MORGAN HILL—“This is truly your home now,” Sobrato coach Albert King said to his team which cheered and howled with pride.
Saturday was historic for the Bulldogs, who not only won their first-ever game at home, but snapped a 12-game losing streak that extends back to their 2012 playoff loss to Valley Christian. They blanked Gilroy 39-0 in the afternoon sun thanks to an explosive running game that attributed to five of their six touchdowns.
“It’s a monkey off our back,” junior running back Darius Wheeler said of breaking the losing streak. “We outworked them on the field and everything. Practice was great, our coaches pushed us really hard and they knew we could do it. They had faith in us.”
Wheeler etched his name in Sobrato’s record books, picking up the first TD on its home field. He juked around a herd of Mustangs to break free for a 43-yard score with just over seven minutes left in the first. He also scored their second, but didn’t have to go as far, running in from the two-yard-line with 27 seconds left in the half to improve Sobrato’s lead to 13-0.
“It feels great to have the first touchdown in Sobrato history. I can’t ask for anything more; it’s a great feeling,” Wheeler said. “(We need to) not let our heads get too big. We just gotta keep going and keep our eyes on the prize.”
Gilroy’s defense kept it in the game in the first half. The Mustangs forced two Bulldog turnovers on downs, recovered a fumble and saw Darius Alexander-Jones pick off Matthew Bolino’s pass. Unfortunately for the visitors, their offense was unable to capitalize on its opportunities.
Any momentum Gilroy did gain was immediately snuffed out by penalties. It had six flags for 60 yards in the first half alone and 10 for 105 yards in the game.
“We’re just having trouble putting it together,” Gilroy coach Brian Boyd said. “(On) offense, we couldn’t do a darn thing; we really struggled. It was a bunch of different things. Penalties hurt us—I think we had more penalties than offensive yards.”
Mustangs quarterback David Munoz, who was coming off a solid performance against Live Oak, had only six completions on 27 attempts. He picked up just 30 yards and threw two picks in the game. While he hit several of his targets, all too often Gilroy’s receivers were unable to hold on to the ball for the completion.
“He’s a rhythm kid, he has a hard time putting stuff behind him,” Boyd said. “When his receivers aren’t catching the ball, he struggles.”
Gilroy combined for just 45 yards on the ground.
Bolino was just 2 for 7 for 29 yards—22 of which came on a touchdown pass to Tyler Laisure at 6:43 in the third to put Sobrato ahead 20-0. He also had an interception.
Prior to the game, Boyd said Sobrato’s run game would need to find away to get outside as his line would provide tight coverage in the middle—and it did just that.
The Bulldogs amassed 392 yards on the ground, led by Jason Whitworth with 115 yards and followed by Wheeler who had 112.
Whitworth had three straight carries to end Sobrato’s seven-play march down field. He finished the drive with a one-yard dash into the endzone to put his team ahead 26-0 late in the third quarter.
“I’m really excited, really glad that our first win was at home and it was a blowout,” Whitworth said. “The line really held it up this week.”
Marcus Valcarcel also had a four-yard touchdown early in the fourth. Max Zhang, who had 63 yards on 12 carries, reached the endzone one last time with 3:20 left on the clock.
“It’s such an amazing feeling and we’re still hungry for more—can’t wait to get into the season,” the senior running back said. “We’ve got to work how we did this week every week—in and out.”
Sobrato (1-1) will have a bye week before returning to action at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 26 at Atwater. Looking ahead, King said consistency will be key for the Bulldogs.
“Everything starts on the ground for us. We’ve got some pretty explosive backs and we just gotta keep feeding them the football and let them do what they do and that opens up everything for us,” he said. “We’ve got to get better at the passing game, but that will come. Once we’re able to do both, we’re going to be a tough team to stop.”
Gilroy will play its first home at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 19 against Half Moon Bay. With Offensive Coordinator Bobby Griffith stepping down earlier in the week, Boyd said he will use this week to sort out the Mustangs strategy for the rest of the season.
“I’ve got to re-evaluate. It’s my first time calling the plays, so I’m second guessing myself a lot right now,” he said. “A lot of stuff out there I couldn’t control, but we had a few things out there that worked. Maybe we cut our offense way back? I don’t know right now. I’m lost for what to do right now.”
