Morgan Hill – The Sobrato Bulldogs gave the defending small
division Central Coast Section champions a scare on Friday, but
were unable to stop the Seaside Spartan’s offensive onslaught in a
close 28-20 loss.
Morgan Hill – The Sobrato Bulldogs gave the defending small division Central Coast Section champions a scare on Friday, but were unable to stop the Seaside Spartan’s offensive onslaught in a close 28-20 loss.
Seaside marched down the field after taking the opening kickoff, putting the Bulldogs on their heels, and burning nearly four minutes off the clock.
Seaside’s junior running back Chris Ngyuen took a hand off from senior quarterback Andrew Morales from 21 yards out for the first of many touchdowns.
Senior kicker Franklin Aviles kicked the extra point.
After committing an offsides penalty on the first play of their opening drive the Bulldogs ran the ball three times for short gains, and were forced to punt the ball away.
Seaside took over and ran the ball up the middle through lumbering junior fullback Gino Catugda, but on third-and-11, with pressure coming from Sobrato’s sophomore running back/linebacker Mark Borland, Morales flicked the ball away to a teammate who was brought down behind the line of scrimmage by senior linebacker Adrian Alcantara.
Utilizing the combined running abilities of its backfield Sobrato marched 48 yards on 11 plays, going into the second quarter, setting up junior running back Tony Zizzo to score Sobrato’s first touchdown on a run up the middle from three yards out.
Sobrato missed the extra point however, and Seaside would retain a 6-7 lead over Sobrato.
The Bulldog’s defense stepped up again on Seaside’s ensuing possession.
With the pressure coming, Morales fumbled on a quarterback option and Sobrato’s JoJo Anaya recovered the ball for the Bulldogs.
Sobrato’s offense would again be held to short yardage, but on fourth down wide receiver/kicker Jarom Warren punted the ball down to the 8-yard line, setting up a strong defensive stand for the Bulldogs.
Increasing pressure in the backfield, on third-and-4, Sobrato’s senior outside linebacker Victor Gillespie forced a scrambling Morales to fumble.
Borland scooped up the loose ball and scampered 10 yards for Sobrato’s second touchdown.
Up 12-6 Sobrato opted for the two-point conversion, and junior quarterback Erick Levell found Anaya in the end zone to bring the score to 14-7.
Facing a deficit, Seaside turned to star senior wide receiver Dionte Gordon for an answer.
On second-and-10 from the Seaside 36-yard line, Gordon took a screen pass from Morales and, faced with a swarming Sobrato defense, weaved across the field and down to the Sobrato 13-yard line for a 61 yard gain.
The tough Bulldog defense held the Spartans from scoring on the drive, capitalized by junior Alex Meldrum’s sack for a big loss.
To their credit, Seaside held Sobrato from gaining a first down on their next possession, and quickly regained the ball.
Seaside would even the score before the half when Morales hit senior Elijah Knight with a touchdown pass from five yards out.
Aviles extra-point attempt was good.
Despite the score, Sobrato went into the locker room at halftime pumped up and ready for the second half.
Taking the ball to their own 37-yard line on the opening kick off of the third quarter, the Sobrato offense went to work.
On 10 plays Sobrato ate 5:33 off the clock, but turned the ball over on downs deep into Seaside territory.
On their only possession of the quarter the Spartans quickly capitalized on the turnover as Morales hit Gordon along the sideline with a 26-yard pass for another touchdown.
Reclaiming possession Sobrato again methodically broke down the Seaside defense, taking the ball 52 yards on 14 plays down to the Seaside 16, and into the fourth quarter.
Sobrato head coach Dan Brown brought the field goal unit onto the field for a 20-yard attempt, but sophomore Adam Guerra’s kick was blocked by the charging Seaside defense.
Down 21-14 and desperate to score, the Bulldogs held the Spartans to three plays and out.
Similarly, the Spartans held the Bulldogs to limited yardage on the change of possession, forcing them to punt from their own 11-yard line.
On the return Gordon slashed through the Sobrato special teams unit for another Seaside touchdown, bringing the score to 28-14.
With 6:24 left in the game, the undeterred Bulldogs went back on the offensive, but their momentum was slowed when Seaside’s Knight suffered an injury with 3:35 left.
Seaside’s senior lineman J.J. Rasler sacked Sobrato’s Levell for a big third down loss, but Knight didn’t get up after the play.
Suffering back spasms, Knight received medical attention from the emergency medical technicians on hand, and eventually was carried off the field, taken away in an ambulance.
Seizing on another Seaside turnover the Bulldogs took possession again with 1:46 left.
On 11 plays, including a six-for-eight passing effort from Levell, Sobrato struck again on a 15-yard pass to Anaya for the score.
The Bulldogs mishandled the ball attempting to score another two-point conversion, and Seaside took the narrow win 28-20.
Levell finished the night with 16 completions on 25 attempts for 156 yards and a touchdown.
Running back Steven Guiterrez had 79 yards rushing on 19 carries.
Anaya had five catches for 78 yards and a touchdown.
