GILROY – Scoring on its first three possessions of the game en
route to building a 30-point first half lead, the Gilroy High
football team came away with a decisive 36-13 victory over visiting
Live Oak on Friday night.
GILROY – Scoring on its first three possessions of the game en route to building a 30-point first half lead, the Gilroy High football team came away with a decisive 36-13 victory over visiting Live Oak on Friday night.
Quarterback Nick Marra looked comfortable in the shotgun, leading the Mustangs with his arm and legs to a field goal on their first drive of the game.
“Our offense really clicked,” Marra said. “We got into a groove and a rhythm in the first half.”
Marra was fluid in the opening 30 minutes completing 10-of-17 passes for 133 yards and three touchdowns. He also zig-zagged his way to 39 yards on the ground.
After the defense forced a Live Oak three-and-out deep in its own territory, The Mustangs’ offense orchestrated a brisk four-play, 43-yard scoring drive capped by a Marra to Bryan Sanchez 26-yard slant pass for the touchdown.
“The first half (the offense) was running perfect,” Mustangs coach Greg Garcia said. “We started off like we wanted to.”
The Mustangs’ defense played solid all night surrendering just 221 yards of offense – mostly in the second half. GHS swarmed the ball, creating four turnovers, two of which led to scores.
“They put in hours of watching film and hours of walk-throughs,” Garcia said. “They put a lot of effort into the success they have.”
With time winding down in the first quarter, Acorns running back Michael Singleton fumbled and defensive lineman Ben Torrcier pounced on the loose ball giving the Mustangs prime field position in Acorns territory. Ten plays later Marra hit running back Tommy Silvas on a 20-yard fade route for the TD. Marra threw the ball to Silvas’ outside shoulder, he adjusted to it and landed on his back just inside the back corner pylon.
The Mustangs’ offense kept things rolling and two series later they struck pay dirt again. Sanchez ran a sweep wide left, cut inside and squeezed in for a six-yard touchdown, extending the Mustangs lead to 23-0 midway through the second quarter.
On the Acorns’ next play from scrimmage, Mustangs senior linebacker Logan Sweeney stepped in front of a David Pelz pass over the middle and took the interception down inside the red zone.
“I was thinking, ‘I’m gonna take this to the house,'” Sweeney said. “Our defense has some swag. Everyone has fun and they do their job. There was not one thing (Live Oak) did that we weren’t prepared for.”
The Mustangs efficiently capitalized on the interception, scoring their fourth touchdown of the half on a Marra to Jordan Mitchell pitch and catch.
After Marra and Mitchell connected for the second time to make the score 36-0 early in the fourth quarter, Marra was replaced by Silvas at quarterback.
Marra finished the night 13-of-22 for 197 yards and four touchdowns. Five Mustangs rushed for more than 15 yards including, Eric Vegas, who also had a 59-yard reception, Julius Travis (40) and Sanchez (27). Vegas had 72 yards receiving to lead the team. As a team the Mustangs totaled 356 yards.
The Acorns scored twice in the fourth quarter to narrow the lead a bit. Dylan Frechette hit Dominic Leach with a 52-yard deep ball with just less than 11 minutes remaining in the fourth, and Pelz found Leach again with five minutes to go on a similar looking play.
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The GHS junior varsity team had its way with the Live Oak frosh/soph team Friday beating the Acorns 28-18. Coach Jack Daley had some concerns heading into the game with just 25 players on the roster, but the victory seemed to quash those worries for the time being.
“We were dragging a little bit,” Daley said. “But overall I thought we did some things very well.”
The Mustangs led 14-12 at the half, but received a jolt from Brent Newton who returned the second half kickoff for a touchdown.
