SPORTS

Leland football picks up first win of the year with 33-7 win over Homestead

Leland offense racks up 289 yards rushing and 4 TDs;
Tenner picks up first coaching win against alma mater

By Diego Abeloos
Sports Writer

The third time proved to be the charm as the Leland Chargers routed Homestead 33-7 at Fremont High to earn their first win of the season on Sept. 17.

Leland’s Adam Ondi returns an interception for a 90-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter of a 33-7 win over Homestead on Sept. 17. Ondi also contributed on offense, gaining 87 yards on the ground, including a 46-yard touchdown run in the first half. Photo courtesy www.mikejanes.com

The Chargers (1-2) used their feet to keep the ball moving on Saturday night, generating a combined total of 289 yards rushing and four touchdowns. Senior fullback Nick Mortensen led the way with 97 yards rushing and two touchdowns, while junior running back Lance Gemette totaled 73 yards rushing and a touchdown. Junior running back Adam Ondi also got into the act, carrying the ball eight times for 87 yards and a touchdown, while also returning an interception 90 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

“The last couple of weeks I’ve said that as soon as we stopped making mistakes—fumbles and missed tackles—we’d win a game,” Leland Head Coach Jason Tenner said. “We came out tonight and we tackled, forced fumbles, we didn’t have any turnovers and we won 33-7 … We were in control of the game from the outset. They played their butts off and did an excellent job. I’m proud of our kids.”

The win was the first in Tenner’s head coaching career at Leland, and it came against his old alma mater. Tenner, a 1995 graduate of Homestead, said the win against his old school proved to be especially satisfying because it wouldn’t hire him as a teacher nearly five years ago.

“It feels good,” Tenner said of the win against his old high school. “I graduated from Homestead in ’95 and you can print it if you want, but they wouldn’t hire me as a teacher. Actually, I coached there … and I wanted to teach there because it was my old high school, but they wouldn’t hire me. Leland hired me and I have a new home.”

The Chargers came out of the gates quickly on offense, getting a 74-yard run from Mortensen on the first play from scrimmage to set the offense up at the Homestead 1. On the next play, Mortensen’s number was called again as he rumbled into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown run, giving Leland a 7-0 lead with 9:42 left in the first quarter.

Less than a minute into the second quarter, the Chargers were on the board again with a big run from one of their backs. On second and 10 just inside Homestead territory, Ondi took a handoff and ran the ball 46 yards for a touchdown with 11:09 left in the second quarter, giving Leland a 13-0 lead.

Following the game, Leland quarterback Kyle Walker was at a loss trying to explain the team’s fast start on offense against Homestead.

“Maybe it was the lights, I don’t know what it was, but we just came out and on the first play of the game, Mortensen goes 74 yards down the sideline,” Walker said. “I don’t know, we were just way more focused before the game on the bus. I don’t know what it was, but we came out ready to play tonight.”

The Chargers scored a third time less than four minutes later, as the defense blocked a Homestead punt, setting the offense on the Homestead 16. The offense wasted little time in finding the end zone, getting 3-yard runs from Steven Ruel and Mortensen before Gemette ran the ball 10 yards on third and 4 for another Leland touchdown with 7:43 left. After a run from Mortensen for a two-point conversion, the Chargers found themselves with a 21-0 lead.

Tenner said the win was also attributable to the team’s ability to maintain good chemistry through two tough losses in the previous weeks to open the season.

“I had a feeling when I woke up this morning,” Tenner said of the team’s attitude coming into the game. “We had breakfast together as a team, got together early and we showed our family unity today … we came out together and I’m proud of them. They did a good job.”

Meanwhile, the Leland defense did its job, holding the Homestead offense scoreless in the first half. Homestead’s best opportunity to score came in the first quarter, when the offense drove the ball to the Leland 27. But on first and 10, Mustang quarterback Gareth Pack fumbled the snap from center with Leland recovering the ball for a turnover. For the remainder of the first half, the Leland defense held the Mustangs at bay by not allowing the offense any closer than the Leland 39.

“It’s because of the coaches,” Mortensen said of the defense’s effort against Homestead. “They set up a great defense and made some adjustments.”

Just before the close of the first half, the Leland offense went to work one more time, putting together a seven-play, 73-yard drive that ended with a 3-yard touchdown run from Mortensen with 3:17 left for a 27-0 lead.

After a scoreless third quarter, the Chargers were on the board once more when Ondi intercepted a Pack pass at the Leland 10 and returned it 90 yards for a touchdown with 9:35 left in the game, padding Leland’s lead to 33-0.

The Mustangs finally managed to get on the board with 4:20 left in the game when running back Shamir Ross finished a 14-play, 68-yard drive with a 6-yard touchdown to put the final score at 33-7.

Tenner said the team’s two losses to open the year have been a learning experience for a team that has a mix of senior leadership and inexperienced underclassmen. The coach added that he hopes his team has turned a corner following the lopsided win against Homestead.

“I think we’re the same animal, but we just grew up a bit,” Tenner said. “ … It showed what kind of football we’re capable of playing. I think we sent a message to our league. We’re not going to roll over.”

Sports Briefs

Central Valley Edge holds youth soccer tryouts
CV Edge, a Class 3/U-17 girls’ soccer team, is offering Monday/Wednesday tryouts to girls born after 7/31/88 for the fall season for all positions. Contact Patty Rashid (408) 267-2740 or Ary Afsari at (408) 507-7008 for more information.

South Valley Lacrosse Chiefs offers free clinic Oct. 15; spring league registration now open
South Valley Lacrosse Chiefs are offering a free clinic for kids in grades three through eight on Oct.15 from 10 a.m. to noon at Kirk Park in San Jose. 

The Chiefs are adding a seventh/eighth grade team in spring, 2005. The free clinic gives newcomers a chance to try the sport before they purchase equipment (loaner sticks available on first-come, first-served basis). So bring a friend and come have some fun with lacrosse.

For those children interested in learning more about lacrosse, SVLC will be offering an introductory course for school age kids (second grade through eighth). Fee is $35 for all three dates, Oct 8, 22 and 29 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. (equipment will be provided).

Go to www.svlax.com for all details.

All interested lacrosse players: online registration for spring league continues through Nov. 30.  See www.svlax.com and contact joy.bender@prodigy.net with questions.

Almaden Metro holds soccer tryouts
Almaden Metro Class 3, U-17 boys, is holding tryouts for fall season most Sundays. Date of birth after 7/31/88. Contact Jeff Earl at (408) 268-5125 or jesvo11@yahoo.com

Strikkers softball tryouts for fall
16U Strikkers fall team tryouts are on Sept. 21 and 28 at Pioneer High School. Pitchers/catchers, 9 a.m.; position players, 10:30 a.m. Contact Ernie Garcia (408) 281-7855 for more information.

10U, 12U, 14U Strikkers fall team tryouts are Sept. 28 at Pioneer High School. Pitchers/catchers, 12:30 p.m.; position players, 2 p.m. Contact Ernie Garcia (408) 281-7855 for more information.

For more information about the Strikkers, go to www.strikkers.org.

Almaden National Junior Basketball league signups
Almaden National Junior Basketball League signups are currently available online at www.almadennjb.homestead. com/ for boys and girls third through eighth grade. In-person signups are Sept. 21, 6–8 p.m., at Amato’s Pizza, 6081 Meridian Ave, 95120. For more information call Ken Keiser at 592-4190 or email: hoppekeiz@aol.com.

High School Sports Schedule

Leland High School
Friday – Girls’ tennis vs. St. Francis at Cuesta Park in Mountain View, 3 p.m.
Friday – Varsity girls’ water polo at Menlo Tournament, all day

Saturday – Varsity girls’ water polo at Menlo Tournament, all day
Saturday – Varsity boys’ water polo at Leland Tournament, all day

Tuesday – Girls’ tennis at Pioneer, 3:15 p.m.
Tuesday – Varsity field hockey vs. Cupertino, 3 p.m.
Tuesday – JV field hockey vs. Cupertino, 4:30 p.m.

Wednesday – Varsity girls’ volleyball vs. Overfelt, 6 p.m.
Wednesday – JV girls’ volleyball vs. Overfelt, 5 p.m.

Thursday – Varsity field hockey at Live Oak, 3 p.m.
Thursday – JV field hockey at Live Oak, 4:30 p.m.

Wednesday – Varsity girls’ water polo at Independence, 6 p.m.
Wednesday – JV girls’ water polo at Independence, 7 p.m.
Wednesday – Varsity boys’ water polo vs. Mt. Pleasant at Lincoln, 5 p.m.
Wednesday – Frosh/soph boys’ water polo vs. Mt. Pleasant at Lincoln, 4 p.m.

Thursday – Cross country vs. Piedmont Hills and Leigh at Montgomery Hill, 3:30 p.m.

Pioneer High School
Tuesday – Varsity girls’ volleyball at San Jose High Academy, 5 p.m.
Tuesday – JV girls’ volleyball at San Jose High Academy, 3:30 p.m.
Tuesday – Girls tennis vs. Leland, 3:15 p.m.

Wednesday – Girls’ water polo vs. Willow Glen at Lincoln, 6 p.m.
Wednesday – JV girls’ volleyball vs. James Lick, 3:30 p.m.
Wednesday – Cross country vs. Del Mar at Montgomery Hill, 3:30 p.m.

Thursday – Girls’ tennis at Oak Grove, 3:15 p.m.
Thursday – Varsity girls’ volleyball at Del Mar, 5 p.m.
Thursday – JV girls’ volleyball at Del Mar, 3:30 p.m.


Pioneer Athletics: http://www.phsathletics.com
Leland Athletics: http://www.lelandathletics.com
Blossom Valley Athletic League: http://www.bval.org

Mustangs trounce Saratoga 49-19 at home

Souza and Barnes combine for four rushing TDs; Pioneer remains perfect at 3-0

By Ken Lotich
Times Intern

The Pioneer football team remains undefeated with a 49-19 thrashing of Saratoga on Sept. 17. The Mustangs stand at 3-0 on the season and will start league play on Oct. 1 against Independence.

Pioneer running back Shaun Souza (5), shown here in a game earlier this season, scored two touchdowns and ran for 160 yards in a 49-19 victory over Saratoga on Sept. 17. The Mustangs improved to 3-0 on the season with the win and will face Independence on Oct.1 in the team’s first Mt. Hamilton Division match-up of the season. Photo by Kevin Jones of www.johub.com

Pioneer kept the ball grounded in the last weekend’s game—quarterback Chris Foley went to the air only three times—but completed every pass. The Mustangs ran the ball 45 times for 309 yards.

“That’s the great thing about Foley—he doesn’t mind handing it off,” Pioneer Head Coach Mark Krail said after the game. “He kept the ball moving.”

Despite the blowout, Foley stayed in the game until the final minutes of the fourth quarter.

While Foley maintained a perfect completion ratio, kicker Kyle Burchfiel did the same, hitting all seven of his extra points.

The Mustangs hit blackjack in each quarter of the first half, blanking the Falcons 42-0 going into halftime. Senior running backs Shaun Souza and Jerry Barnes led the Mustangs with two touchdowns each. Souza carried the ball 12 times for 160 yards, while Barnes ran for 35 yards on seven carries. Souza also caught a pass for 12 yards.

Running backs Nick D’Antonio and Steven Lopes also contributed with a touchdown each.

Field position never seemed to be a problem for the Mustangs, with J.J. Goulden returning three punts for 102 yards.

Eric Sanchez fulfilled every lineman’s dream, scoring a touchdown after picking up a loose ball on a Mustangs’ second and 8 with 5:36 left in the first quarter, which put the Mustangs up 14-0.

Pioneer would slow up in the second half. Saratoga racked up all of its 19 points in this half, but the effort would come too late.

“The whole offense played pretty good today,” Krail said. “We were able to execute from both sides of the ball.”
Krail also recognized the efforts of the offensive line, which consists of all juniors and a sophomore.

“The (offensive line) has been one of our biggest challenges coming into the season,” Krail said. “So far, they’ve gotten it done.”

Defensively, linebackers Chris Reed, Jesse Herrera and C.J. Miller had four tackles apiece. Defensive lineman Eddie Hsieh had three sacks.

The Pioneer defense limited the Falcons to 238 yards on the game. The Falcons gained eight first downs, while the Mustangs had 14.

Linebacker Scott Lowry had an interception in the final minutes of the game to seal the victory for the Mustangs.

“I’m really proud of the defense,” Krail said. “I’ll sing their praises today.”

Pioneer has a bye this weekend before taking on Independence High School at home on Oct.1 at 1:30 p.m.
Krail said the battle against Independence will be a challenge but knows his team is up to it.

“(Independence) has a lot of great athletes,” Krail said. “We know they’ll throw the ball a lot, and we’ll try our best to match them athletically.”

TRYING TO STAY PERFECT

The Leland girls’ tennis team is off to a fast start in the 2005 season with a 4-0 record, including a Mt. Hamilton Division play win over Oak Grove on Sept. 8.

Leland’s Roxy Pourmirzaie

First year Head Coach Pam Headley said she’s been particularly impressed with the way her team has been winning. Coming into a Sept. 16 match-up against Aptos, the Chargers hadn’t lost a match yet, winning all of their three previous contests by shutting out their opponents. The Chargers kept their streak of winning every match going against the Aptos Mariners, winning 7-0.

“I’m very happy with it,” Headley said of the team’s start. “The girls have worked very hard to get to this point. It’s nice to see … I think the thing I’m more impressed with is that the girls have been able to come out and play some not-so-strong teams and stay focused and work through their matches.”

Headley said she’s expecting big things out of her No.1 singles player, Roxy Pourmirzaie (pictured serving), a junior. Pourmirzaie played a prominent role on last year’s team as well in singles play, which saw the Chargers finish the season with a 9-6 overall record and an 8-4 record in Mt. Hamilton Division play, good for third place.

“From what I understand, her game’s improved over last year, she’s becoming a smarter player and a quicker player,” Headley said of Pourmirzaie. “She does have a reputation in the league as being one of the stronger players to beat, so that’s some added pressure for her, but she handles it really well.”

Headley is also focused on the future of the team, especially her No.2, 3 and 4 singles players, who are all freshmen. Headley said she is looking for successful seasons out of all three—Lydia Chow, Allison Hsai and Aileen Tsay—and feels they will make an impact on the league in the coming years.

“They’re all so solid; really solid fundamentals,” Headley said of the trio. “So this is a great opportunity for them, being on a strong team anyway, since we have a lot of senior support. Being on a strong team allows them to work on their mental games and put those solid basic skills to use.”

—Photo by Diego Abeloos

Double the cheers at Leland football game

Leland Junior Spirit Squad campers had a chance to show the Leland crowd what they learned this summer at halftime on Sept. 10. For many, it was also a chance to reunite with their camp instructors.

Thirty girls from Leland Junior Spirit Camp returned to the football field on Sept. 10 to help cheer on the Chargers.

The Leland Junior Spirit Camp took place this past summer at Leland High School. The camp is coordinated annually by the Leland Spirit Squad as a fund-raiser. Each child at the camp was given a football ticket, which allowed free entrance to the game and a chance to cheer during the varsity halftime. The campers were given a quick lesson before they took the field with the Leland Spirit Squad. Their cheers rang loud throughout the stadium with an enthusiastic response from the crowd. Not only were the campers excited to cheer at the game, but many were happily reunited with their camp instructors from the Leland squad.

The Leland Junior Spirit camp will be returning to the high school campus next summer. Look for sign-up information beginning in April of 2006.

Sporting 92 Metro girls soccer team takes England by storm

By Jane Lin-Li and Jenni Eisenberg
Special to the Times

An August soccer trip to England was a dream come true for a group of Almaden, Los Gatos and San Jose players from the Sporting 92 Metro team (Select U13G).

The team had the adventure of a lifetime traveling and competing throughout England in the cities of London, Chester, and Durham, returning home undefeated.

Sporting 92 Metro girls with Manchester City Academy (Metro in stripes). Back row left to right (Metro players): Kelsey Hawker, Samantha Li, Heather Rouhier, Brianne Medved (stripes hidden), Erika Eisenberg of Almaden, Alyssa Logan. Front row left to right (Metro players): Anya Koren of Almaden, Mariah Cleveland, Brianne Lopiccolo, Taylor Comeau, Carly Weiss, Taylor Kinser. Back row, second and third from left (adults): Shawn Medved, Claudio Reyna.  Back row, first from right: Eddie Lewis. Genevieve Cleveland in front of Eddie. Metro team mascot Madison Medved sitting on grass. Photo by: Norma Kinser

The Metro girls, including Erika Eisenberg and Anya Koren of Almaden, played four matches on the trip, worked with trainers from several English clubs, attended three professional games, and toured the Chelsea and Manchester City league stadiums. They also had the honorable pleasure of visits by Eddie Lewis (U.S. national and former San Jose Earthquakes player who now plays for Leeds United) and Claudio Reyna (U.S. national who now plays for Manchester City in the English Premiere League) at one of their match games. Eddie Lewis even guest coached the team.

The four match games against British girls were Manchester City Academy U14G (2-2), Rachdale U15G (1-1), Norton Stockton Ancients U13G (3-0), and Lumley Ladies FC U13G (2-0).

The girls and their coaches, Shawn Medved and Genevieve Cleveland, were awed by the abundance of beautiful soccer fields in England.

“The setting of soccer in the English countryside was inspiring. The last match we played even had an age-old castle on a distant hill,” said Medved.

A fantastic experience for these young ladies and their families begs the question: Will Brazil be next, or perhaps China?

Fifth Annual MAG Golf Classic a rousing success

By Andrea Luci
Special to the Times

The 5th Annual MAG Golf Classic Sept.15 is history, but the memories of fun and camaraderie live on. 

One hundred golfers and many volunteers enjoyed the day at Cinnabar Hills Golf Club in San Jose. There were many repeat golfers and high school classmates of Mike Gard, whose son, daughter and wife started the MAG Foundation in his honor.

The day was filled with a delicious barbecue lunch, a putting contest, 18 holes of golf, no-host cocktail reception, prime rib and chicken dinner and silent auction and raffle. There were contests at many of the holes including a Casino Game, Balloon Pop and Guess Your Drive. 

“This is the best organized golf tournament I’ve ever attended,” said one golfer.

The fall weather, along with a beautiful golf course, made it a perfect day to honor Gard, who passed away from colorectal cancer on July 18, 2000.

Many companies and individuals donated various goods and gift certificates for the raffle prizes and auction including weekend getaways, wine baskets, sports memorabilia and restaurant gift certificates. All of these people, along with the sponsors at all levels made the tournament a success. 

The amount of money raised from the tournament has yet to be tallied.

Mike Gard loved his family, the Almaden Valley community and sports. Cinnabar Hills Golf Club was the last place he golfed. He died three months after being diagnosed with colorectal cancer so in his name the Foundation is focused on making people aware of this silent disease and donates portions of the proceeds from the tournament to those who need testing and are financially unable to pay for it.

Anyone interested in sponsoring, donating or getting information regarding the 2006 MAG Golf Classic can call Jason Gard at (408) 529-9997.

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