Live Oak looks to gain sixth win of the season and put itself in
a good position for a CCS berth
Morgan Hill – With a reversal of fortune that sent the Live Oak football team from a struggling 2-4 to a playoff hopeful 5-3 in just two weeks, the Acorns are hoping to build on their momentum.
“Practice has gone pretty good,” said head coach Rick Booth. “To go from 2-4 to 5-3 makes a big difference.”
(The Acorns received a forfeit win over Saratoga.)
Standing in the way is Lincoln, which is also in a must-win situation in order to keep postseason hopes alive.
Booth said Live Oak must try to contain the Lions’ offensive push when the team hits the road Friday night.
“The key is stopping their running game,” Booth said. “They have three quality runners.”
Leading the charge against the Acorns will be Christopher Mendoza, who has racked up 1,036 yards on the season. He is joined by Michael Fleet, who is sitting at 955. Rounding out the triple threat is Alex Ortega, who has collected 326 yards on 33 carries.
Booth said Lincoln has a flexible offense that can throw several looks at a team and it will be up to the defense to bend but not break.
“Against them and the way they run their offense, we have to try to slow them down,” Booth said. “We have to slow them down and not give up the big play.”
Booth added that the defense must be helped out by the offense making plays to put points on the board.
The Acorns will once again look to running back Kevin Abbott, who notched 103 yards against Pioneer to break the 1,000 mark on the season.
With 1,073 yards so far in 2006, Abbott is 190 yards away from a career mark of 3,000.
Booth said quarterback Timothy O’Rourke, who is coming off of a 7 of 14 passing performance against the Mustangs, is continuing to improve and will be vital in Friday’s matchup.
“He has got better every week,” Booth said. “We hope he continues to get better. He works hard, he’s intelligent and is a good kid.”
Booth said the Acorns didn’t sustain any major injuries in last Friday’s game, but said one lineman will be a game time decision after sustaining a minor ankle injury.
Kick off is scheduled for 7pm at Lincoln. The game time was moved from its originally scheduled time of 2:30pm Saturday.
