Live Oak forces three turnovers, but Mustangs pull away late to
29-14 win on opening day of Mount Hamilton Division play
SAN JOSE — Pitted against the explosive Pioneer offense, Live Oak rose to a heroic level defensively. The Acorns recovered three fumbles, forced a turnover on downs and sacked Pioneer’s second-year starting quarterback R.J. Silvey four times.
If only Live Oak’s defense could score points, too. Those were the only ingredients missing Friday in Mustang Stadium, where the embattled Acorns came close to earning their first victory of the season against the No. 11-ranked team in Santa Clara County, according to the San Jose Mercury News. Carrying the weight for a mediocre offense that lost two quarterbacks to injuries, Live Oak’s gritty defense supplied several momentum-changing plays — but perhaps one short of pushing the Acorns over the top.
Silvey escaped pressure and scrambled for a 13-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-nine, sparking a 13-point fourth quarter that helped the Mustangs win 29-14 and escape upset on the opening night of Mount Hamilton Division play.
Live Oak showed remarkable progress from last week’s deflating loss to rival Sobrato, but moral victories are wearing thin for coach Jon Michael Porras and the Acorns (0-4 overall, 0-1 league).
“I’m getting tired of them,” Porras said. “We’re tired of hearing about how tough our schedule is. We’re finally coming together, but we need to start putting together four quarters and winning games.”
Live Oak is confident that trend will end soon. The Acorns host winless Lincoln next week in a division matchup steeped with playoff implications. It will mark the third straight wing T offense Live Oak has faced.
“The confidence is building,” said senior Dylan Frechette, whose 22-yard touchdown run on an option keeper cut Pioneer’s lead to 16-14 in the third quarter. “We’re getting fired up; just staying focused on playing as a team. We still feel like we can play with anybody.”
Live Oak’s defense certainly can. That unit caused two turnovers and held the Mustangs (4-0, 1-0) to 156 yards in total offense during the first half; Pioneer finished with 369 yards to the Acorns’ 216.
The Mustangs’ first offensive play ended with Mark Weber ripping the ball from wingback Josh Magana at the LOHS 40-yard line. Live Oak went ahead 7-0 five plays later when David Pelz threw short to Dominic Leach in the flat, and Leach turned upfield for a 25-yard score with 7:22 left in the first quarter.
“The defense played their tails off tonight. They gave us chances to score, and we definitely needed those,” Porras said. “The defense was amazing tonight.”
Pelz completed 9 of 19 for 103 yards, Leach caught three passes for 49 yards and Jacob Montoya had two catches for 37.
Weber, a senior middle linebacker, forced a fumble in the second and third quarters, T.J. Ornduff jarred loose a ball that Matt Zarubi scooped up in the fourth quarter, and Erik Poulsen had a sack and recovered a fumble. Teammates Michael Singleton, Zach Colton and Jeff Stine also had sacks.
“Let’s give credit to Live Oak’s defense; they really came after us tonight,” Pioneer coach Mark Krail said. “We know they’re well coached, and we knew they were hungry for a win coming into tonight. You can’t take anyone light in this league.”
Magana led Pioneer in rushing with 113 yards on 17 carries. Silvey finished 10 for 20 for 161 yards and three touchdown passes. The senior brought the Mustangs even with his first scoring strike, a 20-yarder to Sammy Grammatico in the second quarter. Silvey struck again five minutes later with a 16-yard roll-out pass to Brandon Martinez, capping a 10-play drive.
Martinez had 91 yards receiving on five touches.
“We had to stop them any way we could. They have a good offense,” said Poulsen, a two-way starting lineman. “We still feel like we have a lot to prove, but we feel strong.”
Pioneer’s defense also was up to meeting challenges. The Mustangs intercepted Pelz three times in the first half, knocking the junior out of the game while returning the third, and picked off Cody Van Aken on two long passes in the fourth quarter. One of those turnovers led to a score.
“We wanted to get after it,” Weber said. “Our defense hasn’t come together as a family until tonight.”
Following Adil Charki’s 63-yard punt to the LOHS 1, Kevin Burchfiel tackled Montoya in the end zone to give Pioneer a 16-7 lead at halftime.
“We have to control the ball better,” said Porras, whose team has committed multiple turnovers in each game this season. “It’s still a major problem for us.
“We felt confident coming into this game, but we knew we couldn’t make mistakes.”
Playing in place of Pelz, Van Aken rushed for 46 yards and threw for 27. He was subbed out for Frechette after cutting his gums on a scramble nine minutes into the third quarter.
“He definitely gained some respect tonight,” Porras said. “It doesn’t look like Pelz is going to be back soon, so we might stick with (Van Aken). He showed some athleticism.”
After Frechette’s touchdown run cut the deficit to two with 2:44 remaining in the third quarter, Live Oak was in position to mount a go-ahead drive before Silvey’s dazzling touchdown run. Ornduff collided with Silvey on a blitz, but Silvey shook free, weaved through two defenders and followed blockers into the end zone.
“He does things you can’t coach,” Krail said. “R.J.’s always been huge for us when we need him.”
Ahmad Martinez scored the final touchdown on a 16-yard sweep with 4:50 left to play.
