It didn’t come easy, but the Live Oak Acorns won their first
Central Coast Section playoff game in eight seasons with a 22-7 win
over the Sobrato Bulldogs on Friday night in front of a packed
house at Richert Field.
By Paul Doherty
It didn’t come easy, but the Live Oak Acorns won their first Central Coast Section playoff game in eight seasons with a 22-7 win over the Sobrato Bulldogs on Friday night in front of a packed house at Richert Field.
The Acorns advance to the semi-finals of the medium school division where they will face the winner of today’s game between No. 3 Monterey High School and No. 6 Saratoga.
An hour before kickoff the stands were already packed with cheering fans.
Live Oak’s Matt Cummins took the opening kickoff, a squib kick from Sobrato’s Adam Guerra, but slipped and was downed at the 12-yard line.
On the first play from scrimmage Live Oak Oak quarterback Jeff Roberts tossed the ball to Steven Rodriguez who gained the first five of his game-high 110 rushing yards.
The Acorns could not get a first down, however, and were forced to punt.
The high but short punt down to only the Live Oak 35-yard line gave Sobrato great field position they would immediately take advantage of.
Sobrato quarterback Erick Levell hit senior Jo Jo Anaya with a ten-yard pass on first down, and Sobrato was on the move.
Junior running back Tony Zizzo took a toss for 15 yards on the next play to give the Buldogs a first down on the ten-yard line.
Live Oak’s Garrett Webb stopped Zizzo for a two-yard loss on the next play, but an encroachment penalty on Live Oak on second down brought the Bulldogs down to the seven-yard line.
On repeat second down and only seven yards to the end zone, Levell connected with Anaya with a pass up the middle for Sobrato’s only touchdown.
After a delay of game penalty, Guerra’s kicked the extra point and the Bulldogs enjoyed an early lead.
Eager to even the score, Live Oak went on the march on their ensuing possession.
On 12 plays, nine rushing and three passing, the Acorns burned more than six minutes off the clock as they marched 58 yards into scoring position.
Facing fourth down and nine yards to go, the Acorns opted for a field goal, but senior kicker Casey Mott’s kick sailed slightly right, and the Bulldog’s took over.
Both teams went back and forth, until late in the second quarter when the Acorns went on a nine-play, 82-yard drive.
Rodriguez broke for a game high 38-yard dash on fourth-and-two giving Live Oak a first-and-goal at the Sobrato eight.
Two plays later, after short gains by junior running back Jeff Blean and senior running back Nick Munh, Roberts found the end zone on a one-yard keeper.
A fumbled snap on the point after attempt cost Live Oak a point, and they went into halftime trailing 6-7.
Despite the deficit, Live Oak held all the momentum, and on his way into the locker room head coach Jon Michael Porras said, “I think we’re in the right place right now. We’re in a good place.” In the third quarter the Acorns went from a “good place” to a “great place,” scoring two touchdowns and never letting Sobrato past the 50-yard line.
“We have never been outplayed in the second half, except for this game,” Sobrato head coach Dan Brown said. “We ran out of juice and they had a little more juice.” Roberts scored both third-quarter touchdowns for the Acorns en route to an 88-yard rushing game.
Roberts was also three of six passing for 54 yards.
On the opening drive of the fourth quarter the Acorns effortlessly marched from the 44-yard line to the nine-yard line, but the game was halted at the 8:37 mark when Roberts failed to get up after a being tackled on a keeper.
Athletic trainers from both schools rushed onto the field, and quickly assessed the situation.
Roberts suffered a serious right leg injury, most likely a broken leg, and as he was carted off the field and loaded into an ambulance, he pointed to his team and pumped his fist in the air.
Facing a fourth-and-three, Mott kicked a 21-yard field goal to extend the Acorns lead to 22-7.
“They gave us a scare, but we knew we had what it would take to win,” Porras said. “We met our goal, and now our goal is to continue doing the best we can do.” Porras said his heart goes to Roberts, but he is confident that senior Tim O’Rourke can step up at quarterback.
“Jeff Roberts has been the team leader all year … even when he wasn’t the starting quarterback he was the vocal leader of this team,” Porras said.
“He’s done for the year, but we’re going to do our best for him in the second round.”
