Sobrato opens season Friday at Gunderson
MORGAN HILL — Week 1 is finally here for Sobrato football, and the Bulldogs feel fundamentally sound heading into Friday’s season opener against Gunderson.
Sobrato coach Nick Borello liked what he saw Thursday when his team played Branham in scrimmage format: 10 minutes of offense, 10 minutes of defense.
“Had it been an actual game, I think it would have been a very good one,” said Borello, who is beginning his second year as the Bulldogs’ head coach. “It was good for us. We saw some things we need to work on and saw some mistakes. The nice thing about the mistakes is that they came on plays that are easily fixable.”
Sobrato used only two defensive sets, making minimal adjustments against the Bruins’ pass-heavy spread offense.
“They made a couple plays on us against our defense and ended up scoring a couple more times, but it was just a scrimmage. You try not to keep things basic,” Borello said. “Where they got things against us would have been (because) we weren’t in the coverage we would be in during a real game. We wouldn’t have been in the fronts were in. We would have made changes in a real game.
“You don’t game plan for a scrimmage; you run your stuff.”
Sobrato passed the biggest test in any exhibition: staying healthy. The Bulldogs came away with a couple dings but nothing major.
Borello said the team’s biggest concern is the exchange from center. He saw a few fumbles Thursday at Branham High School.
“In my opinion, one lost snap is a problem you need to work on,” Borello said. “It’s not like we had six lost snaps or anything. It was just one; one bobbled snap and one lost snap, which makes me really worried. It’s not terrible, but it’s a concern.”
Senior fullback Ralph Jackson highlighted a good showing for Sobrato’s new single-wing T offense. Jackson, who gained 10 pounds this offseason after moving over from sweeper, likes his new position.
“It’s good because it’s a position where I can use all my abilities to help the team. I can run the ball and I can block,” the track and football standout said.
“This week, we just need to polish up everything we’ve done so far. That scrimmage was good. We just need to fine-tune some details.”
Sobrato’s run-first offense might have a surprising second dimension. Borello was pleasantly surprised with the ball-catching ability of the team’s new wideout, Chris Bradley, who earned first-team all-league honors in basketball and baseball a year ago. Bradley had four receptions Thursday.
“He was very fluid with the ball, deceptively fast,” Borello said. “We don’t want to say too much about him, though.”
