There is another reason why Friday’s El Toro Bowl has been hyped
up more than any other: The billing has never been better
At the risk of receiving more nasty anonymous e-mails, phone calls and letter bombs, I won’t make any predictions as to who will win the third annual Bull Bowl — at least not now.
I will say this, though: El Toro Bowl III will be the closest and, therefore, best varsity football game yet between Live Oak and Sobrato.
I know that’s not saying much — wow, the best out of three meetings? But it’s added encouragement for you to be at Richert Field at 7 p.m. Friday.
“I wouldn’t say I’m excited. I’d say it’s more like a nervousness. It’s like the week before Christmas,” Live Oak coach Jon Michael Porras said. “You’re anxious. There seems to be a lot more hype this year.”
That’s because today is officially El Toro Bowl Day in the City of Morgan Hill. Mayor Steve Tate and the City Council signed a proclamation Sept. 12 to honor the game for its positive influence on the city.
“The El Toro Bowl has very quickly become a major community event in Morgan Hill, attracting over 4,000 fans last year,” the proclamation reads. “The El Toro Bowl showcases the outstanding football talent in our community,” and “features sportsmanship at its best.”
A copy of the proclamation is included in the El Toro Bowl program, which was put together by Tony and Paulette King, Gale Snyder and the booster clubs of both schools. Morgan Hill actually has a day and an entire program for one game. It’s that big.
There is another reason why Friday’s El Toro Bowl has been hyped up more than any other: The billing has never been better. Think about the standouts who will line up across from each other — Patrick Bacciarelli (SHS) and Michael Singleton (LOHS); Joel Rueda (SHS) and Erik Poulsen (LOHS); Chris Bradley (SHS) and Dominic Leach (LOHS); Ryan Brewer (SHS) and Taylor Alonzo (LOHS). Many of them played together in Pop Warner.
I have monitored their teams’ progress since the last LOHS-SHS meeting — a 27-0 triumph for the Acorns — and have seen just that, progress. Though their 2008 campaigns flamed out, a hunger to win carried them through an auspicious offseason.
The Acorns are stronger, faster and mentally tougher. They treated their opening 36-13 loss to rival Gilroy as it was — a mere nonleague loss — and nearly upset Salinas with a make-shift roster the following Friday. They were at full strength for the first time all season. Their offensive and defensive lines are patched up. Their running backs, all five (hundred) of them, are polished and ready to go.
Expect their best performance, but don’t expect the Bulldogs to roll over to a third straight El Toro Bowl loss. Porras called them the best Sobrato team he has seen, and that’s saying something. You’ve already heard Sobrato has a small team. That’s no excuse for losing. I’ve seen teams with less than 30 guys win state titles. Two major factors keeping the Bulldogs afloat are their playmakers and conditioning. Sobrato has more standouts than its 2007 West Valley Division championship squad — which, as Live Oak fans are quick to point out, lost 22-7 to the Acorns in the first round of the playoffs.
“It’s definitely the biggest of all,” Sobrato coach Nick Borello said. “The time we met in the playoffs, they had the better team. Last year, we were just overmatched from the start. So, I’d say this is the biggest one because we have our best chance of beating Live Oak.”
Leading up to last year’s El Toro Bowl, I wrote about desire and how badly the Sobrato football program wanted and needed to win that game. Nothing has changed. The Bulldogs are still winless against the Acorns and still very pent up and ticked off. Oh, their preseason goals did include winning a league championship, but beating Live Oak is equally important. The two will likely go hand in hand.
“If we win this game, I see us making a run at the league championship,” Sobrato fullback Ralph Jackson said. “For me and the other seniors, this our last chance to beat them. We need this win.”
Sobrato’s emotion could help counter Live Oak’s advantage in numbers, but the Acorns aren’t going to mail this one in.
“We have to win this game,” said Singleton, Live Oak’s standout linebacker and short-yardage ballcarrier. “Even if we make the playoffs, we still didn’t beat Sobrato. That’s everything right now.”
No Live Oak team wants to be the first to lose to Sobrato. The Acorns have more than that riding on the line Friday; who can see them advancing out of the Mount Hamilton Division after an 0-3 start?
“We’re coming out hungry, as hungry or hungrier than they are,” Acorns quarterback David Pelz said. “We’re up 2-0 in the El Toro Bowl, and they want to get a win. But we don’t want to go 0-3, especially against Sobrato.”
So the win-starved much-improved Acorns will take on one of the best, albeit one of the smallest Sobrato football teams in school history Friday. It may not be the greatest El Toro Bowl, but it’s the game’s best matchup.
I predict an incredible first half — and the Acorns to bull away, 24-14.
