Lions edge Bulldogs in heated Highway 99 rivalry

There are many rivalries that make up the Mid-Valley sporting world and among the most competitive is the annual non-league battle between Gridley and Live Oak High's boys soccer teams.

The latest chapter of the Highway 99 rivalry was played out on Friday, and although the Bulldogs had more scoring chances, the Lions' ability to finish was the difference. Live Oak jumped out to a 4-1 lead and held off a late Gridley charge to earn a 4-3 home victory.

"We didn't have a ton of scoring opportunities, but when we did, we put the ball in the net," said Live Oak coach Mike Owen. "We were pretty fortunate to do that against a good team — and Gridley is a good team."

The Bulldogs (1-2) showed they were a good team early when Erick Garcia corralled a rebound and found the back of the net just four minutes into the game to give the visitors a quick 1-0 advantage.

The lead didn't last long.

Just three minutes after the game's first goal, Live Oak junior standout Hector Cibrian found an open Tony Montes near the net for the equalizer, and just like that, the match was knotted at one goal apiece.

Cibrian wasn't finished, and just two minutes later he gave the Lions the lead for good when he took the ball on a breakaway and beat sophomore goalkeeper Antonio Montes to put the hosts up 2-1.

The score remained the same until halftime, but the tone of the game was set. While Gridley worked the ball downfield methodically only to misfire around the net, Live Oak went with the lightning attack — long passes ahead to playmakers like Cibrian and Montes for quick goals.

"They got us on the counter attack every time," Gridley coach Jesse Barajas said. "The only thing you can do as a coach is to work on finishing, but when it's not your day, it's not your day."

Live Oak added to its lead six minutes into the second half when senior forward Adauro Aceves worked his way around three Bulldogs and got the ball past Montes to make the score 3-1. Cibrian scored the Lions' final goal five minutes later when he dribbled past two defenders and then found the back of the net for the second time on the day, giving the hosts a commanding 4-1 lead.

Although they were down by three, the Bulldogs didn't give up and received goals from Juan Pureco and Cali Garcia with 10 minutes left to go to make the score 4-3.

It was too little, too late however as Lions' goalie Joel Cibrian made a couple late saves and Live Oak held on for the victory.