Live Oak pushed out to a big early lead and kept pushing this
time, leaving no room for another letdown against the struggling
Mustangs
MORGAN HILL — Live Oak pushed out to a big early lead and kept pushing this time, leaving no room for another letdown against struggling Pioneer.
Cody Van Aken rushed for 110 yards and two touchdowns, and Dominic Bejarano helped lead a near flawless night for Live Oak’s offense and defense Friday as the Acorns bounced back from a stunning loss to Santa Teresa with a 28-7 triumph at Live Oak High School.
After squandering a three-touchdown lead and falling 35-28 to the Saints, the Live Oak players dedicated themselves to finishing this week at practice. The result was their best performance yet of 2010 and a much-needed first win in the Mount Hamilton Division. It was also Live Oak’s first victory over Pioneer since 2006.
The Acorns (3-2 overall, 1-1 league) methodically imposed their will behind a solid rushing attack headed by Van Aken and an inspired defensive effort.
“The win definitely feels good, but the important thing was getting the job done,” said defensive end Stephan Saade, who was credited with two of the Acorns’ nine sacks. “Defense, we felt like we had something to prove, and we worked a shutout. Well, it should have been a shutout.
“There’s still room for improvement.”
Live Oak’s one glaring mistake -– if you want to call it that -– was a third-quarter interception made by Pioneer free safety John Earl, who was in the right place for a deflected pass thrown by Bejarano.
The Acorns’ senior quarterback was in top form otherwise. Bejarano ran the veer option seamlessly to the tune of 47 yards rushing and two short touchdowns run. He also recovered a fumble at cornerback and was four-of-seven passing for 72 yards. Each completion was to a different receiver.
“Their option killed us,” Pioneer first-year coach Eric Perry said. “We’re a really young team, so it’s hard for our guys to keep their heads up when things aren’t going their way. It was like that the whole game.”
The reigning-league champion Mustangs (1-4, 0-2) died a slow death defensively, giving up few big plays until Van Aken’s break-away 40-yard touchdown run up the middle with 3:57 remaining.
Van Aken also scored on a 3-yard dive that capped a 16-play opening drive for Live Oak.
“The offensive line was working hard tonight,” Van Aken said. “There’s a lot we can all work on, but it’s mainly fine-tuning. We want to get better each game.”
Bejarano set up his first QB sneak for a score when he recovered a backwards pass at the Pioneer 21-yard line. Van Aken broke loose for a 19-yard gain on the next play, and Bejarano followed his blockers across the goal line from two yards out.
After Van Aken’s 57-yard kick-off return to start the third quarter, Bejarano found the end zone again eight plays later on fourth-and-goal from the 1 to make it 21-0.
“We executed the way we can tonight,” LOHS coach Jon Michael Porras said. “The guys stepped up like they needed to and played four quarters.”
Pioneer quarterback Zeno Forbes, who completed eight of nine for 76 yards, connected with running back Brandon Henry for a 27-yard gain on a fourth-and-20 play that led to Curtis Tanquary’s 2-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter.
Van Aken’s 40-yard burst came next.
“We’re not going to let up again this year,” said LOHS linebacker T.J. Ornduff, who had five sacks as part of five tackles made behind the line of scrimmage. “It doesn’t matter who we’re playing.
“Our confidence is back. We know we can play with anyone if we do our best from start to finish.”
The Acorns travel to Hill next Friday.
NEXT TASK FOR LO: DO NOT OVERLOOK FALCONS: Van Aken admitted there is was a bright side to the Acorns’ league-opening 35-28 letdown against Santa Teresa.
“You never want to lose a game, but that definitely helped us refocus,” the 6-foot, 185-pound senior said.
Ornduff echoed the same thought.
“It’s like a sprint: You run strong through the whole thing,” he said. “Finish was the main focus this game.”
It will continue to be this week as Live Oak tries to claw back into the Mount Hamilton driver’s seat. The Acorns have a prime opportunity to make headway against winless Hill (0-5, 0-2) as long as they don’t look ahead to next week’s showndown at Oak Grove (1-1) — ranked as high as No. 15 in the Central Coast Section.
Coming off a 53-9 loss to Piedmont Hills, the Falcons have had a rough debut season in the Mount Hamilton, but so did Santa Teresa a year ago.
“(Hill) is in the A league for a reason, so whether we overlook them or not is up to them,” Porras said of his players. “Finish, that’s what we need to do to win in this league. … Ball security, know your assignments and finish. That’s going to make us successful.”
The Mount Hamilton was reduced to two unbeatens – Leland, Piedmont Hills — last week as Santa Teresa (1-1) fell 51-0 to Oak Grove, and Leland pushed aside Leigh (0-2) by 38-9 score.
The Saints’ loss means Live Oak controls its own destiny to at least share the division crown.
“We have to focus on the task at hand and perform,” Ornduff said. “We feel like this is where we should have been last week. Now, we just have to keep rolling through league.”
