Hollister up tonight as Live Oak looks for first win
A second one-point loss in a row
– a 21-20 defeat at Alisal High School – dropped the Acorns to
0-4-1 as they look toward the season opener tonight at
Hollister.
Hollister up tonight as Live Oak looks for first win
A second one-point loss in a row – a 21-20 defeat at Alisal High School – dropped the Acorns to 0-4-1 as they look toward the season opener tonight at Hollister.
The Live Oak football team fell in the final seconds of play last Friday night in Salinas. In the last three games, however, the Acorns have been outscored by only six points.
“We should write a book on the mastery of losing the close one,” said Live Oak Coach Glen Webb. “We should have a much better record. In fact, (hypothetically speaking) we could be the best 0-4 team in the country but that doesn’t mean a thing.”
Tonight, the Acorns will travel to Hollister for their league opener. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m.
“Hollister is very disciplined and doesn’t make a lot of mistakes,” said Webb. “They are well-coached and a perennial challenger.”
Like the Acorns, the Balers are struggling this season as well and will enter the game with a record of 2-2-1. Despite Hollister’s mediocre play, Webb knows that he and his team will have their hands full.
Last season, Hollister lost the Central Coast Section Division II championship 7-6 to Salinas.
The scene for last Friday’s loss to Alisal was set in the closing minutes.
Trailing by a point, the Acorns got the ball back and starting a gut-wrenching drive at their own 5-yard line.
Eighteen precision-like plays later and Live Oak had marched the ball all the way to the Trojan seven. With the ball in hand and just under a minute to go, a field goal was a lock and a touchdown looked certain.
The only problem was that it was third down and the Acorns chose to run another play before kicking the chip-shot field goal.
On third down, Live Oak Quarterback Orin Catrett took the snap from center and, with the rush on by Alisal’s defense, forced a pass. It was picked off and Alisal ran out the game clock for the victory.
“It’s almost like we’re trying too hard,” said Webb. “We want the win so bad that we’re forcing plays that aren’t there.”
While Catrett’s off-the-mark pass cost his team the game, if it weren’t for his solid play throughout the contest, Live Oak would have never been in a position to win down the stretch.
Catrett was 18 for 30 for 267 yards and a touchdown.
“He played well,” said Webb of his starting quarterback.
And so did the entire Acorns offense.
Live Oak racked up 485 yards of total offense and had 82 offensive plays.
“That ought to translate to 40 points,” said Webb. “It was frustrating because we controlled the game but kept giving up the big-play drive. You’ve got to give them (Alisal) credit though. They had a real legitimate quarterback and they were big-one of the biggest teams we’ve played.”
Alisal is now 3-2 on the year.
In the first quarter, the Acorns jumped out on top when Mike Wolfe scored on a 15-yard run. For the night, Wolfe had 69 rushing yards to lead the team.
Despite the solid running attack of Acorn backs Wolfe and Daniel Salinas, the Acorns were dealt a big blow to their running game Friday night.
Keith Cooke, who leads the team with 193 rushing yards, sprained his ankle on the second play from scrimmage and will miss tonight’s game at Hollister.
“It’s hard to replace anybody who goes down,” said Webb. “But Keith did some things real well and he will be missed this week, no doubt about it.”
With the score tied at 7-7 at halftime, the Acorns came out of the locker room fired up and ready to go in the second half.
In the third quarter, Live Oak built up a commanding 20-7 lead after Steven Conner scored on a 61-yard screen-pass play and Salinas punched one into the end zone from close range.
Later in the quarter, Alisal cut the score to 20-14. And when they found the end zone early on in the fourth quarter, it would be enough for the win.
“It’s tough,” said Webb. “We know we’re good but whatever we do, it doesn’t seem to be enough right now.”
