Noah Taylor has done it all for Sobrato this season as the Morgan Hill school kept pace near the top of the Blossom Valley Athletic League Santa Teresa-Valley Division standings.
Saturday was no different.
In a must-win game for his team against Leigh, the senior was his usual productive self on the ground, rushing for 250 yards and two touchdowns.
But it was his defense as a middle linebacker that lifted the Bulldogs to a 13-6 victory on Sobrato’s senior day at Live Oak, which played host to the game because of field issues at Sobrato.
Taylor finished with some 20 tackles as the Bulldogs held Leigh to 21 points below its scoring average in three previous league games.
Sobrato took a 7-0 lead two minutes into the second quarter on Taylor’s 8-yard run.
Leigh (6-3, 3-1) closed to within 7-6 at halftime when Shayan Shariat charged across the goal line from 1 yard out. The extra point was no good.
Taylor’s 52-yard run with four minutes to go in the third quarter stretched the advantage to 13-6. Sobrato missed the extra point.
With another big rushing day, Taylor increased his season total to 2,363 yards, ranking him among the national leaders, according to MaxPreps.
“It’s been remarkable,” Sobrato coach Joel Rueda said. “Every time he touches the ball, you expect something big to happen. It’s like when Steph Curry shoots a 3, you expect it to go in every time. He’s that kind of player for us.”
Rueda added, “I don’t want to sell any one of the offensive linemen that block for him short. They really make it easy for me and him to have the success that we’ve had in terms of the wins and his stats.”
Sobrato (6-3, 3-1) moved into a three-way tie for first place with Leigh and Westmont. The Bulldogs can clinch a share of the division title and a spot in the Central Coast Section playoffs with a win Friday at Overfelt.
— Darren Sabedra
Sacred Heart Prep 50, Mountain View 17
SHP, playing at home in Atherton, took charge early as Ravu Savali scored on a 71-yard run and Jack Gurtner caught a two-point pass from Jack Scully to make it 8-0. The Gators widened the margin to 15-0 later in the quarter on Jack Stevens’ 35-yard run. Savali’s 2-yard run made it 22-3 in the second quarter and Stevens’ 19-yard run late in the half made it 29-3 at halftime. Stevens finished with 95 yards and three TDs in seven carries. He also recovered a fumble as the Gators improved to 5-4 overall and 3-2 in the PAL Bay Division. For Mountain View, Alex Pelkofer scored on a 10-yard run and Lex Silver scored on an 81-yard reception from Vilami Sekona. The Spartans fell to 3-6, 0-5. — Darren Sabedra
Piedmont 52, American 30
The Highlanders moved into a first-place tie with Kennedy-Fremont in the MVAL/WACC Shoreline with their victory over American. Piedmont, which played only four varsity games last season and had to forfeit two others, is 6-3 overall and has won four of five in league play. Junior WR Sam Shelby led the Highlanders against American, returning a punt for a touchdown and accumulating over 150 yards of total offense, according to coach Jordan Seiden. Quarterback Markos Lagios rushed for a touchdown, and threw four touchdowns. Brandon Dicke, Dash Worthen and Cash Elmquist were on the receiving end of those passes. The Highlanders play at Newark Memorial next Friday. N-M is a game back in the Shoreline standings after losing to Arroyo 13-6 on Saturday. American fell to 0-9 on the season. – Mike Lefkow
