Morgan Hill – The Overfelt Royals quieted the boisterous home
crowd at Richerrt Field Saturday night as they ran into the end
zone on the second play of the game with a 77-yard run.
Morgan Hill – The Overfelt Royals quieted the boisterous home crowd at Richerrt Field Saturday night as they ran into the end zone on the second play of the game with a 77-yard run.
But that was the last time the Bulldogs would trail in the game, a crowd-pleaser that ended up as Sobrato’s first win of the season, 43-20.
The Bulldogs pushed the ball downfield, with a series of runs and passes, with Steven Gutierrez and Tony Zizzo receiving protection from their offensive line.
Gutierrez ran the ball into the end zone for Sobrato’s first touchdown, but the two point conversion attempt failed, tying the game 6-6, with 6:59 left in the first quarter.
The defense did their job after a long kickoff by Adam Guerra, stopping the Royals running game.
JoJo Anaya nearly intercepted a pass, and Overfelt was forced to punt.
With three long runs, the Bulldogs found the end zone again, as Zizzo ran it in. The point after kick by Guerra was good, and the ‘Dawgs took the lead with a score of 13-6.
Zizzo finished the night with 13 carries for a whopping 172 yards and two touchdowns.
The Royals weren’t giving up, however. They moved the ball down the field, with the Bulldog defense pushing back, finally forcing a fumble and recovering it.
There was a flag on the field, the penalty was against Sobrato, there was no fumble. On the next play, Overfelt rushed into the end zone for their second touchdown.
The point after was good, and the teams were tied, 13-13.
The Bulldogs offense used up the clock in the second quarter, moving the ball mostly with running plays.
Quarterback Erick Levell took it into the end zone himself for Sobrato’s third touchdown, but a Sobrato false start penalty marred the extra point attempt, and the second kick was no good.
The Bulldogs were up 19-13 with 8:50 left in the first half.
Two plays later, Alex Meldrum intercepted an Overfelt pass, setting up another touchdown run by Gutierrez. The ‘Dawgs tried to boost their score by two with a pass play for the point after, but the pass was incomplete, and the score remained 25-13.
‘Dawgs defense was strong, forcing the Royals to punt after three plays.
Sobrato ate up the clock again, making several first downs to get into scoring position. A personal foul on Overfelt gave Sobrato an additional 15 yards, and a pass to Anaya gave Sobrato their fifth touchdown.
For the point after, the ‘Dawgs set up to kick, but the snap was botched and, and a pass to Mark Borland added two additional points, making the score 33-13 at the end of the first half.
After Anaya returned the second half kickoff to the 35-yard line, Zizzo took the ball and finessed his way all the way down to the end zone for Sobrato’s sixth touchdown.
The extra point kick sailed through the uprights, and the Bulldog lead grew to 40-13.
The Royals pushed hard, and were nearly in field goal range facing a fourth and six situation.
After a time-out, they tried to run for first down yardage, but the Bulldog defense stood them up. The ‘Dawgs took over on downs at the 18-yard line.
A fumble recovered by Overfelt marked the first time the Bulldog offense didn’t score when they had the ball. The fumble also led to the Royals’ third touchdown, and the point after kick was good, making it a 40-20 game.
The third quarter ended with Sobrato moving the ball down the field on the ground. After a penalty to start the fourth quarter, Sobrato was forced to punt.
Sobrato head coach Dan Brown began putting in second team players, as Overfelt’s next series ended when they couldn’t get a first down. Chris Montoya and Tim Cavanaugh ran the ball, as the second team offensive linemen gave them protection to move the ball.
Guerra kicked a field goal, making the final score 43-20.
To cap it off, Anaya stifled the Royals last drive when he intercepted a pass.
Sobrato finished with 500 yards of total offense.
Erick Level was 6 for 8 passing with one touchdown pass for 87 yards.
Steven Sorce was two for three passing with 13 yards.
Guitirez had 12 carries for 52 yards and two touchdowns.
“We were kind of playing down hill all night,” Brown said. “This was kind of our break out game, but we’re going to take it one game at a time.”
Brown said his team was a little frustrated on defense because they didn’t get set up on a few plays, but he was pleased with the win.
“We wanted this game badly,” he said. “We felt like we’ve gotten better in every non-league game … we’ve looked back and learned from our mistakes and it feels like a new season.”
We just erupted … it was high octane game.”
