High School Sports

Early in the first quarter of Friday night's season opener between Live Oak and Gilroy, Acorns quarterback Taylor Turnipseed and wide receiver Dominic Maciel had a 24-yard touchdown connection nullified by penalty. It stung. The drive stalled. Little did they know at the time that they'd have a few more flag-free opportunities. Three, to be exact.

Expectations. Three years ago, head coach Tim Pierleoni gathered a bunch of bright-eyed freshmen and sophomores for a meeting at Brownell Middle School and laid out an extensive list of goals. The Christopher High football team's 2011 league championship season – in year three – may have taken everyone on the opposite sideline by surprise. But among the CHS players and coaching staff, it was exactly what was envisioned when the program opened in 2009.

Standing at about the 35-yard line following a scrimmage with San Benito and Christopher last Friday night, first-year Gilroy High School varsity football head coach Brian Boyd improvised a possible motto for the Mustangs in 2012.

Jourdan Soares sprinted his way to a Central Coast Section championship in the 100-meter dash in 2011. He was third in 2012.

Jogging in formation, the click of their cleats on the pavement audible as 47 Christopher High varsity football players, hidden under matte black helmets, moved through the darkness of the campus' corridors.