In 2025, Live Oak football took a giant step up to the elite level of local football, where they usually reside. After a rare stumble last year when the Acorns were just 3-8, this year’s squad went 9-3 and reached the Central Coast Section Division III playoff semifinals.
In the decade from 2014-2023, Live Oak fashioned a record of 74-28 overall, with an amazing 54-11 mark in league play. To re-establish their prominence in 2025, the Acorns relied on a superb offensive line and a fierce run game, complemented it with an opportunistic aerial attack and relied on a solid defense.
The ground attack was led by the power running of Gage Jones, who carried 300 times for 2,207 yards and 24 touchdowns. That ranked him second in the CCS and seventh in the state of California. Josiah Delgado rushed 62 times for 349 yards and seven touchdowns.
Dual threat quarterback Adrian Leal ran 68 times for 588 yards and 11 touchdowns, while completing 87-of-141 passes for 1,316 yards and 17 touchdowns, with just four interceptions. His most popular targets were Tanner Holeman, with 24 catches for 511 yards and nine touchdowns, and Praise God Ofobuike, with 23 receptions for 358 yards and five scores.
Live Oak finished second in the competitive Blossom Valley Athletic League, Mt. Hamilton Division. Season highlights included a 56-21 romp over Sobrato in the El Toro Bowl on Sept. 6, a 17-13 defeat of previously-unbeaten Lincoln, a 52-46 shootout victory at Branham and a 35-17 triumph against rival Christopher.
In the playoffs, Live Oak whipped King City 40-16 and then lost a nailbiter to San Mateo 40-36.
Coach Mike Gemo emphasized strong line play, the success of Jones and the running game and improved defense.
“I’m proud of the kids,” Gemo said after the Sobrato victory. “Our front line played hard and we controlled the line of scrimmage. Our defense played well. Guys were flying around the place. The team’s coming together, playing physical football.”
Jones racked up large yardage totals game after game, until he suffered a major injury late in the season and missed the playoffs.
The yards did not come easily. The 5-foot-6-inch, 165-pound Jones used vision and experience to find holes for big runs and quickness to scamper through the line. He regularly powered through tacklers to get extra yardage.
Plays that looked like two-yard gains regularly turned into seven-yarders.
“Our offensive line has been grinders all season long,” said Jones, early in the season. “Jacob Meininger, Teo DeSantiago, Royce Mendonca, Diego Garcia and the others. It’s the best line I’ve ever seen in my life.”
The Live Oak 2025 revenge tour included reversing results against Sobrato, Branham and Christopher.
In the El Toro Bowl, the Acorns rolled bigtime 56-21. They ran for an amazing total of 417 yards and seven touchdowns on 42 rushes, a 9.9 yards-per-carry average.
Jones carried 24 times for 169 yards and four scores, along with a fifth via an 89-yard kickoff return. Leal picked up 114 yards on his own rushes and scored once. Ofobuike scored twice. Anden Rogers led the defense with 10 tackles.
The defense starred in the win over Lincoln. The Acorns’ top unit held the Lions to just 189 total yards and 13 points. The Lions were unbeaten at the time and later won the CCS Division IV title game, scoring 49 points to beat Branham.
For the season, Lincoln averaged 28 points a game in league play this season and 37 points per contest overall. Lincoln scored 24 or more in every game, except for a sunny Saturday in Morgan Hill. Live Oak held them to 13.
“We locked in,” said safety/receiver Holeman, after the victory. “They couldn’t do anything against our defensive line.”
Stars in the trenches included Mendonca, Santino DeSantiago and Manny Mercardo. Rogers was stellar as always and had 10 tackles. Noah Rivera, Anthony Rocha and Ryan Brown made big contributions.
The secondary was solid, keeping the Lincoln air game to only nine completions in 23 attempts.
Two big pass plays from Leal to Holeman fueled the win. Holeman deked a Lincoln cornerback with a nifty move to get wide open for a 50-yard touchdown. Late in the game, the duo hooked up on a 45-yard completion that led to the winning touchdown, a bootleg from Leal. The defense then held off Lincoln’s last drive.
“Our ‘D’ locked in today,” said Mercardo, after the game. “The scoreboard showed it.”
A week later, Live Oak pulled ahead of Branham and maintained a small lead during a second half battle royal. Jones rushed for four scores and 304 yards and added another via an 82-yard kick return. Leal, 6-for-14 for 74 yards, hit Holeman and Isaac Watson for touchdowns. Rogers, Dylan Fisher, Mendonca and Messiah Luna each had 10 tackles. Fisher had 3.5 sacks.
Branham coach Tommy McMahon complimented Jones after the game. He noted how he used patience to follow his blockers and see holes develop, then used quickness to pick up yardage.
“The big men up front do it all,” Jones said. “They create those holes and that makes it easy for me to run.”
Along with DeSantiago and Mendonca, additional winning contributions came from Diego Garcia, Tyler Lang, Jacob Meininger and Damien Dominguez.
Live Oak closed the regular season with a 35-17 victory over rival Christopher. The Cougars led 17-14 entering the final quarter but the Acorns outscored them 21-0 in the last 12 minutes. Jones ran for 237 yards and two touchdowns on 34 carries. Leal completed 8-of-13 passes for 117 yards, including touchdown throws to Holeman and Watson.
In their CCS playoff opener on Nov. 14, the Acorns faced King City, champions of the Pacific Coast Athletic League, Mission South Division. The Mustangs were on a roll, with a nine-game win streak that gave them their first league title in 43 years and their first playoff appearance in 19 seasons.
Nonetheless, Live Oak rolled to a comfortable 40-16 victory.
Live Oak prevailed with a strong offensive performance, even without the injured Jones. The Mustangs had recorded four shutouts and held opponents to a single touchdown in three other games. No one had scored more than 28 on them all year until the Acorns mauled them.
Mustangs’ coach Mac Villanueva said they had not faced a team so physical since their opener against North Salinas, a playoff team from the PCAL Gabilan Division. Villanueva also cited Live Oak for its physical play and speed, and stated the difference in the game was the Acorns’ powerful run game and aggressive defense.
Live Oak led 20-9 at halftime and added three second-half touchdowns for the decisive victory. Delgado rushed 26 times for 162 yards and four touchdowns. Holeman added 104 yards on just six carries. In the second half, the Acorns’ defense picked up two turnovers.
In the semifinals on Nov. 21, Live Oak lost a donnybrook to San Mateo. Delgado carried 26 times for 175 yards and two touchdowns. Leal tossed touchdown passes to Rocha and Ofobuike. But the Bearcat offense was a bit too strong as the game ended in a 40-36 victory over the Acorns.
The loss closed the season, but Live Oak had re-established itself. The Acorns were back at the top.
