. “(We have) to limit our mistakes, limit turnovers and keep executing properly on offense.”
Part of the execution will be made easier by the return of Jacob Ryder, who exploded for 114 yards and two touchdowns in a single half against Gilroy.
“We always knew he was a play maker and it really hurt us when he went out last year,” Gemo said. “He became healthy again and made plays like we knew he would.”
Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Live Oak.