Live Oak’s Matt Dariano has witnessed it all at the El Toro Bowl, from watching his brother, Michael, soak up back-to-back wins over Sobrato in 2007-08, to sharing in the agony of a 27-6 upset in 2009 and the joy of a 21-14 triumph last year. The Morgan Hill rivals tee it up again at 6 p.m. Saturday at Richert Field. But El Toro Bowl V is already like nothing we’ve seen before — and not just because it falls on a weekend. For the first time Live Oak (0-2) enters the annual city championship as the unsuitably labeled underdog, according to the Times weekly web poll. Sobrato (1-1) was favored to win by 65 percent
MORGAN HILL
Live Oak’s Matt Dariano has witnessed it all at the El Toro Bowl, from watching his brother, Michael, soak up back-to-back wins over Sobrato in 2007-08, to sharing in the agony of a 27-6 upset in 2009 and the joy of a 21-14 triumph last year.
The Morgan Hill rivals tee it up again at 6 p.m. Saturday at Richert Field. But El Toro Bowl V is already like nothing we’ve seen before — and not just because it falls on a weekend. For the first time Live Oak (0-2) enters the annual city championship as the unsuitably labeled underdog, according to the Times’ weekly web poll. Sobrato (1-1) was favored to win by 65 percent.
Dariano and his teammates know quite well.
“We feel like after last week, no one respects us, which is understandable,” the senior running back/linebacker said in reference to Friday’s 50-0 whipping at the hands of Christopher, a second-year varsity team that Sobrato beat 40-26 in Week Zero. “Everyone’s telling us we don’t have a chance. But we’re gonna get our respect back this week.”
With one-sided losses to the Gilroy schools behind them, and an always-daunting Mount Hamilton Division slate ahead, the Acorns desperately need a win. They will be hard-pressed to stop a Sobrato team that was firing on all cylinders last week at the end of a 28-21 loss to then-No. 7 ranked Leland.
Live Oak had five starters hurt by the end of Friday’s loss, including Dariano (sprained Achilles heel), Austin Carvalho WR/LB (sprained ankle), Jonathan Molina OL/DL (chest contusion) and quarterback Taylor Turnipseed (pulled back muscle), who lasted a few series. With Carvalho, the backup QB also out, the Acorns resorted to having star tailback Trevor Bearden call the signals out of a wildcat formation.
Live Oak’s offense gained 34 yards.
“For the last two weeks, we’ve been really hurting with injuries,” first-year LOHS coach Mike Gemo said Wednesday. “We find out more tonight, but I think we’re going to get everybody back. Dariano’s cleared; Carvalho I’m waiting to hear from; Molina’s cleared. We’re waiting to see how Satterlee and Turnipseed turn out.”
Even at full strength, Live Oak faces a tough task in stopping — and scoring on — the Bulldogs, whose run-first wing-T offense has developed into a potent, balanced attack behind second-year starting quarterback Jerry Jacob and all-league wideout/defensive back Steven Villarreal. They connected for 101 of Sobrato’s 322 total yards and a touchdown against Leland, while their workhorse, Obi Mbonu, rushed for 115 yards and a score.
“It’s all a challenge, but we just need to play to our full potential,” said LOHS senior linebacker Nikki Weber, who is averaging 14.5 tackles a game. “Last week we didn’t do that, but we’re not looking at what we did or what they did. It doesn’t matter how they played against Leland. It matters how they play against us.”
The Bulldogs seemed composed and relaxed this week at practice but were well aware of the challenge at hand.
“We expect them to come out hard off the gate,” Villarreal said. “That’s our main concern. We have to come out strong and be more patient on defense.”
The Bulldogs have been just as susceptible to slow starts as their crosstown rivals. While the Acorns trailed 14-0 in the first quarter of a 56-37 loss to Gilroy and 35-0 at halftime against Christopher, Sobrato was down 12-0 after four minutes against Christopher and 21-0 at halftime against Leland.
“I feel like we haven’t come out as strong as we’ve needed to,” SHS guard/linebacker Jacob Sanchez said. “This week I don’t think it’ll go that way. We’re ready for it.”
Mbonu, who has tasted victory and defeat as a starter in this series, knows not to take the Acorns lightly.
“You’ve got to take every opponent seriously,” the 5-foot-8, 185-pound fullback said. “You can’t underestimate them because this is one of the biggest games no matter what. It can be a season-changer.”
That was the case in 2010, when Live Oak made the playoffs and Sobrato missed out by a single win. With this being a Week 2 meeting, ramifications are once again limitless.
“This is the one that matters for the seniors, the one they always remember,” Weber said.
Sobrato’s defense is leery of Turnipseed’s stat line against Gilroy (six for 10, 150 yards, touchdown pass), but the top priority is clearly Bearden. The 6-foot, 185-pound sophomore burned Gilroy for 320 total yards and five touchdowns, and made six tackles and a fumble recovery at safety.
The matchup between Bearden and Mbonu promises to be one of the year’s best in the Central Coast Section.
“This is what it’s all about,” said SHS coach Nick Borello, who is 1-2 in the series. “Not too many kids get to play in a game like this. We want our guys to be excited, but we mostly want them to be focused. We can expect the best game Live Oak has played all season.”
EDITOR’S PREDICTION: SHS 33, LOHS 20
The Acorns have the talent and experience up front to slow Sobrato’s offense and put up points, but their injuries will prove too much to overcome. Besides, the veteran Bulldogs have too much going for them.
I admire the leadership on this SHS team. The Bulldogs aren’t treating this like the biggest game of the season, rather, the biggest game of the week.
Sobrato will pull away after an intense opening half.
The home team is 4-0 in the El Toro Bowl. Make it 5-0.
