After a week of celebrating its first victory in 24 games, the
Live Oak High football team could have been poised for a big
letdown. According to Acorn coach Glen Webb, his players were
understandably the toast of the Morgan Hill campus last week after
a 28-0 win in the home opener over Alvarez. And, for the first time
in a very long time, Live Oak was being mentioned as a potential
Central Coast Section playoff contender by the area media. (Webb
named KSBW as the culprit.)
After a week of celebrating its first victory in 24 games, the Live Oak High football team could have been poised for a big letdown.
According to Acorn coach Glen Webb, his players were understandably the toast of the Morgan Hill campus last week after a 28-0 win in the home opener over Alvarez.
And, for the first time in a very long time, Live Oak was being mentioned as a potential Central Coast Section playoff contender by the area media. (Webb named KSBW as the culprit.)
It was exactly the kind of situation that many teams could allow to become a distraction, especially in preparation for a road game against a talented, experienced opponent.
But not this team. Not this season.
Despite struggling offensively in the first half for the second straight week, the Acorns maintained their poise and focus en route to an impressive 27-10 victory at Alisal on Friday.
Once again, it was the Live Oak defense that kept the Acorns in the game while the offense worked out the kinks.
“The defense did a really good job,” Webb said. “They kept us in the game when the offense wasn’t scoring points.”
Webb pointed to a key first-half series when the Acorn” D” held the host Trojans out of the end zone after a first-and-goal from the Live Oak 8-yard-line midway through the second quarter.
Live Oak was leading 7-0 on sophomore running back Kevin Abbott’s 50-yard sprint as the first-quarter buzzer sounded, when a fumbled punt set Alisal up inside the Acorn 40.
Five plays later, The Trojans were knocking on the door, looking to tie.
But two short runs and an incomplete pass forced Alisal to settle for a 25-yard field goal, and never again sniffed the equalizer.
By the time the second half rolled around, Live Oak’s offense got it going, scoring on its first possession of the third quarter on a six-play, 30-yard drive capped by sophomore running back Victor Kalata’s five-yard TD run for a 14-3 lead.
But again the drive was set up by the Acorn defense, led by defensive lineman Sam Martinez, who hurried Alisal quarterback Reynaldo Mendoza, then recovered Mendoza’s fumble inside Trojan territory.
Alisal wouldn’t go away, however, driving to the Live Oak 22-yard-line on its next possession before senior defensive back/receiver Jared Koblis took over the game.
Koblis started his six-minute string of key plays by stopping 6-2, 210 Trojan fullback Abraham Valdez a yard short of the first down on a fourth-and-three just outside the Live Oak red zone.
Result: Turnover on downs.
After a three-and-out Acorn possession, Koblis stopped an Alisal drive with an interception at the Live Oak 38.
Result: Turnover.
Finally, on the Acorns’ subsequent possession, the transfer from Pioneer High outleaped an Alisal defender to snag a 12 -yard TD stroke from senior QB David Iseman.
Result: 21-3 lead for Live Oak.
There were bright spots for Live Oak’s offense.
Senior running back Dustin Muhn rushed for 91 yards on 12 carries and narrowly missed getting his first TD of the season when a 32-yard scoring scamper was called back due to a holding penalty.
Sophomores Kevin Abbott and Kalata continued to impress.
Abbott had 109 yards on 11 carries and his second TD in as many games, and Kalata added 51 yards and his second TD of the season in just five carries.
In all, the Acorn ground game amassed 315 of the team’s 358 total yards.
And, after a slow start, Iseman completed his last two passes of the game, both for TDs.
