El Toro Bowl III kicks off at 7 p.m. at Richert Field
MORGAN HILL — The excitement hit Sobrato quarterback Patrick Bacciarelli as soon as he woke up Monday morning.
It brought a smile to linebacker Michael Singleton’s face last Friday as he walked away from Live Oak’s 27-19 loss to Salinas.
There is nothing in sports quite like a rivalry football game. And to Bacciarelli, Singleton and the other Sobrato and Live Oak players who will grace Richert Field at 7 p.m. today, there is nothing like the El Toro Bowl.
“It means everything,” said Singleton, whose Acorns have won the only two meetings in history between the Morgan Hill programs.
“It’s already nerve racking,” Bacciarelli added. “Usually, nerves kick in Friday, but I was getting nervous Monday, so you know it’s that week.”
The Bulldogs are hoping it’s that year. After losing to Live Oak by double-digit margins the past two seasons, including a 27-0 eyesore in 2008, Sobrato (1-1) has, arguably, its best chance yet to beat the Acorns (0-2).
“Our guys know they’re good. This is the best Sobrato team we’ve seen,” said Live Oak coach Jon Michael Porras, whose team is coming off a bye week. “They have a lot of good athletes than even two years ago when we beat them in the playoffs. That team had depth. But this team, they have better athletes.
“We’ve watched plenty of film the past two weeks, so we’ll be ready for them.”
Live Oak has twice as many varsity players as Sobrato, but the Bulldogs match up well at the skill positions. On defense, they have a potential first-team all-league linebacker in Ryan Brewer and speedy defensive backs in Ralph Jackson, Obi Mbonu and Chris Bradley to counter the Acorns’ two-pronged offense. They will be hard pressed to stop running back Taylor Alonzo, 6-foot-3 wideout Dominic Leach and dual-threat QB David Pelz.
“They spread the ball out,” said Brewer, a senior. “It’s a matter of playing how we play football, covering the receivers and doing our assignments on their option runs.”
For short-yardage plays, Live Oak can create mismatches by giving the ball to Singleton, a fleet-footed 205-pound senior.
“Normally, our scouting report lists key players,” second-year Bulldogs coach Nick Borello said. “The scouting report this week said everybody. They throw the ball to everybody; they run the ball with everybody. It’s not like they focus their offense on one guy. We have to play a good all-around game.”
The Acorns put on an impressive showing against Salinas, but were missing key players because of injury, including their feature back, Alonzo. The bye week helped.
“It feels good seeing us 100-percent healthy,” said Alonzo, who had to sit for Live Oak’s opening game against rival Gilroy. “It feels good being here for this one. Sobrato is our main rival. Every game we play against them is a big one. We have to play our hearts out and do what we need to do to win.”
The Acorns cruised in the past two El Toro bowls behind superb quarterbacking by alumnus Jeff Roberts. Pelz will try to provide the same in his first start under center. The junior traded snaps with Dylan Frechette in the previous nonleague games.
“I’m just coming out here looking to get a win tallied for our team,” said Pelz, who completed 11 of 17 for 208 yards and a touchdown against Salinas. “I’m not thinking about me. I’m thinking about the team. … It takes all 11 guys together to get a win.”
Both teams are hungry for one. While the Bulldogs are looking for win No. 1 against Live Oak, the Acorns are trying to make headway before next week’s Mount Hamilton Division opener against Pioneer — ranked No. 11 in Santa Clara County this week by the San Jose Mercury News.
“I don’t know if it’s ever good to be winless, but it amplifies this game,” Porras said.
“We need to get a win,” Live Oak offensive lineman Erik Poulsen added. “We’re close to it. We’ve had some good practices this week.”
The Acorns have logged plenty of hours getting ready for Sobrato’s imposing Wing-T offense.
“They’re very good at running the ball,” said Porras, now in his third year as head coach at Live Oak. “They have some strong runners. We have an advantage in numbers, though. We can create mismatches against their offense.”
The Bulldogs gives most of their carries to Mbonu, their precocious sophomore, and Jackson, who ran for two touchdowns in last week’s 38-19 loss at Soquel.
“We’re definitely going to run it. That’s the game plan every week,” Sobrato two-way lineman Joel Rueda said. “Our line is everything. We have to be perfect.”
Perhaps no two players are feeling the pressure more for this final nonleague game than Bacciarelli and Singleton.
“We don’t want to be the first class of seniors to lose to them three times,” Bacciarelli said. “Last year’s goose egg hurt the worst. We have to score points.”
Standing in the way is Live Oak’s defensive leader, Singleton, whom Porras dubbed one of the best defensive players in the Mount Hamilton.
“If we lose,” Singleton said before a long pause Wednesday, “it ruins our whole season.”
