Willow Glen, behind a team effort, edges Sobrato for league crown
SAN JOSE — Willow Glen demonstrated its own version of strength in numbers Friday, spreading the ball around to a robust cast of contributors in a 23-18 win over Sobrato that clinched the BVAL Santa Teresa-Valley Division championship.
The Rams utilized nine different ball carriers, seven different pass-catching receivers, two quarterbacks and even two non-quarterbacks who completed passes for two-point conversions in their multi-faceted offensive approach.
“We have so many different weapons,” linebacker/slot receiver Chris Amann said. “Coach uses us so smart. We have fresh bodies coming in, a lot of guys who can do great things. We just wait for our moment to come and try to make the most of it.”
And that offense controlled the line of scrimmage and time of possession to an extreme extent, running 67 plays from scrimmage compared to 22 for the visitors from Morgan Hill.
The plays from scrimmage differential in the first half was 35 for the Rams and eight for Sobrato. But that didn’t matter on the scoreboard as Sobrato led at the break 12-7 thanks to 91- and 89-yard touchdown passes from Brayden Hughes to Jacob Sorrentino.
Willow Glen stepped away from its ball-control mode of operation on its first play of the second half with a halfback pass from Steven Young to Gavin Ferraro that went 63 yards for a touchdown. Tyler Maisel passed to Lucas Favela for a two-point conversion and a 15-12 lead.
The defense forced a three-and-out and the offense proceeded to chew up clock, going 51 yards in 14 plays with Amann scoring on a 1-yard run. This time it was Gavin Holmes throwing to Favela to make it 23-12 as the third quarter came to an end.
“Once we settled down and got some things cleaned up I thought we showed our maturity,” Caballero said. “We trusted in each other and did the things that made us successful throughout the year.”
Brady Lennon’s 63-yard scoring burst on a draw play brought the Bulldogs within 23-18, but the two-point attempt failed. And conversions were a crucial factor in the game. Both teams scored three touchdowns. Willow Glen scored five points on conversions, Sobrato none.
After Lennon’s TD with 7:47 left, Sobrato needed a stop to get the ball back, but couldn’t come up with one. The Rams took over on their own 21 and drove all the way to the Sobrato 1, where a knee was taken to run out the clock. Aiden Akery made a couple key completions on the drive, of 26 yards to Caiden Morefield and 19 yards to Zackery Papedis. And Young, who saw time at quarterback as well as running back, completed a third-and-12 play for a 13-yard gain to Ferraro.
“Our defense did a real good job but they were just on the field too long,” Sobrato coach Joel Rueda said. “You look at some of their other scores, for the amount of time our defense was on the field the points scored are not too high.”
Willow Glen started the season 0-2 but are now on an eight-game winning streak
Sobrato went into the game tied with the Rams for first place and now finished the regular season 6-4.
“The last time the program won a league title or made it to the playoffs was 2017, so it’s been almost a decade since we’ve had success like this,” Rueda said. “I graduated from Sobrato (2010), love it here, came back to give back and to build. I think every day, every week, every year we’re getting closer to giving Sobrato the kind of football program it deserves. This one is bittersweet, but of 95-ish teams in CCS, 45 are turning in their pads on Monday and we’re not.”
Willow Glen had 174 yards rushing and 218 passing. Akery rushed for 76 yards and passed for 122. Hughes completed 4 of 8 passes for 200 yards and Lennon rushed for 92 yards for Sobrato.