There were plenty of local sports stories for Morgan Hill to be proud of in 2012. Some can be found in our top five local sports stories of the year:
No. 1: Locsin wins state
After defeating top-ranked wrestler Jonas Gaytan of Clovis in the CIF state final in March, Live Oak’s Isaiah Locsin became the Acorns’ first male state champion – as a sophomore.
Locsin, wrestling in the 113-pound division, finished the season 51-0. The 5-foot-3 Locsin defeated Gaytan 5-4 in the final. It was the second consecutive year Locsin reached the state final.
He fell behind 2-0 to Gaytan before making a second-round run to take the lead for good.
“I just felt like all the hard work paid off,” Locsin said in March. “I was happy because all my coaches put all this time in. I was able to do it. I did it.”
The victory was seven years in the making for Locsin after meeting Live Oak coach Armando Gonzalez. Thanks to his dad’s Yoke Training System, Locsin was a physical marvel, Gonzalez said.
He wasn’t the only Acorn to take home a state title. Seven days earlier, senior Amy Fearnside captured the 108-pound CIF girls title in Lemoore.
This winter as a junior, Locsin is ranked No. 1 in the state.
No. 2: Haines retires
After 26 years at Live Oak building one of the top programs in the Central Coast Section, longtime water polo coach Mack Haines stepped away from the pool in May.
Haines, 58, retired after his youngest son – Connor – graduated and Live Oak missed the playoffs for the second time in his tenure.
In 33 seasons as a coach – including stops at Salinas (1984-86) and Hanford (1979-84) – Haines won 19 league titles, eight CIF section finals berths and two section championships. He was named a CCS Honor Coach and coached 29 high school All-Americans.
At Live Oak, Haines won a CCS title in 1997.
“I think you get to a point where bringing in new blood and new people sometimes is a positive,” he said at the time.
3. Bulldogs win first CCS game
For the first time since the Sobrato football team first took the field in 2005, the Bulldogs experienced a CCS playoff win. In a 40-17 victory over Archbishop Riordan in November, Sobrato ended eight years of searching for a “milestone” victory.
“We are very proud of the work that we’ve done,” Sobrato coach Nick Borello said at the time. “A lot of programs work hard like we do, but you don’t always get to see the fruits of the labors … It speaks volumes to the work that everyone does in the program.”
Sobrato took the lead minutes into the game after Riordan turned the ball over on the opening kickoff. Eventually, the Bulldogs held a 14-0 lead only five minutes into the game.
The Bulldogs’ season ended the following week against Valley Christian, 52-42. It was the farthest Sobrato ever advanced in the postseason.
Less than a month later, longtime coach Borello stepped down.
4. Toro Bowl thriller
Behind 145 yards from Mark Butterworth, Live Oak came back from a 20-point deficit to upset Sobrato in Toro Bowl VI, 23-20. It was the third consecutive Toro Bowl win for the Acorns, who hold a series record of 5-1.
The Acorns didn’t take the lead until the final two minutes of the game on a 28-yard run from Butterworth.
With both teams entering the contest 2-0, Sobrato got off to a strong start, taking a 20-0 lead in the first half. The Bulldogs forced three early turnovers off quarterback Taylor Turnipseed. Sobrato scored touchdowns twice off Live Oak turnovers to build its early lead.
Live Oak, though, started its comeback when Turnipseed hit Ben Nuno for a 52-yard touchdown. After the play, Sobrato never got close to scoring.
The victory gave Live Oak a 3-0 record at the time.
The Acorns finished the season 6-4, failing to make the postseason. Sobrato finished 8-4.
5. Pride’s World Series victory
The 12-and-under Pride of Morgan Hill travel softball team won the U.S. Specialty Sports Association World Series championship in Independence, Mo., on July 22.
It was a task that took nearly four years to complete.
In the World Series, Morgan Hill finished the 55-team, 11-state tournament with an 8-0-1 record while outscoring opponents 41-16.
Madison Gallagher was named the tournament’s Outstanding Pitcher, and catcher Allyson Nodohara took the MVP award.
Morgan Hill won the championship by defeating the Kansas-based Topeka Crushers 4-3 with a walk-off win in the seventh inning. Vanessa Ramos knocked in the championship-winning run with no outs in the seventh.
