Morgan Hill
– Though the Live Oak football team was quick out of the gate in
Friday night’s season opening 35-10 home win over Silver Creek, the
Acorn defense played as if it was locked in a close struggle.
Morgan Hill – Though the Live Oak football team was quick out of the gate in Friday night’s season opening 35-10 home win over Silver Creek, the Acorn defense played as if it was locked in a close struggle.
Scoring 21 points in the first quarter – including two touchdowns in just four minutes – created a comfortable lead for the Acorns, but Live Oak wasn’t about to get magnanimous towards the Raiders. The defense gave up nothing more than a field goal to Silver Creek in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Raider offense woke up, finding the end zone and cutting an 18-point Live Oak lead to 11 as the teams headed in for halftime.
Though Friday night’s performance was certainly a strong showing, Live Oak head coach Rick Booth was cautious in his optimism about the season.
“There are fine, fine athletes on the team,” Booth said. “They’re a good team. I would like to say we’re getting better.”
From the very beginning of Friday’s contest, the Acorns appeared as though they would run away with the game. On the first play from scrimmage, senior quarterback Ryan Bennett connected on a 64-yard pass to junior running back Kevin Abbott, who was stopped at the 2-yardline.
Two plays later, Abbott went in for the touchdown to give the Acorns a 6-0 lead only 1:02 into the first quarter.
Not to be outdone, senior running back Dustin Muhn busted one loose for an 83-yard touchdown on Live Oak’s next series.
Silver Creek answered back with a drive to the Acorn 17, where the Raiders settled for a field goal.
Live Oak looked to again score in style when Bennett took off for the endzone from 27 yards out. But the senior fumbled on the Silver Creek 1, and it was up to junior tackle Mike McHenry to wisely fall on the loose ball for another Acorn touchdown. A two-point conversion from Bennett to Muhn later, the Acorns led 21-3.
In the second quarter, Silver Creek regained its composure and found holes in the Live Oak defense. With the Raiders pushing the ball to midfield, running back D.J. Martinez caught a desperation pass from Tony Barajas and ran nearly uncontested for 50 yards and the touchdown.
While a few more defensive lapses continue to plague the Acorns the rest of the evening, Live Oak did not allow another Raider score.
Josh Smith single-handedly made sure of that when he blocked a 26-yard field goal attempt with four minutes left in the first half. It would prove to be the last time Silver Creak threatened to put points on the board.
Meanwhile, the Acorn offense continued to rack up impressive numbers as the night wore on.
Leading the charge was Muhn, who ran for 219 yards and added an additional 10 in receiving yards. The senior speedster, who also plays club rugby in the offseason, scored the final two touchdowns for Live Oak.
The first came halfway through the third quarter on a 21-yard touchdown run from scrimmage.
Muhn’s final score followed a Raider fumble recovered by Live Oak on its 34-yard-line. After the Acorns battled for 15 yards, Muhn exploded for a 52-yard scamper all the way to the endzone.
Muhn’s second-half running proved to be less critical than Booth and the Acorns might have guessed at the time, however, thanks to a defensive unit that held firm to stop Silver Creek time and again in the game.
Four times in the second half, the Acorn defense dug in and denied the Raiders first-down yardage on fourth-down plays.
The biggest stop came with 1:46 left in the third quarter, when the defensive line proved impenetrable on a fourth-and-one play at the Live Oak 21-yardline.
In all, it was an impressive showing for Live Oak’s first game, but the team isn’t resting on its laurels yet.
“We have a lot to work to do on both sides of the ball,” Abbott said.
“We still have nine more games to go.”
Live Oak will travel to Salinas 8pm Saturday to take on Alvarez on the artificial turf of The Pit at Salinas High School.
LIVE OAK 35, SILVER CREEK 10
nBOX SCORE
1 2 3 4 TOTAL
Silver Creek 3 7 0 0 10
Live Oak 21 0 7 7 35
Team Stats
SILVER CREEK
Rushing: 202
Passing: 163
Total: 365
SILVER CREEK
Passing
ATT CMP YDS
Tony Barajas 24 9 163
Matthew Curiel 2 0 0
Rushing
ATT YDS
D.J. Martinez 19 95
Tony Barajas 10 24
Isaiah Morris 8 60
Eric Morris 3 9
Brandon Hernandez 1 4
Receiving
REC YDS
Ratank Muor 3 33
D.J. Martinez 2 65
Chris Collins 2 29
David Carranza 1 28
Isaiah Morris 1 8
Kicking
FGA FG XPA XP
Kessie Lehman 2 1 0 0
David Carranza 0 0 1 1
LIVE OAK
Rushing: 328
Passing: 99
Total: 427
LIVE OAK
Passing
ATT CMP YDS
Ryan Bennett 5 3 89
Steven Webb 3 1 10
Rushing
ATT YDS
Dustin Muhn 15 219
Kevin Abbott 12 48
Ryan Bennett 2 59
Mikey Villalobos 2 1
Steven Webb 1 1
Receiving
REC YDS
Kevin Abbott 2 77
Anthony Guidry 1 12
Dustin Muhn 1 10
Kicking
FGA FG XPA XP
Jeff Mounteer 1 0 4 3
Two-Point Conversions
Ryan Bennett pass to Dustin Muhn
Coming Up
Date Opponent Location Time
Sept. 10 at Alvarez Alvarez 2pm
Sept. 16 Alisal Live Oak HS 7:30pm
Sept. 23 at Seaside Seaside 7:30pm
Oct. 1 at Truckee Truckee 2pm
Oct. 7 Bye — —
