Christopher wasted little time to jumping out to a lead against Sobrato.
Less than five minutes into the game, Cougars quarterback Sterling Montgomery hit Rayshon Mills for an 11-yard score.
Three plays later, Anthony Sammut intercepted Nick Secolo and ran it back 40 yards to put Christopher up 13-0.
The defense scored one more time as the Cougars defeated the Bulldogs 36-6 to open the season.
Sobrato (0-1) was held to 159 yards of offense, including 82 yards on the ground.
Meanwhile, Christopher (1-0) scored on its first four possessions to take a 29-0 lead at the half.
“That was the focus all summer long,” said Christopher coach Tim Pierleoni of his defense. “We went to a defensive camp and worked the defense extra hard during the summer. We weren’t a good defensive team last year because we were so, so young.”
This is the first time in four meetings Christopher has beaten Sobrato on the field. In 2011, the Cougars won on a forfeit after a player was ruled ineligible for Sobrato.
“Last year we made a promise to ourselves, all the under classmen, that we would come out here next year and try to pick up where we left off the year before and just try to get a win,” said Trevor Hadnot. “It felt great. First year beating Sobrato, it felt pretty good.”
The Cougars nearly had a shutout before Secolo hit receiver JoJo Nunn as time expired to come away with some points in the loss.
Coach Pierleoni wasn’t disappointed with giving up points, but will use it as a teaching tool for the kids to play hard and not give up on any play.
“We played real well and we got everybody in. Things like that happen,” Pierleoni said. “When we have a chance to make a play, we got to make a play. They practiced every single day real hard, just like we do, so they deserve to score a touchdown. It’s OK.”
With 5 seconds left, Secolo connected with Nunn on a 31-yard pass up the sideline for the score.
Nunn was shutdown most of the night by Christopher defensive backs.
“They were doing really good tonight,” Nunn said. “I went up to them after the game and gave them a lot of love and told them how good they did. You know they, they really played hard. … I’m proud of them. They did their part.”
Hadnot likewise gave credit to the player he was defending.
“He was really difficult to handle. He’s a real good player. I just tried to keep up with his speed. I under estimated him in the beginning, but I had to just do my best and it all worked out.”
Christopher’s defense was stingy most of the night, only allowing Sobrato to cross midfield four times, including once in the first half.
The offense, meanwhile, was efficient in racking up 274 yards of offense.
After going up 13-0 in the first quarter, Christopher made it 16-0 on a 27-yard field goal by Rual Meza.
The Cougars started from the Sobrato 44 and pushed to the Bulldog 12 where the drive stalled, sending out Meza, who also hit three PATs.
After another Sobrato drive went three-and-out, Christopher marched 74 yards on 10 plays capped with Montgomery hitting his second touchdown of the night to Cole Rhodes for a 25-yard score.
Montgomery found the endzone again on the next series, finishing a 50-yard drive with a 17-yard touchdown run to go up 29-0.
Montgomery finished with 104 yards on 12 of 25 passing with two TD and 39 yards rushing with one more touchdown on his own.
Rayshon Mills led the Cougars rushing with 73 yards on 11 carries.
“We did it as a team, we did it as a family, that’s why we won actually,” Mills said. “The line did its job, running backs did their job, receivers did their job and the quarterback did his job.”
Christopher nearly gave up the shutout early in the third quarter when Sobrato went on a 72-yard drive and had second and goal from the three when a bad snap ended the threat.
Raul Tovar scooped up the bouncing ball near the 20 and ran it back for the Cougars’ final score.
Things got a little chippy during the game, with several personal fouls being called on both sides, including a few unsportsmanlike conducts.
Pierleoni said it is something the team needs to clean up because in a close game, those penalties might mean the difference between a win and a loss. He also said it wasn’t representative of how the Cougars hold themselves and said he wants the penalties cleaned up.
Sobrato will next travel to Gilroy, who is coming off a 52-41 loss to Live Oak. Christopher will play for the second time at Live Oak when the Acorns play their home opener next Friday. Kickoff for that game is 7 p.m.
