Bulldogs win league opener 31-19
SAN JOSE — After guiding the Bulldogs to their first El Toro Bowl title, Sobrato coach Nick Borello and his staff were faced with an equally challenging task in the week leading to their league opener at Silver Creek High: Get the players to move on.
It didn’t take much.
“Our ultimate goal is to win league,” Borello said Monday. “So I told the guys, ‘We can beat Silver Creek, or we can spend the rest of the season hoping someone else does. Our destiny is in our hands.'”
And with that, the Bulldogs began their march toward another championship with a big step Saturday, beating the Raiders soundly, 31-19, in a showdown between West Valley Division title contenders.
During the offseason, Silver Creek was one of few teams Borello and the Bulldogs (3-1 overall, 1-0 league) mentioned when asked about make-or-break matchups this year. Led by their star quarterback, Trevor Luescher, the pass-heavy Raiders (1-3, 0-1) were even tougher than Sobrato imagined.
“They were very, very good,” Borello said. “They had a big offensive line and a huge defensive line. Their passing was just as a good as we thought it would be. They hit us on a couple big plays, but we had more of them — and they were pretty timely.”
The Bulldogs had an aerial attack of their own to showcase. Their potent quarterback-wideout connection of Patrick Bacciarelli and Chris Bradley came through for scoring strikes of 15 and 20 yards in the first half. Ralph Jackson added his first of two rushing touchdowns on the day from two yards out as Sobrato opened up a 19-7 halftime lead.
“We sort of lulled them to sleep with our running plays, then hit them on a fade with Chris Bradley. They couldn’t stop him,” offensive coordinator Rick Dukes said. “Chris is such a great athlete, and Patrick throws a nice ball. We only threw about 10 times.”
The Bulldogs wore down Silver Creek’s defense in the second half, leading to long touchdown runs by Marcus Patrick and Jackson. Patrick broke loose for a 65-yard run and threw a 25-yard reverse pass to Drew Johnson to convert a third down.
Jackson found the end zone on a trap from 46 yards out and later became Sobrato’s first defensive back to make an interception this season when he picked off Luescher inside the SHS 5-yard line. Jackson was close to 100 yards rushing.
“Ralph had a huge day for us,” Borello said. “In a big game with a big atmosphere, you need your senior leaders to step up. He did.
“It’s too bad the receiver was all over him when he made that pick. He probably would have scored again.”
Sobrato returns to Richert Field on Saturday to host winless San Jose in a battle between common mascots and school colors. A victory will double Sobrato’s win total from a year ago.
