Acorns allow 15 points in the fourth quarter and fall on the
road against Branham
San Jose – For the second time this season, the Live Oak High football team allowed two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to turn a potential win into a tough loss.
The Acorns, who watched a 21-7 lead turn into a 22-21 loss in the season-opener against Saratoga, saw their 21-13 halftime lead disappear Friday in a 28-21 loss on the road at Branham.
“It was only a matter of time until (Branham’s) athletes made plays,” Live Oak coach Rick Booth said. “This is what high school football is all about. The trouble is we’ve had two of these and come up on the short end.”
The Bruins (4-2, 2-1 Blossom Valley Athletic League Mount Hamilton Division) scored twice in a four-minute span in the final quarter – the game-winner coming with 3:07 left – to snatch the win.
The Acorns (2-4, 0-3) reached the Branham 27-yard line on their final drive, but a halfback throwback pass by senior running back Kevin Abbott was intercepted by the Bruins’ Craig Hertler to secure the win.
“It is frustrating, especially to be up the whole first half,” said Abbott, who carried the ball 30 times for 185 yards. “And then not being able to capitalize in the end zone in the second half is frustrating.”
Live Oak looked strong on its second drive of the game and quarterback Timothy O’Rourke completed a 30-yard touchdown pass that Kyle Hennings caught under heavy pressure from Hertler and got his feet down in bounds for a 7-0 lead.
Branham responded with a score of its own on its next drive to tie the game and the Acorns got back to work.
They kept the ball on the ground for all 10 plays of their ensuing drive and senior Victor Kalata pounded his way in from one yard out for a 14-7 lead.
The Bruins efficiently marched down and Hertler, who carried the ball 17 times for 111 yards, scored on an 18-yard run but the extra point failed to maintain a one-point lead for Live Oak.
The Acorns lengthened that lead with another strong drive that was finished off with a 20-yard touchdown run by Steven Rodriguez, who had a season-high 81 yards on 12 carries, and Live Oak took an eight-point lead into halftime.
The scoring slowed down in the second half with both teams punting on their first drives and each turning the ball over once, including an interception by Acorns’ junior linebacker Garrett Webb.
But Live Oak’s offense, which had racked up 238 yards of offense in the first half, was limited to 105 yards in the second half and couldn’t find its way into the end zone.
“We had a couple of turnovers in the second half that killed the drives, a couple of penalties were costly,” offensive coordinator Glen Webb said. “I told the kids that the scales can tip on very small things and they did. I can’t fault them for their effort. They played hard. They played until they were exhausted.”
Junior Varsity
Live Oak’s JV team improved to 4-1-1 on the season by beating Branham on Thursday afternoon.
Details of the Acorns victory were not available.
