An ominous feeling swept through Leland High School at halftime of Friday’s nonleague tilt between LHS and Sobrato. Lightning flashed periodically beyond the hills overlooking Pat Tillman Stadium, and the Chargers appeared on their way to a big victory two days before the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11. The Bulldogs answered with their own electrical storm in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to shock the No. 7-ranked team in Santa Clara County
There was an ominous feeling at halftime of Friday’s nonleague tilt between Leland and Sobrato. Lightning flashed beyond the hills overlooking Pat Tillman Stadium, and the Chargers appeared on their way to a big victory two days before the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11.
The Bulldogs answered with their own electrical storm in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to shock the No. 7-ranked team in Santa Clara County.
Chris Santini plowed into the end zone from five yards out with four minutes, 22 seconds left, and the Chargers held on to win 28-21 after Sobrato erased a three-touchdown deficit to start the second half.
This, after Sobrato rallied from two touchdowns down to upset Leland 35-34 in 2010, was enough to draw a sigh of relief from Leland coach Mike Carrozzo.
“Sobrato and coach (Nick) Borello and his staff and his kids, they’re fighters,” he said. “And that’s what we love about this team. It’s becoming a neat rivalry. Every time we face other, we get 110 percent from every kid we got.”
The Chargers (2-0) rallied behind Santini, a 6-foot-1, 216-pound senior running back/linebacker with next-level talent, who carried 14 times for 98 yards and three touchdowns and wreaked havoc in Sobrato’s backfield for most of the first half.
The Bulldogs became the aggressor in the second half, however, with fullback Obi Mbonu rushing for most of his 115 yards, and Steven Villarreal making leaping catches all over the field. The senior wideout gained 101 yards on six receptions, including a 16-yard fade pass he went up and caught over Leland’s Kenny Portera in the end zone to help tie it with 11:17 remaining.
“Oh my goodness, he bailed me out a lot tonight,” Sobrato quarterback Jerry Jacob said after completing eight of 17 for 111 yards. “We’ve got a lot of senior leaders on this team like Steven … and we were able to keep it together when we were down. We knew we still had it.”
The Chargers took command from the onset with a four-play opening drive, capped by Santini’s 37-yard touchdown run up the middle on his first carry of the game.
After the Bulldogs went three-and-out, Leland pushed ahead 14-0 on a deflating 11-play drive, with Santini high-stepping into the end zone on fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line.
Leland’s Jason Habash, who finished 14-for-26 passing for 246 yards, connected with tight end Robert Moffatt on a throwback screen that Moffatt turned into a 34-yard scoring strike, making it 21-0 at halftime.
“I think we were a little nervous, had some nerves and didn’t execute things the way we needed to early on,” Borello said. “We knew we were as good a team as they were. We knew we could do exactly what they did to us in the first half. Which is what we did in the third quarter.”
The Bulldogs (1-1) needed two plays to get back in it. After Anthony Villarreal returned the opening kickoff of the second half 45 yards to midfield, tailback Drew Glines ripped off 20 of his 74 rushing yards on a sweep. And Mbonu knifed up the middle for the remaining 30 yards and a score, cutting the lead to 21-6 (Shawn Henner’s extra-point kick was blocked by Santini).
With Sobrato’s defense turning up the pressure in the third quarter, the Bulldogs got the ball back six plays later when linebacker Nick Hagiperos jarred loose a handoff to Santini, and Jacob Sanchez smothered the ball at the Sobrato 45.
“We keyed on their best player, Chris Santini,” Hagiperos said. “We got in and just started making plays.”
The Bulldogs’ ensuing drive was a two-minute masterpiece, highlighted by Glines darting through defenders on an 18-yard sweep, and Jacob throwing to Steven Villarreal for 27 yards. Jacob went untouched into the end zone on a 3-yard option keeper to make it 21-13.
“They go hard every play,” Sobrato cornerback Isiah Hardy said of his offense. “We got do the same for four quarters.”
Jacob and Villarreal followed their 16-yard scoring strike by connecting on a play-action pass for a tying two-point conversion.
Villarreal, then a cornerback, recovered a fumble on the next play, after linebacker Tyler Lerma stripped the ball from Habash at the end of a 34-yard scramble.
Sobrato drove as deep as the Leland 23 but turned the ball over on downs on fourth-and-15 from the 28, as defensive end Trent Drummond sacked Jacob.
Santini and the Chargers pulled the plug seven plays later.
“They’re one of the top teams in the section, but we knew if we played a good game it would say a lot about our team,” Borello said. “But it’s not just about playing good. We want to get a win, too.”
The Bulldogs were in high spirits afterward, looking ahead to next week’s El Toro Bowl against Live Oak.
“I’m actually even more excited now about our team,” Jacob said. “We’re gonna be really good this year.”
