Sobrato rallied in the final minutes for a 48-44 victory against Gilroy, with JoJo Nunn's 4-yard scoring reception from Michael Bocksnick with fewer than 40 seconds left providing the winning points.
The play followed a goal-line stand by the Bulldogs and capped off a 99-yard Sobrato scoring drive. Isaiah Hardy made the big play on the stopper effort, recovering a fumble at the 1-yard line.
Gilroy scored first in this first meeting between the schools. But Sobrato bounced back to lead 12-8 by the end of the first quarter and 26-23 at halftime.
However the Mustangs rallied valiantly, surging to a 44-34 lead by the end of the third quarter, setting the stage for an exciting fourth quarter.
“The boys have a good season ahead of them, but we have a lot of work to do," Gilroy coach Brian Boyd said. "The offense played fine but the defense played poorly and they know that. We need to work on tackling.”
Gilroy running back Brandon Boyd plowed through the Bulldog defense for more than 260 yards and one touchdown.
Despite the porous defensive effort, Mustang standout Blake Porzio thinks there are better things ahead.
“This is only the tip of the iceberg," he said.
Up next for Gilroy 0-2) is Monte Vista Christian, while Sobrato takes on intra-city rival Live Oak in the Bulldogs' most highly anticipated game of the season.
Bocksnick was pleased with the victory against Gilroy, but is now looking ahead.
“The linemen worked hard (against Gilroy)," he said. "We need to execute plays and be smart and work hard during the week. We need to go to the next game with a clean slate and forget about this win.”
Asked to handicap the Bulldogs' rivalry game, Boyd said: “There will be two very good teams. It’s going to be a great game, it’s going to be a close game, and it’s going to be a fight down to the end.”
