Gilroy
It was the battle of the running backs Friday night, but only one could come out on top. There’s no doubt about it, the season opener belonged to Trevor Bearden.
Bearden was like a freight train with a one-way ticket to the endzone. The Live Oak senior running back racked up 476 yards on 30 carries and five touchdowns in the Acorn’s 52-41 win at Gilroy High.
“I don’t think of anything — I just run,” Bearden said. “I just go. I see (an opening) and I go. I don’t know how to explain it. I just run. … We knew they couldn’t stop us. If we could get a couple stops, we knew we’d win. They can’t stop us — no one can stop our offense.”
A late first half TD from Bearden left the game tied at 28-28 heading into halftime. A couple quick plays turned gave Live Oak the lead, putting the team ahead 45-35 heading into the fourth quarter.
Live Oak fumbled the ball twice in the final quarter but were able to escape unscathed. With 6:10 left in the game, Bearden took it to the house once more. The senior RB took the ball 88 yards for the touchdown on the first play of the series, putting the Acorns ahead 52-35 at that point.
“He can do anything I ask him,” Live Oak coach Mike Gemo said of Bearden. “He’s the best back in CCS — that’s all there is.”
Mustangs coach Brian Boyd said he knew that Bearden would be tough to handle, but that it was a good learning experience for his young defense.
“We knew he’s their football team,” Boyd said. “We knew it was going to be tough to stop him. We thought we were going to be able to contain him. We were blitzing him quite a bit, but he was running right through the boys.
“A lot of the kids on our defense are brand new — never have played before. …We were able to stop him a few times, but he’s so big and strong that he just runs over people.”
Offensively, the hosts didn’t do too shabby either. The Mustangs had anticipated the return of their star running back Brandon Boyd and he delivered. The senior RB rushed for 331 yards on 47 carries and reached the endzone four times — including the game’s last TD — for the Mustangs.
“Score — that’s all that’s going through my mind,” Brandon Boyd said. “I was just trying to keep my team close and get them back in there and fired up. I was doing everything I could do.”
The Mustangs did win the battle in the air behind sophomore quarterback David Munoz. He went 11 for 19 for 150 yards and had two touchdowns in the game. Live Oak’s QB, sophomore Erik Ornduff, went 5 for 7 with a touchdown and an interception by senior Bubba Lara.
“We thought David did a pretty good job. A lot of the mistakes and stuff that he made, those are going to happen,” Brian Boyd said. “He’s only a sophomore, this is only his first game — this is all new.”
After hearing the final from Morgan Hill — a 36-6 Christopher win over Sobrato — both teams immediately put tonight behind them and focused on next week.
Live Oak will square off against Christopher at 7 p.m. Friday at home.
“We’re ready to go get our first home victory this year,” Gemo said. “We want to win the South County again.”
The Mustangs will remain at home, facing Sobrato at 7 p.m. Friday. Brandon Boyd said he’s looking forward to picking up the Mustangs’ first win of the season. If the CHS-Sobrato final is any indication, he will be a big part of the game plan against the Bulldogs.
“(A final of) 36-6 doesn’t look like they have much a run defense so we’ll be looking forward to playing them next week,” he said. “We’ll just have to work hard and get a win.”
