The Sobrato football team returned to the win column Saturday thanks in large part to a pair of early Santa Teresa turnovers en route to a 21-7 win in Morgan Hill.
The Bulldogs took advantage of both turnovers to build a 21-0 lead at halftime. In the second half, the Bulldogs clamped down on the Santa Teresa run game to hold onto the victory.
With the win, Sobrato moves to 2-1 inside the Blossom Valley Athletic League’s Mount Hamilton Division. The Bulldogs also improve to 4-2 overall.
Sobrato’s defense was dominant Saturday, limiting the Saints to only 172 yards of offense, whiling forcing the pair of first-quarter turnovers. Santa Teresa only entered Sobrato territory four times, coming away with only one touchdown midway through the third quarter.
Meanwhile, Sobrato’s offense consistently moved up and down the field but was limited due to nine penalties, costing the Bulldogs more than 100 yards.
“I’m surprised we couldn’t score any more points in the second half,” head coach Nick Borello said. “We had too many penalties. Too many long penalties.”
Sobrato ended the game with four 15-yard penalties.
Regardless, when Sobrato had a chance to score, it did.
In the first quarter – after a game-opening three-and-out series – the Bulldogs caught their first break when Santa Teresa muffed the ensuing punt.
After recovering the fumble on the Saints’ 46-yard line, Sobrato pounded the ball with Miguel Redmond and Drew Glines.
After a 26-yard pass from Michael Bocksnick to Nick Hardy to bring the ball to the four-yard line, Glines put Sobrato on the board with a short draw play.
Sobrato got the ball back four plays later, when, again, Santa Teresa couldn’t handle a handoff, giving the Bulldogs the ball inside the 35-yard line. Three plays later, Glines scored again from one-yard out to give Sobrato a 14-0 lead before the Saints gained a first down.
“That was definitely important for us to take advantage of those fumbles,” Redmond said. “They really pumped us up.”
Redmond, who started both ways, finished with a game-high 98 yards on 14 carries. The senior’s hard running helped close out the game in the final quarter, rushing for more than 60 yards in the final 12 minutes. Glines, though, scored two touchdowns while rushing for 63 yards on 16 carries.
Sobrato’s final score came early in the second quarter, when Bocksnick connected with Isaiah Hardy on a 21-yard jump ball in the end zone. On the play, Hardy leaped over the defender and grabbed the ball as he fell back into the end zone. At the time, it gave Sobrato a 21-0 lead with 10 minutes left to play in the half. Despite racking up 335 yards, Sobrato would never score again. With a strong defense, they never needed to.
The Bulldogs, led by Nick Hardy and William Puna, sacked Santa Teresa’s Austin Richelle four times on the night. The Saints rushing attack, which averaged more than 200 yards entering the contest, was held to just 102 yards.
LIVE OAK
The Acorns were at Silver Creek in San Jose on Saturday afternoon and suffered their first loss of the season, 41-14.
Live Oak had been undefeated in Santa Teresa Division play prior to the defeat. The Acorns are now 5-1 overall and 2-1 in league.
Silver Creek joins Lincoln and Gunderson at 3-0 in league.
Look for more in Tuesday’s Morgan Hill Times.
