Sports

In the end, the Sobrato High girls soccer team ran into a buzzsaw in the form of a powerhouse Mountain View squad. The Bulldogs saw their season end against the Spartans Tuesday in the form of a 4-0 drubbing against the Spartans in a Central Coast Section Open Division playoff semifinal at Milpitas High.

Moments after Grace Smith made a long 3-pointer from the left wing just before the halftime buzzer, Live Oak High girls basketball coach Mike Kiefer jumped up before pumping his fist. The longtime Acorns coach was so excited his right hand nearly hit the floor. Kiefer had good reason to be jubilant, as Live Oak would take a two-point lead into the intermission against host and No. 2 seed Aptos.

A year ago, Javier Torres needed to be humbled.

Longtime Live Oak High girls soccer coach Tony Vasquez can’t remember the last time his team has won a Central Coast Section playoff game.

For the first time in 49 years, the Gavilan College men’s basketball team can call itself champions. The Rams defeated San Jose City College 75-57 last Friday, clinching just their second conference title in program history (the only other title came in 1969). The Rams finished the regular-season at 23-4 overall and 9-3 in the Coast Conference South Division, earning the No. 7 seed in the California Community College Northern California playoffs. Gavilan plays host to No. 10 seed Modesto (20-8) on Friday.

There’s a reason they play these games. On paper, there was really no reason for the host Oakwood High girls basketball team to beat Redding’s Shasta High Tuesday. After all, Shasta is bigger, better, and more experienced in the tough Central Coast Section playoffs. And that’s why they don’t leave the results to stats alone; because on paper, heart doesn’t show up as a stat.

Even though the Sobrato High boys basketball team is having a rough time in the Blossom Valley League’s Mount Hamilton Division standings—the team was 0-14 competing in one of the toughest leagues in the Central Coast Section—it’s players like sophomore Ignacio Bettinelli who give the Bulldogs optimism for the present and future.

After the completion of every game, Live Oak High senior Jaime Martinez joins his teammates in a single-file line for the traditional post-game handshake with the opposing team. Martinez usually receives compliments from the opposing coach, including one who referred to him as sonic—as in Sonic the Hedgehog, the popular video game franchise that featured a protagonist who could run and jump at high speeds.

If the Gavilan College men’s basketball team can win its season-finale against San Jose City College on Friday, it will clinch its first conference championship since 1969 and just the second in program history. The Rams (22-4 overall, 8-3 Coast Conference South) have an excellent chance of doing just that, as they have already beaten San Jose City two times this season.

In her freshman and sophomore years at Live Oak High, senior Grace Smith encountered a unique set of circumstances whenever the Acorns played Leland. The coach on the other sideline was none other than her dad, Terry, who has been instrumental in helping Grace develop into a well-rounded student-athlete.