Live Oak hosts Sobrato at 7 p.m. at Live Oak High School.
MORGAN HILL -- It's El Toro Jam week, and the Live Oak boy's basketball team isn't getting any love; not in the classroom, on campus or at home.
The Acorns host Wednesday's season opener with crosstown rival Sobrato in Live Oak Gym at 7 p.m., and are hoping to silence their critics.
"Everyone talks down to us about Sobrato," Acorns guard Michael Schreiber said Tuesday after school. "You could ask anyone over at that bench over there, 'Who do you thinks going to win?' They'll probably say Sobrato.
"My history teacher said that, too."
It's even worse for Live Oak's Cody Gallizioli.
"Everyone's been busting me all week saying, 'You guys are going to get smashed,' " the junior swingman said. "My parents, man, they said the same thing!"
Acorns center David Beckum has sympathized. Live Oak finished 2-22 overall and 1-13 in league a year ago.
"There's no motivation from anyone about basketball here," said Beckum, a 6-foot-3 junior. "We have the talent to change that."
The Acorns are also hoping to end the program's championship drought -- now at 20 seasons and counting. Live Oak hasn't won a league title in boy's basketball since 1987-88. The current players weren't alive yet.
Acorns first-year coach Vince Pacheco is hoping to turn things around quickly. A victory over Sobrato in the Nut House would definitely help.
"It's going to be an exciting night," said Pacheco, whose team is playing in the Blossom Valley Athletic League West Valley Division. "I can't wait."
Across town, the feelings are similar.
Sobrato has been looking forward to Wednesday's game since the end of last season. The Acorns and Bulldogs did not play in 2007-08.
"I've known about it since our last game," junior forward Charley Bynum said. "The actual date of the game, I've known about that since summer. I've kept it in the back of my head."
Like the Acorns, Sobrato has lofty goals for this season, including a first-place finish in the Santa Teresa Division.
"Not only would it be cool to beat Live Oak," Bynum began, "but it also sets the tone. We expect big things this year. Regardless of who you're playing the first game, it's a huge game."
Beyond Wednesday's game, the Bulldogs are amped just to be back on the hardwood. They missed the section playoffs last year after finishing 9-17, 4-10 in the Mount Hamilton Division. Sobrato's last game was a 60-36 loss to Pioneer on Feb. 15.
"We're excited to be playing basketball again," senior guard Rauley Cambra said. "We know that Live Oak is our rival. We have the basketball program like they do with football. We know this is our sport. We want to win badly. We're all pumped for it."
The all-time series between the Morgan Hill programs is kind of hazy. In varsity play, it's 2-1 Acorns. But Bulldogs fifth-year coach Lawrence Crawford says it's even. Crawford has been with Sobrato since the school opened in 2003.
"In our first game, we didn't have a varsity team. But our JVs beat theirs," Crawford said with a laugh. "So I still say it's 2-2."
The Acorns and Bulldogs will meet again this year in a late-December tournament at Sobrato.
"It's an exciting year for this rivalry in basketball," Crawford said before speaking on behalf of both teams. "We want a fun, clean game this week. And we want everyone to be there."
Scott J. Adams Scott J. Adams covers Morgan Hill sports for South Valley Newspapers. Send him an email or call him at 779-4106.
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