First-place Oak Grove earned yet another BVAL-Mount Hamilton Division victory, 49-20, against the Sobrato Bulldogs, Friday night in San Jose. Oak Grove’s record improves to 9-0 overall, and 6-0 in the BVAL, while Sobrato’s record drops to 6-3, 4-2.
Although the Bulldogs held a lead in the first quarter, Oak Grove’s offense, headed by backup quarterback Ray Cruz and running backs Nick Bernardo and Chidobe Awuzie, was able to take charge the rest of the game.
"I felt good about our guys and what we did tonight,” Oak Grove coach Jay Braun said. “I’m proud of our offense, and where our kids responded on homecoming. Sobrato came out here really strong, but only one team can (win). We just let them know that Oak Grove is the team to beat.”
Although junior quarterback Ray Cruz only completed 1-of-4 passes for 5 yards, he was able to engineer the offense effectively. Chidobe Awuzie ran for 203 yards and three touchdowns in just 13 carries, using cutbacks and his speed to fly past the Sobrato defense.
“We knew exactly what they were going to do,” said Sobrato coach Nick Borello. “They just kept giving the ball to (Awuzie).”
Next up was Eagles senior running back Nick Bernardo, who promised Mrs. Randolph, the team mom, four touchdowns for her birthday. Although he was only able to score three times, Bernardo did break the 200-yard barrier, rushing for 201 yards on 19 carries.
“Offensively, we need to work consistency, but our guys worked hard,” said Braun. “[Awuzie] and [Bernardo] make my job easy. That helps out a lot. I’m proud of them on homecoming, and I’m happy for the seniors.”
The Sobrato offense was also able to make big plays, although the outcome wasn’t what the Bulldogs hoped for. Senior quarterback Michael Bocksnick completed 3-of-9 passes for 71 yards, while he also ran the ball 11 times for 41 yards. The Bulldogs rushing offense was also strong, led by junior running back Calvin Tipton, who ran for 127 yards on 10 carries and caught two passes for 62 yards.
“We were in position to make plays that we expected to be in position for,” Borello said. “When the time came to make the plays, we just couldn’t make them.”
Early in the first quarter, after a Sobrato 3-and-out, the ball was pitched to the unaware Awuzie, resulting in a fumble that Bulldog Tipton was able to recover. He was then able to run the ball 21 yards for the first touchdown of the night. Sobrato led 7-0.
“We had to take care of some internal issues,” Braun said. “The botched play down there where we pitched it was supposed to be a handoff. Chidobe wasn’t ready, so we expected the result.”
After Oak Grove recovered a fumble from Sobrato’s Isaiah Hardy, Awuzie ran 44 yards, zig-zagging through the defense. With 1:22 left in the quarter, Bernardo finished the drive with an eight-yard run straight through the defensive line to even the score, 7-7.
However, 12 seconds later, Tipton returned the kickoff 85 yards to the end zone to give Sobrato a 14-7 lead.
“We still have work to do on our special teams,” Braun said. “Our kickoff team has been an issue all year, so we are still trying to work on that.”
In the second quarter, Awuzie scored his second touchdown of the night with a 15-yard run down the right side of the field, while Bernardo, with 2:54 left in the half, scored his second touchdown with an eight-yard run, bringing the score to 21-14 for the Eagles.
The third quarter was dominated, once again, by the Oak Grove offense. After 11 plays in a march taking 5 1/2 minutes, Awuzie was able to take a handoff moving left, cut back to the right and ramble 33 yards to the end zone, making it 28-14.
“I just created what I could,” said Awuzie. “They were stringing out the fly fakes and the wide plays, so I came back on a cutback and it was an open field. I probably wouldn’t be able to do a lot of things that I do without my speed.”
With 1:28 left in the quarter, Sobrato’s Bocksnick ran 12 yards for the third and final Bulldogs touchdown, although Awuzie, competent in almost all positions, was able to block the extra point attempt. Sobrato never got any closer.
Peering ahead, Braun is upbeat: "We control our destiny. Our league is tough, but we feel that we’re our biggest opponent. We have bigger things to look at than just winning league. That’s just one of the steps along the way. We know we need to play better each week because we’re going to the playoffs, and we have to be playing our best going in.”
Oak Grove hosts Leland Friday night in a game that will decide the BVAL-MH championship. Sobrato concludes the regular season with a trip to Piedmont Hills on Saturday.
