The Sobrato Bulldogs and the Live Oak Acorns will make history
at 7 p.m. Friday at Richert Field when they clash for the first
time ever in the football post season.
MORGAN HILL
The Sobrato Bulldogs and the Live Oak Acorns will make history at 7 p.m. Friday at Richert Field when they clash for the first time ever in the football post season.
The stars aligned Saturday as the coaches and commissioners of the Central Coast Section convened in San Jose to decide the seeding for the 2007-08 football playoffs, pitting these cross-town rivals against each other.
This historic game is expected to draw thousands of spectators with a standing-room crowd expected by organizers.
“Emotions will be running high on both sides and both teams want it really bad,” Live Oak head coach Jon Michael Porras said. “It’s a first round playoff game where we’re trying to meet our goal (of practicing on Thanksgiving), and they’re going to be trying to prove themselves.
“It’s really remarkable that they’ve won their division and gotten there so quickly.”
While Porras admitted he had not seen much of Sobrato this season, he has watched film, and is anticipating a highly contested game.
“We broke down a lot of film yesterday (Sunday), and they are a dominating team that would be good in any league,” Porras said. “It’s going to be well played and well coached.”
Sobrato head coach Dan Brown anticipates a large crowd, and is excited about the magnitude of the game for the community.
“It’s kind of the old vs. the new but it’s meant to happen,” Brown said. “People are going to be talking about this game 30 years from now.”
Going into the CCS meeting with a 4-3 record in the tough Mount Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League, the Live Oak Acorns seeded in second.
Live Oak High School principal Nick Boden is excited about the game. He believes the students will be anticipating the game all week long.
“It will bring with it everything that all good rivalries do – a lot of energy and fun … Our students will perform as they always do, with a lot of class and style, he said.”
Sobrato senior and varsity cheerleader Kathleen Lawson said the football team has come a long way since the school opened four years ago.
“From freshman year to now, we’re finishing with a big bang,” she said. “Our team has improved so much it’s almost breathtaking. This is a huge game. I really hope the whole community will come out, even people without students.”
Heading in with a 6-0-1 record in the Blossom Valley Athletic League, and their first ever West Valley Division championship, the Sobrato Bulldogs took the seventh seed.
Three major events took place Friday night for the teams to receive their respective positions.
First, in the Monterey Bay League, Seaside High School defeated Monterey High School 22-8 Friday to clinch the league title. Sobrato lost to Seaside on Sept. 19, but the fact that they played the league champs gave them an extra point in the seeding process.
Second, in the El Camino Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League, Saratoga High School defeated Lynbrook High School 51-6 to capture their division title. The Acorns lost to Saratoga in their first game of the season on Sept. 7, but the fact that the Acorns played the division champs gave them an extra point in the seeding process also.
Third, in the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League, Scotts Valley High School narrowly defeated Santa Cruz High 17-13, giving them enough at-large points to bump Aragon High School out of the medium school division and into the fourth place seed in the large school division.
One of the main things his team must do to prepare for the game is not lose focus of the goal, Porras said.
“They have to ignore the glitz and glamour of the game and just prepare, because Sobrato’sa going to do the same thing,” Porras said.
Brown also said keeping his team focused is one of the game keys.
“The big thing outside of football practice is keeping your head on straight and keeping your focus,” Brown said.
Brown said the off-field hype has to be controlled in a professional manner.
“We got to have our attitude on right and we want 100 percent commitment to the little things,” Brown said. “It goes back to character, and character is big in a game like this.”
Ultimately, both coaches agree that the little things will be the deciding factor in who wins.
“The team with the least amount of mistakes will win the game,” Brown said. “They beat a very good team, Lincoln, last week, and our hands will be full, but when you look at the big picture we’re not intimidated at all.”
“The Browns do a good job, but both staffs are diligent so both teams will be ready to go,” Porras said. “It’s probably going to come down to turnovers and field position.
“We can’t look at it like a walk in the park, it’ll be a fight.”
