CASTROVILLE
– Live Oak’s best chance to break its 18-game winless streak was
thwarted by a fourth-quarter drive that gave North Monterey County
the 14-12 win Saturday.
CASTROVILLE – Live Oak’s best chance to break its 18-game winless streak was thwarted by a fourth-quarter drive that gave North Monterey County the 14-12 win Saturday.
“This one hurts, because it is the kind of game you had your chances to win,” said Live Oak coach Glen Webb.
The Acorns pass coverage was off all day, but the team was able to catch several breaks in the game on overthrown passes.
“The game came down to the two times that we had a corner fall asleep and get beat twice,” Webb said. “It was just poor choices. They got caught looking inside and being run conscious when they need to play the pass first. Hopefully they will take it to heart, and get that much better.”
North County picked up its fourth win, but it wasn’t easy against the 0-4 Live Oak, who came up with several big stops in the game. Although North County remains perfect at 4-0, the win was one of their toughest.
“Lots of people say it’s just Live Oak, but Live Oak isn’t a bad team,” said North County coach Bobby Cobarruvias. “You got to respect them. They came out with the hopes of beating us. I watched them against Seaside, and this is a different team than it was last week. They should be able to win a couple games this year.”
Daniel Salinas returned to the Acorn lineup after being out the first three weeks with an ankle injury he obtained during practice. Although he reinjured his ankle again during the game, he still made his presence known with his 87 yards on 17 caries and two touchdowns.
“He is not a 100 percent, but then none of our running backs are right now,” Webb said. “Pretty much everyone has a twisted ankle or something.”
Adam Reza was the latest of those casualties in the game Saturday. Reza, a converted defender, currently leads the Tri-County Athletic League with 118 yards receiving on nine catches after just two games.
The Live Oak defense came up with its first big stop on a drive in the first quarter. Andrew Cummins almost picked off a ball on a pass from quarterback Nick Liedel. The in-your-face pass surprised Cummins as he caught it just as he was stepping out bounds.
After each team failed to pick up a first down, Live Oak got the ball back on its 49-yard line. Salinas found a hole and weaved his way through for a 23-yard touchdown as the second quarter began to give Live Oak a 6-0 lead.
But the advantage was short lived as Lidel found Alex Doucet for an 80-yard return on the first play after the kick return. North County still held the one-point lead at the half.
Live Oak regained control with 5:14 left in the third quarter. The Acorns had to convert a fourth down to get into the end zone. Shaun Standridge on the reverse picked up 14 yards on a block from his cousin and Acorn quarterback Steve Conner, who was 9 for 17 for 47 yards. Salinas eventually powered into the end zone from a yard out for the touchdown. But the two-point attempt failed.
The Acorns came up with a big stop on the next drive after Matt Wahl’s sack forced North County to punt. But on the next drive North County took the lead on a 25-yard catch from Doucet on blown coverage by the Acorns.
“They were ready for our run, so we went to the pass late,” Cobarruvias said. “They were so worried about our run that we were able to find the open guys. But I don’t want to take anything away from their defense because they came ready to play.”
Live Oak couldn’t get anything going on the first chance, but got a second chance with 2:16 to go on their own 45-yard line. Although a field goal would have given the Acorns the lead, the team was looking for the end zone.
A couple incomplete passes and a 15-yard loss on a reverse forced Conner to try to throw the Hail Mary pass, which fell incomplete.
“We moved the ball some today, but we still got to make sure we pick up the points as we go,” Webb said. “Obviously we suffered through the extra-point game. That’s what the game came down to.”
