Dreams of a winning season and playoff hopes are dashed in loss
to Overfelt
San Jose – On a evening where the first senior class in Sobrato history would take the field for the last time, Overfelt defeated Sobrato 32-12 on Thursday behind strong performances from quarterback David Campos and running back Lawrence Taylor.
“We let the game get away from us tonight,” said Sobrato head coach Dan Brown.
Campos threw three touchdown passes, including the play of the game when the Royals dipped into their bag of tricks.
Overfelt ran a double reverse, which was pitched back to Campos, who threw a 36-yard touchdown pass to a streaking Taylor into the end zone to give Overfelt a commanding 25-6 lead with eight minutes left in the third quarter.
“Our safety’s inexperience really showed tonight,” Brown said. “We have two sophomore safeties back there, we had the right defense call for the revers. Our guys just froze and let someone run right by them for the big play.”
The Royals came out strong, scoring quickly in the first quarter – a 22-yard touchdown pass by Campos stretched the lead to 13-0 after a failed extra point.
After another Sobrato drive stalled, Campos found wide receiver Erwin Taliaoa streaking wide open down the sideline for a 62-yard touchdown pass to extend the Overfelt lead to 19-0.
The Bulldogs bounced back after the long touchdown pass with their strongest drive of the first half, taking the ball deep into Royals territory.
Sobrato quarterback Alex Meldrum hit wide receiver Joseph Anaya on a out route along the sidelines for a 15-yard gain to move the ball to the Overfelt 14-yard line with 15 seconds left in the half.
After a timeout, Meldrum was intercepted in the end zone, halting the longest Bulldog drive of the first half.
“I wish we could re-do the first half,” said Sobrato tight end Brian Yates. “We wanted to score before the half, to set the table for the second half. We’ve been a strong second-half team all season.”
Meldrum was intercepted three more times in the second half, with the Royals taking advantage with all 12 second-half points coming off Sobrato turnovers.
“A score would have given us some life going into the locker room,” Brown said.
Running back Erik Woodruff ripped off a 56-yard run late in the fourth quarter that set up the second Bulldog touchdown of the second half.
“I wanted to get that run into the end zone really bad,” Woodruff said. “With our backs against the wall, I just wanted to run harder to help my team.”
Woodruff played his last game for Sobrato and with his football future uncertain, the realization that he had played his last high school football game Thursday was a sobering reality.
“We came along way from last season,” Woodruff said. “I still want to play right now. It’s already set it that it’s over, it’s just a hard thing to take in.”
Overfelt finishes the regular season with a record of 7-3 overall, and 5-2 in Blossom Valley Athletic League West Valley Division play.
Sobrato finishes the regular season with a record of 4-5-1 and a 4-3 mark in league play.
JUNIOR VARSITY
The Bulldogs’ junior varsity team finished off its strong season with a dominant performance, defeating the Royals 30-6 to finish the season 9-1.
Running back Mark Borland scored two touchdowns on the ground helping lead Sobrato to a league title.
“Our team worked hard all year, we fought through players not making grades, and players getting suspended to get to this point,” Borland said. “It’s exciting to have this kind of year going into my varsity season next year.”
