Expectations have never been higher for the Sobrato High School football team. One year removed from their first league championship and receiving an invitation to the Blossom Valley Athletic League’s Mount Hamilton Division, the Bulldogs are set to prove that last season’s success wasn’t a fluke.
To do that, the Bulldogs will replace 17 starters, including Santa Teresa Division MVP Jerry Jacob, who threw for 1,467 yards and 18 touchdowns as a senior last year. But with five vital returnees and the addition of quarterback Michael Bocksnick, who earned a second team All-Tri-County Athletic League selection last year playing for San Benito High, the Bulldogs believe they are in a positive position entering their debut year in the Mount Hamilton Division.
“I think we are going to be good this year,” senior all-league two-way lineman William Puna said. “We are in a better league, but we’ve been working hard all summer. There will probably be a faster tempo, so we are going to have to step it up. I think this year, we need to work on that. I want a winning season and make it to playoffs.”
The same sunny 2012 outlook stretches across the Bulldogs’ locker room despite the losses of Jacob, outside linebacker Jacob Sanchez, Nick Perry, Anthony Villareal and running back Obi Mbonu.
“Last year we got a league championship, so I’m hoping to do better than that,” top returning tailback Drew Glines said. “It’s going to be a little tougher. We are just going to need to prepare more. Last year, we had some games where we weren’t all there so we need to prepare more.”
With the graduation of those 17 seniors, repeating the success of 2011 is going to be a tough but welcome task. Afterall, the Bulldogs are no strangers to facing obstacles, seeing as the team overcame having to forfeit its nonleague games last season only to go undefeated in league play.
“We lost a very good group of seniors,” Sobrato head coach Nick Borello said.
The Bulldogs, though, enter the season with an unexpected infusion of talent with the addition of Bocksnick. The senior, who amassed 751 yards through the air and 587 yards on the ground last year in Hollister, should drive the Bulldog offense.
“That’s been a huge boost for us,” Borello said. “Our options at quarterback were not that great before he got here. He is obviously going to be a big part of what we do here. He is a tremendous student and a tremendous athlete.”
Despite only being a part of the team for six months, Bocksnick has taken the necessary steps to establish himself as one of the team leaders.
“I think I’ve already developed a bond,” Bocksnick said. “I love these guys. We’ve had some hard work over the summer. I had to earn it. I had to prove to them that I’m their guy and I’m here for them. They’ve been really acceptance toward me. And I’ve ran with it and they’ve been like brothers to me. It’s been awesome.”
Bocksnick’s hard work has carried over to the rest of the team, Borello said.
“He is working very hard,” he said. “He is putting in that extra time. He hasn’t been with this group of guys for more six months. He is already a leader. He takes responsibility if things go wrong. He gives encouragement to the guys if things are going right. He is a leader.”
With Bocksnick and the return of Puna, running back Miguel Redmon and Isaian and Nick Hardy, Sobrato still has a deep talent pool to face the tougher competitions in the BVAL ‘A’ league.
“As a team, I hope we go far in this ‘A’ league,” Isaiah Hardy said. “We went through a lot last year. This year we have a lot of juniors and senior so we are trying to bond as a team. Expectations wise, I’m expecting playoffs. So yeah, it’s going to be a good year.”
In the Mount Hamilton Division, Sobrato anticipates facing faster and stronger teams, Isaiah Hardy said.
“It’s going to be bigger, stronger people,” he said. “We had a good offseason, so I think we can hold up. It’s all about mental toughness right now, so we are just getting the mental reps. We are preparing right now.”
Regardless of what happens, though, the year will represent a huge step forward for the program that is less than a decade old.
“This program has come along way in a short period of time,” Borello said. “There are teams that have never left the ‘B’ and ‘C’ leagues. And they’ve been there longer than we’ve been in existence. It says a lot about how this program has grown up. We are pretty proud of what we have done. It’s a big accomplishment to have gotten where we are.”
He continued: “We are here now and we want to work our way to the top of division. If it takes one, two, three or 10 years – I don’t know but we don’t want to go back down. We don’t want to work our way back down.”
Who to Watch:
William Puna – DL,OL – A returning first team all-league player. Puna is expected to be the captain of both the offensive and defensive lines.
Isaiah Hardy – FS, WR – Hardy should control the middle of the field on defense. At wide receiver he as already come a favorite target of Bocksnick.
Nick Hardy -TE, LB – A team captain who will start on both sides of the ball.
Drew Glines – RB, CB – In his third year on the varsity squad, Glines will be called on to start at running back and corner back.
Michael Bocksnick – QB – The San Benito transfer is expected to run the Sobrato Wing T offense on the ground and through the air.
On the Docket:
Aug. 31: @ Christopher High, 7:30
Sept. 8: vs. Gilroy High, 6
#Sept. 14: @ Live Oak High, 7
*Sept. 28: @ Willow Glen, 7
*Oct. 5: @ Leland, 7
*Oct. 13: vs. Santa Teresa, 6
*Oct. 20: vs. Pioneer, 6
*Oct. 26: @ Independence, 7
*Nov. 2: @ Oak Grove, 7
*Nov. 10: vs. Piedmont Hills, 7
El Toro Bowl
- Mount Hamilton Division game
