San Benito 30, SLV 10
Hollister – It certainly wasn’t pretty. But the San Benito football team played through its mistakes to hammer San Lorenzo Valley 30-10 Friday night at Andy Hardin Field.
The ‘Balers fumbled on each of their first four possessions, losing three of them, but still managed to improve to 2-0 on the year with a rout in their home opener.
Despite fumbling four times within the Cougars’ 35-yard line in the first half, the ‘Balers still managed to take a 7-3 lead into the locker room. And that minor miracle was thanks almost entirely to a ferocious San Benito defense, which snagged two interceptions, recorded a third-down sack and recovered a fumble – all in the opening half.
Saratoga 22, Live Oak 21
Saratoga – The Falcons scored all 22 of their points in the fourth quarter to turn a 14-0 deficit into their second straight win.
Saratoga (2-0) didn’t reach the end zone until one minute into the fourth quarter when quarterback Kevin Sieczkarek scored on a 15-yard option keeper.
Live Oak (0-1) responded on its next drive when senior running back Kevin Abbott (22 carries, 163 yards) broke free for a 50-yard touchdown run with 8:10 left in the game.
But Sieczkarek connected with senior wide receiver Alex Lageman for a 14-yard touchdown pass with 2:52 left. Danny Miroyan recovered the onside kick for the Falcons and Sieczkarek drove Saratoga back down the field and hit Keon Ghafouri for a 10-yard touchdown pass with 43.2 seconds left.
Sobrato 7, Cupertino 7
Morgan Hill – The Bulldogs turned a late fumble recovery into their lone score of the game to salvage a tie in their season-opener.
Senior nose guard Genaro Redmond recovered the fumble at the Cupertino 17-yard line with 5:58 left in the game and on the next play sophomore quarterback Alex Meldrum hooked up with tight end Brandon Duggan for the touchdown.
Sobrato (0-0-1) forced six fumbles on the night, while recovering four, and the defense allowed only 36 yards of offense in the second half.
Erik Woodruff led the running game with 42 yards on seven carries while Steven Gutierrez and Ramon Watkins each gained 25 yards on the ground.