Running game paces Sobrato as it earns first victory of the
season
Morgan Hill – It took until the fourth week of the season, but the Sobrato High football team finally felt it was at full strength when it entered its Blossom Valley Athletic League West Valley Division opener against San Jose High Academy on Friday.
It showed.
Sparked by the debut of quarterback Erick Levell and by having senior running back Erik Woodruff at full strength, Sobrato racked up 352 rushing yards and delivered a standout defensive performance to beat visiting San Jose 28-12.
“This was long-awaited,” Sobrato coach Dan Brown said. “The aroma was definitely there. We were sniffing and smelling it. We knew we were going to get it.”
The first half proved to be a dog fight between the two teams, both aptly nicknamed the Bulldogs.
Sobrato set the tone early by containing San Jose’s star running back Rogelio Villa, last season’s Central Coast Section leading rusher. Villa, who was limited to 98 yards on 20 carries, was stuffed for no gain on his first carry of the day and San Jose was forced to punt on its initial drive.
“We had a real good package for him,” Brown said of Villa, who was averaging 162 yards per game.
With Alex Meldrum making the start at quarterback for Sobrato, the host Bulldogs drove efficiently down the field and reached the San Jose 7-yard line. Holding penalties on back-to-back plays and an incomplete pass pushed Sobrato back to the 29. Levell, who had missed the first three games with a broken thumb, entered the game in the backfield and took a handoff around end for an 11-yard gain to put Sobrato in field-goal range, but San Jose blocked a 35-yard attempt by Chris Montoya.
The game remained scoreless into the second quarter when Levell took over at quarterback with 6:25 remaining in the half. On his first play under center he picked up 19 yards on a bootleg and an eight-play, 59-yard drive was wrapped up by a 7-yard touchdown run by Levell and Sobrato went into halftime leading 8-0.
The running game absolutely took over in the third quarter. An 11-play, 71-yard drive to start the half featured 65 yards on the ground and Woodruff pounded his way into the end zone from a yard out for a 15-0 lead.
San Jose quickly went three-and-out and Sobrato went back to work to add to its lead. Senior Ramon Watkins took a carry on a motion sweep and broke free down the right sideline for a 58-yard run and four plays later, Woodruff had his second 1-yard touchdown run.
The visiting Bulldogs finally had an answer on their ensuing drive. Villa capped an 11-play drive with a 9-yard touchdown run on the final play of the third quarter to trim the deficit to 22-6.
A fumble on Sobrato’s second play of its next drive gave the ball back to San Jose and four plays later, Villa was in the end zone again to make it 22-12 with 10 minutes to play.
Sobrato finally put the game away late in the fourth quarter. An errant pitch by San Jose quarterback Alejandro Viramontes hit the ground and Sobrato’s Itzcally Valencia recovered at the San Jose 16-yard line.
Watkins finished off a short drive with a 16-yard run to make it 28-12 and seal the victory.
“We knew we could do it. We knew there was no way these guys could stop us,” said senior Genaro Redmond, an anchor on both the offensive and defensive lines. “They weren’t matching with us physically or mentally.”
Woodruff, who sat out the Seaside game and played sparingly last week, finished with 115 yards on 16 carries and was a dominating presence with the ball.
“I felt really good, I felt really comfortable behind my line, I trusted my line tonight,” Woodruff said. “My (offensive)-line kept me in a safe place. They kept me safe and they let me do my thing.”
Watkins gained 88 yards on only four carries and had an interception for the second straight week.
“I see myself as a senior role model, leading the path,” Watkins said of his role as a big-play spark.
Junior Varsity
Sobrato’s junior varsity team remained unbeaten on the season with a 29-6 win Friday afternoon over San Jose.
Steven Collins caught a pair of touchdown receptions from Steven Sorce while Mark Borland and Ricky Estremera both added touchdown runs.
“The offensive line did a great job of blocking to make these scores possible,” coach Joe Bagley said. “The defense did a great job, they have been sound all year.”
Sobrato’s defense has given up an average of seven points per game through the first four games this season.
