With the 2015 season set to begin, Acorns look to get off on the right foot against Gilroy

Camps have been attended, workouts completed, jamboree played, miles run, practice logged and now there’s only one thing left: Kickoff.
Under the lights of Christopher High School, Live Oak will officially christen the new season playing guest to Gilroy at 7:30 p.m. tonight.
Because Gilroy’s field is receiving maintenance, the game was moved to Christopher as a result.
The Cougars will be in Morgan Hill to play Sobrato on Saturday.
There are kinks to work out and butterflies to fend off, but tonight means so much more to the Acorns.
This is the chance to make a statement to the Mt. Hamilton Division that they are contenders and more than just another B League team trying to make the leap to the next level.
“We’re hoping to get some wins under our belts at the beginning of the year so we go into league and have people go, ‘Hey, they’re not just a B League team. They’re ready to play in this A League,” said Live Oak coach Mike Gemo.
Live Oak got its first chance on Aug. 29 to grapple with someone other than itself when the Acorns went to the annual Blossom Valley Athletic League Jamboree.
Gemo said the Jamboree is always a good way to get a feel for where a team is at without showing too much to future opponents.
“The Jamboree is always a good way to see who’s going to be physical and who’s not through out the season,” Gemo said. “It got us some good looks against some other teams and some other defenses. We’ve got to work out some kinks. It gave us a good look to learn and get better every week.”
In front of his team this week is an old rival in more ways than one.
The Live Oak/Gilroy rivalry stretches back years before Sobrato opened and the Acorns and Mustangs will once again butt heads.
But at the helm of that Gilroy team will be a series of familiar faces led by Jubenal Rodriguez, a former assistant at Sobrato.
“We kind of know what to expect from them. I know that they’ll all be fired up to be over there; kind of a new adventure for them. They’ll have their kids ready to go and they’ll be fired up to play football.”
Rodriguez took over the program after the controversial dismissal of coach Brian Boyd.
With him will come an added level of discipline that will be key to a program looking to rebound from a down season.
Gilroy went 3-7 overall and 3-3 in the Monterey Bay League’s Pacific Division.
Rodriguez is no stranger to turnaround seasons, having been at Sobrato that went 6-4 after going win less the previous year.
Gilroy will be led by returning quarterback David Munoz, who threw for more than 1,400 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2014.
He threw for a season-high 220 yards against Live Oak last year and Gemo said his team needs to stay home to prevent a repeat of that this year.
“We’ve got to be assignment sound on defense and make sure we read our keys and make our tackles,” Gemo said.
But by the same token, Live Oak also had one of its best passing days in that game, and both quarterbacks look to renew their success.
Erik Ornduff threw for 181 yards and four touchdowns in that game.
Also returning is runningback Paul Lomanto who had a 119 yards rushing and 88 more receiving with a touchdown.
Live Oak’s defense led by returning Most Outstanding Defensive Player of the Year in the Santa Teresa Division Ryan Quadros.
He will quarterback a defense that will be charged with not just reining in a potent quarterback, but also to stay home against Gilroy’s newly installed Wing-T.
“If you don’t see the Wing-T enough and you only have one week to prepare for it, it’s tough to defend,” Gemo said.
The Wing-T isn’t so unfamiliar to Live Oak, having played Sobrato and San Jose who featured the throw-back offense last year.
Still, it isn’t what the defense has been practicing against, as Live Oak is a pistol-set, spread offense.
Follow updates of the game on Twitter as Erin Redmond will bring you the action @DispatchERed.