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.

With a roster made up of 14 players coming out of 13 different high schools, the Gavilan College women’s volleyball team has really just started to find some chemistry on the court. But that doesn’t mean the expectations for the 2012 season aren’t just as high for the Rams, who are coming off their third straight Northern California regional playoff appearance.

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.

Omar Kharroub feels the difference. Tim Rodriguez notices it too. And both Gavilan College sophomore football players have a hunch that everyone else soon will as well.