Morgan Hill native Jeff Ulbrich announced in November he plans to retire from professional football at the end of this season. (PHOTO BY LORA SCHRAFT.)
They were some of the stories Morgan Hill needed in 2009; the ones we remember most; the ones that helped carry us through a year most would rather forget.
Therein lies the beauty of sports. They are always there for us.
Their effects go beyond baselines, backboards, end zones and finish lines. They inspire us. They bring us together; they bring us back. They drive us apart; they drive us to tears.
They can change the way you think in one season, one tournament, one game, one half, one period, one round, one second. They can change everything.
In the end, it is just a game. But we remember it as much more.
In the same year the U.S. slogged through its biggest recession since the Great Depression, an up-and-coming golf resort, several prep athletes and a group of 12-year-old baseball players reminded us that anything is possible.
Those are some of the stories the Morgan Hill Times staff has selected as the top local sports stories of 2009.
1. MHPB All-Stars reach Bronco World Series
Known as the Thrill during club play, the group of Morgan Hill Pony Baseball wunderkinds that played under manager Dave Affourtit and coaches Mike Zanotto and Darryl Hughes dominated summer headlines with their historic run to the Bronco finals tournament in Monterey.
They exorcised some demons at the same time. The team flirted with reaching a World Series in previous years, while racking up countless wins and tournament banners. The local all-stars finally broke into Pony Baseball's biggest stage July 30, beating mighty Bel Passi of Modesto 5-2 in the California Regional championship round in PAL Stadium.
"The feeling is a mixture of relief and fulfillment; we finally got the monkey off our backs," Affourtit said afterward.
Morgan Hill won two of its four pool-play games in the World Series played in Monterey, bowing out with an 8-2 loss to Tai-Yuan Elementary School of Taipei, Taiwan.
"It was a special group of kids," said Zanotto, whose team compiled a 23-3 summer record, including 22 consecutive wins. "I think that's something that will sink in more over time as they are compared to other teams from Morgan Hill."
2. Wolfsmith wins CCS
When asked to list his goals before the 2009 track and field season, Morgan Hill's most accomplished distance runner started with three letters.
Because it was typically staged close to home in Gilroy, the Central Coast Section Finals meant more to Lance Wolfsmith than any other meet, even state. The Sobrato standout, who now runs for the Air Force Academy, claimed his most cherished prize May 29, winning the 3,200-meter CCS title in nine minutes, 7.1 seconds -- the fastest two-mile time in the section -- under the lights at Garcia-Elder Sports Complex.
Wolfsmith collapsed afterward.
"I've never been so happy," he said.
3. Bulldogs play for CCS baseball title
Similar to 2008, the Sobrato baseball team put together another late-season charge with an atypical finish last spring.
The Bulldogs were one victory away from ordering their CCS championship rings after outlasting Willow Glen, 2-1, in a Division II semifinal played May 28 in San Jose Municipal Stadium. Their Cinderella season ended with a 4-1 loss to top-seeded Los Gatos in the title game.
It wasn't a bad finish for the fifth-year program, which became Sobrato's first team to play for a section crown.
Coached by Shorty Gutierrez, the No. 2 Bulldogs (20-14 overall), runners-up in the Mount Hamilton Division, completed their second straight 20-win season.
4. First El Toro Bowl triumph for Sobrato
The Bulldogs' winningest football season (8-3) began with a victory their student body is still savoring.
Patrick Bacciarelli and Chris Bradley combined for four touchdowns, and the Sobrato defense produced two turnovers that helped the Bulldogs secure a convincing first win over Live Oak, 27-6, in El Toro Bowl III, played before a packed crowd Sept. 25 at Richert Field.
5. CordeValle courts PGA event
Come October, the best golfers in the world will tee off at CordeValle.
San Martin's 10-year-old championship course in November was named the new host of the Frys.com Open, a PGA Tour event that was previously held in Scottsdale, Ariz. Some experts estimated the tournament could create up to $20 million in revenues.
"There's so much excitement right now. It's incredible," Travis Skeesick, CordeValle's director of golf, said.
6. LO football rallies to playoff berth
The Acorns responded to a humbling 0-4 start by winning four of their final seven Mount Hamilton games to reach CCS and quiet their critics.
They even gave top-seeded Terra Nova all it could handle in the first round of the Division III playoffs. Live Oak built a three-touchdown lead only to fall 28-24.
7. Morgan Hill's Ulbrich retiring at end of season
In a December, San Francisco 49ers linebacker Jeff Ulbrich said he will retire at the end of this season.
The 32-year-old Morgan Hill native had mulled the decision since early October, after he suffered a concussion during San Francisco's 35-0 win over the St. Louis Rams. Ulbrich, a former standout at Live Oak High, has been concussed several times during his 10-year career spent entirely with the 49ers.
8. Acorns' playoff streak ends at 17
Every year has its sad stories. This is not one of them.
Three seasons short of two decades -- that's how many consecutive trips the Live Oak baseball team made sectionals prior to this past spring, when the Acorns (15-15) missed the cut by the narrowest of margins.
All good things must come to a close. This postseason streak ended in the best way for Live Oak baseball, which won its first CCS championship in 2008.
9. Paolucci returns
Live Oak boys basketball fans celebrated the second coming of Brett Paolucci like the Los Angeles faithful did for Phil Jackson's return to the Lakers in 2005.
Paolucci was rehired in March to coach a team that won nine games since his departure from the program in 2007. During his previous stop from 1999-07, Paolucci guided the Acorns to five straight CCS playoff berths and back-to-back 20-win seasons.
"My thing is just to try to get stability back into the program," he said. "Those kids produce the good things."
At 3-4 going into last week, Live Oak has surpassed its win total from last year.
10. Lady Bulldogs return to second round of CCS
Playing in a tougher league with injuries and a new coach didn't slow the Sobrato girls basketball team last winter.
Natalie Bobuk's team navigated through Mount Hamilton play on the way to making an eyebrow-raising return trip to the second round of CCS.
The No. 13-seeded Lady Bulldogs opened the postseason with a 64-59 upset win over No. 12 Westmoor in Daly City.
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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