Oak Grove wins 35-12 despite a strong running game by Live
Oak
Live Oak quarterback Steve Conner rushed for 93 yards on 17 caries, but it was not enough to give the Acorns a victory in the home opener Friday night.
The Eagles didn’t have much of an answer in the first half for the Acorn running game that was led by Conner – who gained most of his yardage up the middle. Conner also was able to fake inside and then bounce around as well.
Live Oak (0-2) gave up 35 points in the game against Oak Grove last year also. But in both games this year and last year, Live Oak was able to improve its performance after not looking good in the opener against Milpitas.
“We’re a much better team than we were a week ago,” Webb said. “The kids worked hard. They don’t like to lose. We are starting out the year with three big challenges. They are rising to them. The offense had a long way to come. There are a lot of things we did right. We executed our defensive game plan well for the second week in a row.”
The next big challenge the Acorns will be on the road Friday night against Seaside High – a team that is 2-0 after a 55-13 win over Roosevelt.
Oak Grove coach Ed Buller said he couldn’t tell if this year’s Live Oak team was a better team than last year’s team after just one game, but he did say he liked what he saw.
“They’re big and physical. I think they will do fine,” said Buller,
The Acorns, who picked up just three first downs in the first game, came out strong with a pair of touchdowns in the first half. They equaled last week’s first down totals on that first drive.
Live Oak got on the board in the first drive of the game after marching down the field with a strong ground-only 60-yard attack.
Oak Grove (1-1) committed three costly penalties on the opening drive including one on the kickoff that pushed the Eagles back and helped Live Oak get good field position.
“We had a couple breakdowns on assignment,” said Buller, who was consistently trying to figure out a way to get a body on Conner. “He (Conner) is a heck of an athlete. We just tried to wrap him up and make sure everyone stays in his gaps. Instead of going outside, he was taking the option and going inside off the tackle. We came out a little sluggish in the first half after the emotional game last week against St. Francis.”
Live Oak caught a couple breaks in the game after four of the Eagle passes either bounced off or through the hands of the receiver for incompletions.
Although Conner led the way rushing, sophomore Dustin Muhn, who was just called up from the JV team to replace the injured Daniel Salinas at running back, was also the go-to guy.
He rushed for 57 yards on 16 caries. His longest run of the day was a 14-yard run to pick up a first down on the first drive. Live Oak moved into the red zone on a penalty after Muhn was hit after he was pushed out of bounds.
Brian Crane, who rushed for eight yards on three caries, found the end zone from a yard out to put the Acorns up 6-0 with 7:02 left in the first quarter.
But the Eagles came right back on at a 76-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Danny Demarco, who was 6-for-11, to Arvelle Thompson less than a minute after the Acorns scored.
Gabe Sedberry was able to block the kick after Live Oak’s point after fell short to keep the score at 6-6.
The Acorns had trouble containing the speedy Thompson, who also returned a punt 77-yards for the Eagles second score. Although defensive back Miquel Marquez did break up a long pass in the third quarter to Thompson, forcing him to leave the game with cramps.
“We tried to tighten up on him (Thompson) and bump him a little more up front to knock him off his timing,” Webb said. “We were able to neutralize him in the second half. But they had plenty more weapons.”
On the same drive, Oak Grove was still able to record its third touchdown on the 65-yard run from another speedster Burton Iosefa, who picked up 131 yards on 10 rushes.
“We got a look at speed which we haven’t seen before,” Webb said. “You don’t see that too much in our league. It is certainly good to get a look at it now, because we will see it against Seaside next week.”
Oak Grove went up 14-6 after converting the two-point attempt following the second touchdown. The Eagles lined up to run the ball before the quarterback dropped back and found the wide open receiver for the easy conversion.
Live Oak got within 14-12 after Conner’s seven yard touchdown with 7:58 left in the first half. Muhn was stopped just short of the goal line on the two-point try.
The Acorns got the ball back with just a little more than a minute left before the half. But rather than risk a turnover deep in their own territory, the Acorns ran out the clock and went into the locker room content to be down by just two.
“Our offensive production to that point had been kind of grinding it out,” Webb said. “It is hard to break a big play on Oak Grove. At that point in time, that was the best thing to do. You don’t want to give up a turnover that could allow them to go up by more than a touchdown.”
But Oak Grove came out and scored a pair of touchdowns in the second half. The first one came on the opening drive after a 17-yard reception was hauled in by Jarvis Toussaint.
In the third quarter, Cody Welch, who ran for six yards on a pair of caries, took the snap and tossed it to Conner. The ball was slightly overthrown, but Conner was hit late for the penalty. But the Acorns weren’t able to score.
Live Oak again had a chance, moving down to the Oak Grove 17-yard line in the fourth quarter. But Conner was picked off, which set up the final Eagle score.
And then on the final drive, the Eagles came up with another interception after the pass bounced in and out of the receiver’s hands.
“I am not happy with losing, but I do see us getting better,” Webb said. “That is a nice feeling for the kids at half time. Confidence is a big part of the game. We got to get our confidence back. Being close at the half helps, but we got to get one in the win column. We’re a team in search of a win, and once we break the ice we will be OK.”
