After opening up the season with a pair of games where they
scored 35 points each to win, the Acorns have lost three
consecutive games going into the league portion of their schedule.
Live Oak will travel to Salinas Friday to face North Salinas in the
Tri-County Athletic League opener at the Salinas Sports
Complex.
After opening up the season with a pair of games where they scored 35 points each to win, the Acorns have lost three consecutive games going into the league portion of their schedule.
Live Oak will travel to Salinas Friday to face North Salinas in the Tri-County Athletic League opener at the Salinas Sports Complex.
Both the Acorns and Vikings are coming into the game in similar situations. They are both 2-3 after coming off bye weeks under first-year coaches.
They both have been blown out in one of their games while keeping the other two losses close. However, the Acorns may have a slight edge in that category, losing by just 10 points combined in those two games compared to North Salinas’ 40-point differential.
“Every facet of the game has been good at times, but you can say the opposite as well,” said coach Rich Booth. “We’ve had glimpses of playing very well. But we just need to play more consistent.”
Live Oak had a good chance to finish the preseason at 4-1, but has been hampered by turnovers.
“You have to make your own breaks, and we haven’t done that,” Booth said. “We’re averaging about five turnovers a game, and that is unacceptable in my opinion.”
While Live Oak has had trouble holding on to the ball, North Salinas has struggled in other areas of the game.
“Our biggest problem is dropping the ball on offense and not tackling well on defense,” said North Salinas coach Steven Zenk. “We’re both kind of in the same position. We both need to get better.”
Live Oak, in its last game, made a four-hour trek to Truckee. Despite a strong effort in the 6,000-foot altitude, the Acorns lost a 35-32 heartbreaker in the final minute of the game. North Salinas is coming off a 63-7 spanking by Alisal, who shut out Sobrato 57-0 last week.
“We’re going to go out and play as hard as we can with the young men on our team,” Booth said. “We may not be as physical or as fast as some teams. After a week off, hopefully they’ll come out and play with some enthusiasm.”
Live Oak’s offensive attack is led by Dustin Muhn and Kyle Abbott. Both backs are capable of making big plays at any time.
“We have to stop Muhn and Abbott if we are going to have a chance,” Zenk said. “They’re (the Acorns) pretty good between the tackles.”
The North Salinas offense is led by quarterback Tramaine Lamb, who has thrown for four touchdowns. Emerson Dorris leads the team with five rushing touchdowns and more than 300 yards rushing. He also takes snaps at quarterback and play defense on the team.
The anchor of the defensive line is the athletic 235-pound 6-foot-3 Israel Gonzalez.
“They’ve played good teams throughout their preseason,” Booth said. “We have to show up and play fundamentally sound football to expect to win the game. We have to move the ball in the air and on the ground and play solid in our special teams. And we have to stop them both in the air and the ground.”
Each of the TCAL teams has won at least two games in the preseason. With the league as closely matched as it is, the title is up for grabs, but Booth isn’t worried about that – at least for now.
“We’re not focused on that right now,” Booth said. “We’re just going to take one game at a time.”
