High school football: Why Sobrato’s senior day moved to rival Live Oak

Sobrato’s BVAL Santa Teresa-Valley Division game on Saturday against Leigh will be played at a rival school

Sobrato is in contention for the division title. It plays at home against division leader Leigh on Saturday.

Sobrato’s senior year has arrived.

However, the Morgan Hill school’s home game will not be played as scheduled. Because Sobrato’s natural grass field is unsafe for play, it has been relocated to crosstown rival Live Oak.

Sobrato coach Joel Rueda told the Bay Area News Group on Friday that there are too many potholes.

The poor field condition and subsequent move have broken the hearts of the Sobrato community, which had hoped to celebrate the school’s special senior class on its campus.

According to MaxPreps stats, senior running back Noah Taylor ranks 10th nationally in rushing yards this season with 2,113.

“We have a pretty foundational group of seniors,” said Rueda, a 2010 Sobrato graduate. “It’s unfortunate.”

Saturday’s game is set to begin at 3:30 p.m.

According to Rueda, the Sobrato field has been an issue for several years, but it has gotten worse this fall.

“Some of the grass has died and it does not look like it’s in good shape,” he said. “There are trenches that run parallel with the yard line that run like two inches deep because of the piping underneath.”

If Sobrato makes the Central Coast Section playoffs and hosts a game, Rueda and the school community are hoping that the field can be repaired so that the team can play on campus.

“There is a group that got together last night,” Rueda told reporters. “They’re not pleased with how things turned out with the last home game being moved.” They inquired about the possibility of a home game if you make the playoffs. ‘There are a few projections,’ I say. Depending on how the next two games go, two of them have us hosting a playoff game.’

“They’re dead set on having that field ready in two weeks, just in case.” Will it take place? “I’m not certain.”

When Rueda was a Sobrato player, the school’s home games were held at Live Oak, the older of the two Morgan Hill public schools. The field at Live Oak is lit and has synthetic turf.

However, Sobrato has long since relocated its games to its own field, which lacks lighting. Saturday afternoons are reserved for the team’s home games.

Sobrato has turned the situation to his advantage, according to Rueda.

“There are some private schools that play Saturday during the day, but not many public schools do,” he said. “We’re one of the only schools in the CCS that has a grass field still.”

Sobrato’s last home game was on Oct. 7 against Westmont, the team’s fourth in a five-week span.

Rueda stated that the field has deteriorated since the Westmont game.

“We went out there for a pregame run-through a week and a half ago,” he told reporters. “I didn’t even have the confidence to have our kids do a field run-through.”

“We drove back to our muddy practice field just for that.” We have a good group that can win our next two games, compete for the league championship, and possibly make the playoffs. I don’t want to risk injury on a practice run.”

Leigh leads the Blossom Valley Athletic League Santa Teresa-Valley Division by one game over Westmont and Sobrato with two games remaining.

The top two teams in each division are automatically qualified for the CCS playoffs.