Dairy Bowl set to kick off in Galt

It’s Dairy Bowl time. That hasn’t happened in April before.

But the odd time of year aside, it’s a big game for Galt and Liberty Ranch, and one of them will walk away from the game with their first win of this short season tonight.

“It’s the one,” said Galt coach Tim Cobleigh. “If we were going to get one football game this season, this would be the one.”

Cobleigh’s Warriors are 0-2, coming off a 21-8 loss to Rio Linda, which has been a Sacramento-area powerhouse in recent years. Galt was originally scheduled to play Rosemont, but Rosemont came up with a positive COVID-19 test, and Galt had to scramble for an opponent.

Liberty Ranch is 0-3, the most recent a 177 loss to El Dorado on Friday.

“It’s always a big game,” Liberty Ranch coach Anthony Linebaugh said. “The names and faces change, but it’s a tradition at both schools. The seniors’ motto is ‘a year like no other,’ and it has been. There’s been so many ups and downs.”

Both schools had a short week to prepare for tonight’s game, with Galt a day shorter due to Saturday’s game.

“With it being a short week, we tried to focus on the fundamentals and the basics, polish up everything we’ve been doing,” Cobleigh said. “With having no scrimmage, it’s been kind of difficult to get that competition in there, so we kept busy, and did the good stuff.”

Since Liberty Ranch began varsity play in 2010, the Hawks hold a 9-1 record over the Warriors. Galt’s lone win in the rivalry came that first year a 50-14 victory, and Liberty Ranch won the next nine.

In the latest installment, the Hawks edged the Warriors 35-28 in 2019.

Despite the combined 0-5 record this spring, neither coach expects the game to lack intensity.

“I tell you what, it’s odd because it’s such a short season, and you’re right, both teams expected to be more successful by now,” Linebaugh said. “But you’re going to see two teams with maximum effort tomorrow. A game like this gets magnified — even though the crowd’s going to be a little smaller, there’s still a lot of energy, and the players need to harness that and turn it into a positive.”