SPORTS

Leland’s defense outfoxes Leigh in league opener as Chargers win 40-20

Chargers’ Wellington scores twice on defense

By Ken Lotich
Staff Writer

The Leland Chargers boys’ varsity football team is 1-0 in Mt. Hamilton play after doubling up the Leigh Longhorns 40-20 on Oct. 1.

Leland’s Richard Wellington goes in for the score during the Chargers’ 40-20 win over Leigh on Oct. 1. Wellington scored twice on defense, getting one touchdown on an interception and another score on a fumble recovery. Photo courtesy www.mikejanes.com

The Chargers improved to 2-2 overall, while the Longhorns fell to 1-3 on the season and 0-1 in league.

“I’ve told my boys that nobody is going to give us respect—we have to go out there and earn it,” said Chargers’
Head Coach Jason Tenner. “We showed today what kind of football we’re capable of playing.”

Tenner said the team still has many kinks to smooth out, but he is looking forward to a successful season in his first year as coach for the Chargers. Tenner is an alumnus of Homestead High School.

Tanner gave credit to Leigh for a hard-fought contest.

“Leigh is very physical up front,” Tanner said. “I thought our guys did a good job responding to their physical nature.”

The margin in the game was decided by big plays—Leland pulled off two defensive touchdowns, as well as a score on a kickoff return.

Leland’s Richard Wellington picked off a pass and recovered a fumble, returning both for touchdowns.

“I haven’t seen anything like that in a while,” Tenner said of Wellington’s performance. “He played phenomenal today.”

While the defense pitched in some points, the offense was also busy.

Lance Gemette led the rush-heavy Leland offense with 102 yards. Adam Ondi carried the ball a dozen times for 55 yards.

Although the Chargers had command for most of the game, things didn’t go their way in the beginning.

The Longhorns drew first blood. The Chargers turned the ball over at 8:02 in the first quarter after their second series, coming up just short on a fourth and 2 at the Leigh 22-yard line.

After Leigh quarterback Austin Steacy completed a 3-yard pass to Tyler Derby, running back Daniel Franke busted through the Chargers’ defensive line on second and 7, taking the ball to the Longhorns’ 36-yard line.

A few plays later, Franke took the ball on first down for a 15-yard run, putting the Longhorns at the Chargers’ 26-yard line.

After a few more runs by Franke and running back Dylan August, Leigh scored on fourth and goal at the Chargers’ 1-yard line after running a draw play to August.

On the kickoff, Adam Ondi returned a squib kick for a 71-yard touchdown. Ondi picked up the ball on the bounce and ran it to the end zone from the Chargers’ 29-yard line.

The Chargers’ extra point was no good, putting the score at 7-6 Leigh with 3:02 left in the first quarter.

After the kickoff, the Longhorns started at their own 28-yard line. On the first play, Wellington picked off the pass and took it in for the first of his two defensive touchdowns. The Chargers were successful on the 2-point conversion, putting them up 14-7.

From there, the Chargers cruised, going up by as much as 28-7 with 7:02 left in the third quarter.

Leigh opted to go to the air often in the second half, but quarterbacks Doug Webster and Steacy, who split time in the game, combined to complete only 8-out-of-21 passes in the second half for 74 yards.

Meanwhile, Leland kept the ball grounded, effectively chewing up clock time.

“Leland outplayed us, they came out strong and played a great game,” said Leigh head coach Shawn Thomas after the game.

Despite scoring 20 points, Thomas said the squad had an overall lackluster effort, and he expects more from his team in the future.

“Every day I expect us to go out and compete like the champions we are,” Thomas said. “We can’t let one mistake snowball into others.”

Despite dropping the league opener, Thomas remains positive about winning another league championship.

“You never want to give up and say something is impossible after a league loss,” Thomas said. “We’re going to have to go back to drawing board, who knows, we’ll just have to see what happens.”

League play continues for both teams, as Leigh will play Oak Grove at Piedmont Hills on Oct. 7 at 7 p.m. Leland will play at Branham High School on Oct. 7 at 3:30 p.m.

“Every team in this league plays good football, and we play good football,” Tenner said. “It’s going to be a fight every game.”

Sports Briefs

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 our spring league continues through Nov. 30.  See www.svlax.com and contact joy.bender@prodigy.net with questions.

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

High School Sports Schedule

Leland High School
Friday – Varsity football at Branham, 3:30 p.m.

Saturday – Cross country at Serra Invitational at Crystal Springs, time TBA
Saturday – Frosh/soph boys’ water polo at St. Francis Tournament, all day
Saturday – Varsity girls’ water polo at Valley Christian Tournament, all day
Saturday – JV girls’ water polo at Menlo Tournament, all day

Tuesday – Girls’ tennis at Silver Creek, 3:15 p.m.
Tuesday – Varsity field hockey vs. Los Altos, 3 p.m.
Tuesday – JV field hockey vs. Los Altos, 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday – Varsity girls’ volleyball at Mt. Pleasant, 6 p.m.
Tuesday – JV girls’ volleyball at Mt. Pleasant, 5 p.m.

Wednesday – Varsity girls’ water polo at Lincoln, 4 p.m.
Wednesday – JV girls’ water polo at Lincoln, 3 p.m.
Wednesday – Varsity boys’ water polo vs. Santa Teresa at Independence, 4 p.m.
Wednesday – Frosh/soph boys’ water polo vs. Santa Teresa at Independence, 3 p.m.

Thursday – Girls’ tennis vs. Piedmont Hills, 3:15 p.m.
Thursday – Varsity field hockey vs. University, 3 p.m.
Thursday – JV field hockey vs. University, 4:30 p.m.
Thursday – Varsity girls’ volleyball vs. Independence, 6 p.m.
Thursday – JV girls’ volleyball vs. Independence, 5 p.m.

Pioneer High School
Friday – Frosh/soph football at Silver Creek, 5 p.m.
Friday – Varsity football at Silver Creek, 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday – Varsity girls’ volleyball vs. James Lick, 5 p.m.
Tuesday – JV girls’ volleyball vs. James Lick, 3:30 p.m.
Tuesday – Girls tennis at Piedmont Hills, 3:15 p.m.
Tuesday – JV girls’ water polo at Independence, 3 p.m.

Wednesday – Varsity boys’ water polo at Lincoln, 5 p.m.
Wednesday – Varsity girls’ water polo at Independence, 4 p.m.
Wednesday – Cross country vs. San Jose and Prospect at Montgomery Hill, 3:30 p.m.

Thursday – Girls’ tennis vs. Independence, 3:15 p.m.
Thursday – Varsity girls’ volleyball at Yerba Buena, 5 p.m.
Thursday – JV girls’ volleyball at Yerba Buena, 3:30 p.m.


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

Pioneer drops 8-7 loss on last-second shot from Willow Glen’s Vonstockhausen

Mustangs drop to 1-2 in Mt. Hamilton Division; Rams’ Vonstockhausen
scores two of six goals in the last three minutes of game

By Diego Abeloos
Sports Writer

Willow Glen’s Laura Vonstockhausen scored with nine seconds left in the game, breaking a 7-7 tie and handing the Pioneer team an 8-7 loss on Sept. 28.

The Mustangs, in their first season of play in the Mt. Hamilton Division, dropped to 6-4 overall and 1-2 in league play, despite four goals combined from sisters Taylor and Whitney Feezor.

Pioneer’s Elyssa Samson looks to pass the ball during an 8-7 loss to Willow Glen on Sept. 28. Samson scored a goal in the third quarter for the Mustangs in the loss. Photos by Diego Abeloos

“I thought we played well,” Pioneer Head Coach Gordy Smith said. “We knew it was going to be a close game because all of our games with them last year were close, so they’re a talented team. We probably won a couple of games last year that we kind of stole from them and they got one from us this time.”

Smith said the team has adjusted well to the move up from the Santa Teresa Division to the Mt. Hamilton Division, despite much stiffer competition. Smith added that one of the major differences in the Mt. Hamilton Division is the ability of teams to capitalize on mistakes from opponents.

“We’re pretty happy with the way we’ve almost come through (the league) for the first time,” Smith said. “ … The one big difference we see is that there aren’t any gimmes in this league. Every time you’re going to play games like this. It’s always physical and games are always going to be aggressive.”

The match-up against Willow Glen was a tightly contested one from the start for the Mustangs, as the Rams took a slim 3-2 lead in the first quarter on three Vonstockhausen goals. Whitney Feezor scored pioneer’s two goals in the quarter and had three overall in the game to lead her squad.

Vonstockhausen was the main offensive weapon for the Rams (9-0, 2-0 Mt. Hamilton Division), scoring six of the team’s eight goals in the win.

“Laura is one of our strongest players in the pool,” said Willow Glen Head Coach Meghan Corcoran. “She definitely has the strength and the ability and the knowledge of the game to be a great player, and she is a great player. I’m very happy with the way she performed.”

The Mustangs and the Rams did their best work on defense, as both sides went through lengthy scoreless stretches in the game.

The Rams were held scoreless for the entire 7-minute second quarter and for nearly five minutes in the third quarter. That allowed Pioneer to tie the game 3-3 on a buzzer-beating goal from Elyssa Samson to end the second quarter before taking a 4-3 lead with 6:39 left in the third quarter on a goal from April Ham.

The Rams managed to break their scoreless streak with 2:05 left in the third quarter, getting a goal from Courtney Buchanon to tie the game 4-4. With 6 seconds left in the third quarter, the Rams’ offense was on the board again, getting another goal from Vonstockhausen for a 5-4 lead.

“We played good defense, but then again, we made a couple of mistakes out on top and gave them some long shots that we shouldn’t have given them,” Smith said. “In the long run, that ended up costing us.”

Meanwhile, the Rams’ defense also managed to keep Pioneer’s offense at bay during a stretch of the game, holding the Mustangs scoreless for more than seven minutes before a goal from Rebecca Wallworth tied the game 5-5 with 6:07 left in the fourth quarter.

The Rams answered back with a goal from Kate Wagner, a former Pioneer Mustang, giving the Rams a brief 6-5 lead with 5:37 left.

The Mustangs countered Wagner’s goal, as Whitney Feezor scored with 5:18 left for a 6-6 tie. The Mustangs then went up 7-6 with 3:56 left on a goal from Taylor Feezor, who knocked in the goal when a shot from a teammate bounced off the goalpost.

“They do a good job,” Smith said of the Feezor sisters. “They created some things for us offensively and really kept us in the game when we were behind.”

From that point on, the Rams’ defense held the Mustangs scoreless the rest of the way, allowing Vonstockhausen to come up with two goals in the last three-and-a-half minutes of the game, getting one at 3:34 that hit the bottom edge of the crossbar before going into the net to tie the game once more before nailing the game-winning score with nine seconds left for the win.

Leland boys’ water polo takes 19-10 win over Mt. Pleasant

Shane Keno paces team with six goals in the win

By Diego Abeloos
Sports Writer

For the first time in more than two years, the Leland boys’ water polo team came away with a win against Mt. Pleasant, a 19-10 decision, at Lincoln High on Sept. 28.

Leland’s Shane Keno looks to pass the ball to an open teammate during the Chargers’ 19-10 win over Mt. Pleasant on Sept. 28. Keno led his team with six goals in the win.

The loss dropped the Cardinals to 7-3 overall and 1-1 in Mt. Hamilton Division play, while the Chargers improved to 8-4 overall with a 3-0 record in league play.

Last season, the Cardinals swept the Chargers in three match-ups throughout the season en route to the 2004 Mt. Hamilton Division title. Chargers Head Coach Mike Monsees said his team worked diligently throughout the off-season for the 2005 season with one single goal in mind—beat the Cardinals.

“I’m really excited for the boys,” Monsees said. “They worked hard all year with really one main target—to come out on top against the team that beat them last year, and we were able to do that. It was exciting for the boys.”

With a 3-3 tie in the second quarter, the Cardinals took an early 5-3 lead on goals from brothers Ryan and John Floersch. The Chargers bounced back quickly however, going on a 4-0 scoring run, including a goal from Shane Keno, who led Leland with six goals overall. Also scoring on the run was Brian Luu.

The second quarter then finished with the Chargers going on a slight 3-2 edge in scoring, getting two more goals from Keno and one from Jon Foote for a 10-7 lead. Mt. Pleasant received two goals during that same stretch from Ryan Floersch, who led the Cardinals with six goals overall in the game, while John Floersch chipped in two goals.
Monsees said the Floersch brothers posed the biggest threat to the Chargers throughout the contest.

“They’ve got two premier players who I hope will play college ball in the Floersch boys,” Monsees said. “They are great athletes. If they had more support, we would really be in trouble, but we were able to capitalize.”

The third quarter saw the Cardinals cut the lead to two with a 2-1 scoring advantage on goals from Ryan and John Floersch, countered by a goal from Leland’s Jacob Lubianker for an 11-9 Leland lead. The Chargers then jumped ahead, finishing the third quarter on a 2-0 scoring run, getting a goal from Lubianker and another from Foote to extend Leland’s lead to 13-9.

“When they moved up to try and give their team more offense, it left us those fast breaks and that’s where we started breaking away in the second half,” Monsees said.

The fourth quarter saw the Chargers take control of the game, outscoring the Cardinals 6-1 to take the game. Ryan Floersch scored the Cardinals’ lone goal in the quarter with 3:38 left in the contest, which at the time cut Leland’s lead to 15-10. From that point on, the Chargers finished out the game on a 4-0 scoring run, getting two more goals from Keno, both within a minute of play, to complete the win.

“This year we knew they were stronger and we have a lot of unknowns,” said Cardinals head coach Andy McKay.

“It’s just with the numbers, it’s real hard. We only had one sub and some of our kids got real tired in the second half.”

Pioneer takes league-opener with 49-13 pounding of Independence

Mustangs rack up 513 yards on offense; Foley tosses four TD passes

By Diego Abeloos
Sports Writer

The Pioneer football team took a league-opening 49-13 win over Independence at home on Oct.1, extending the Mustangs’ 2005 record to 4-0 overall.

The Mustangs, who came into the game averaging more than 39 points per game, struck quickly and efficiently on offense, putting up 42 points in the first half for the second straight game. The Mustangs also scored 42 points in the first half in a 49-19 win over Saratoga on Sept. 17.

Pioneer's Jerry Barnes stiff-arms a defender on a run during a 49-13 win over Independence on Oct. 1. Barnes finished the day with 34 yards rushing and a touchdown on two carries, helping the Mustangs' rushing attack, which finished with 259 yards as a team. Photo by Ron Reed

“We knew all week that we were playing an athletic, fast team. It was a great challenge for us and the guys responded,” said Pioneer Head Coach Mark Krail. “This team is unique in that it’s just the true sense of a team. It’s guys that believe in each other and work hard for each other and they’re having a lot of fun right now.”

Pioneer wasted little time getting on the scoreboard, taking a drive in the early portion of the first quarter and turning it into a score when quarterback Chris Foley found wide receiver J.J. Goulden for a 36-yard touchdown pass with 7:54 left for a 7-0 lead.

Soon after, Foley again let his arm to the work when he found running back Nick D’Antonio for a 16-yard touchdown pass on Pioneer’s next offensive series, giving the Mustangs a quick 14-0 lead.

“Today was a concerted effort to throw a little more because there’s going to be that game where we have to,” Krail said. “He (Foley) responded well and we have confidence in him that he will.”

Foley, a junior who struggled at times passing last year on the varsity level, showed that the Mustangs were not just a running team, completing 11 of 12 passes on the day for 254 yards and four touchdown passes. Foley completed another Pioneer drive just before the end of the first half, finding Shaun Souza for a 16-yard touchdown strike with 15 seconds left, giving Pioneer a 42-6 lead. The junior signal-caller then completed his day by throwing a 40-yard touchdown pass to Goulden, who caught three passes for 90 yards on the day, with 5:41 left in the third quarter to extend the lead to 49-6.

Foley said he worked hard during the off-season to improve at the quarterback position and credited his offensive line for making the offense function smoothly.

“My line’s really stepping up this year and they’re doing their job,” Foley said of the offensive line. “I only got hit once today and that wasn’t even on a pass, so they’re doing a good job.”

But the passing game wasn’t the only thing going right for the Mustangs, as the team combined to rush for 259 yards and three touchdowns. Running back Shaun Souza carried the ball 13 times throughout the game and led the Mustangs with 117 yards on the ground while scoring a touchdown, which came with 3:10 left in the first quarter on a 42-yard dash for a 21-0 Pioneer lead. Souza also caught five passes for 99 yards and a touchdown, giving the senior 216 all-purpose yards on the day.

“Our backs are running well, our (offensive) line is blocking great, Foley is throwing some passes, so it’s a balanced offense,” said Souza. “Everything’s working alright.”

Souza wasn’t the only running back getting into the act, as D’Antonio ran the ball six times for 42 yards, while Jerry Barnes rushed twice for 34 yards and a score in the win. Dan Landucci also chipped in with 47 yards on eight carries for the Mustangs.

Barnes scored midway through the second quarter, slicing through the 76er defense for a 22-yard touchdown run with 5:06 left to give Pioneer a 28-6 lead. D’Antonio followed Barnes’ run with one of his own, taking the ball 18 yards into the end zone on a run to extend the Mustangs’ lead to 35-6.

“In the preseason, everyone was looking for No.5. You’ve got to stop Souza and they’re right,” Krail said. “But when you do, we have an answer usually with those other guys. Nick (D’Antonio) ran with such passion today and Landucci in the second half just kind of took it on his shoulders and got us a couple of first downs … Jerry Barnes brings that slasher aspect to our game. He’s got that quick burst that we can really use and he used it on his touchdown run.”

Meanwhile, the Pioneer defense held the 76ers scoreless for the first quarter before senior running back Robert Phillips scored on a 5-yard run with 8:46 left in the second quarter. Phillips didn’t see the end zone again until the fourth quarter, when he ran in from the Pioneer 2 for another touchdown with 2:08 left.

Overall, the defense picked off three 76er passes, two by Goulden and another by D’Antonio, while holding Independence to 276 yards on offense throughout the day. Linebacker C.J. Miller led the squad with six tackles.

This week, the Mustangs will square off on the road against Silver Creek on Oct. 7 at 7 p.m.

The Leland Spirit Squad invites you to Homecoming 2005

The Leland Spirit Squad (pictured above) and their families are hard at work planning this year’s homecoming events. In addition to celebrating Charger pride, the Leland homecoming is the Spirit Squad’s largest fund-raiser of the year.

This year’s theme is “Vegas Nights” and the girls along with their parents will transform the Leland Cafeteria into the fabulous Las Vegas strip for the homecoming dance.

The celebrations kick off on Thursday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m., where the community and alumni are invited to attend a rally in the Leland gymnasium. The evening will be filled with music, the 2005 Homecoming royalty and skits performed by the Leland Spirit Squad and football players. Also, a special presentation will be given to this year’s seniors and their parents honoring their hard work and dedication in spirit, football and band.

The homecoming games will be played at Pat Tillman Stadium on the Leland campus on Friday, Oct. 28. The competition begins when the Leland Charger’s JV team takes on the Silver Creek Raiders at 5 p.m. The varsity football game follows at 7:30 p.m.

Leland Homecoming wrap-up:
- Rally–Thursday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. at the Leland gymnasium
- JV football game–Friday, Oct. 28 at 5 p.m.
- Varsity Football Game–Friday, Oct. 28 at 7:30 p.m.
- Location: Pat Tillman Stadium, Leland High School, 6677 Camden Ave.

Almaden Hawks BU17 soccer team victorious in back-to-back contests

The Almaden Hawks BU17 class 1 soccer team pulled a one-two punch and won a first and a second place in back-to-back tournaments.

Almaden Hawks BU17 Class 1 soccer team: Front row, from left: team organizer Donya Bagheri, Luis Salazar, Ricardo Torrez, Brian Velez, Eric Miller; back row, from left: Assistant Coach Hormoz Ghorbanian, Coach Jose Perez, Anthony Nunez, Mahonn Ghorbanian, Brian Reed, Ryan Gall, Andrew Perez, Ramon Fonseca, Ali Ghalandari, Marcos Medina, and Caleb Holtzinger. Not pictured: Vinnie Trevisano. Photo by Tom Holtzinger.

The Almaden Hawks claimed the 2005 District II Cup champion spot by winning first place on Oct. 2.

The Hawks followed an impressive and strong finish during the prior weekend by qualifying and competing in the championship game for the 27th Annual Almaden Champions Cup.

The team earned these spots by working hard together and mastering their soccer skills throughout summer training under the instruction of Adam Perez (currently starting player at SDSU and X-Star of Leland HS Soccer team). But more than anything else, by becoming a family of brothers who help each other and draw on each other’s strength to overcome many adversities and challenges that come their way. That is evident both on and off the field. Hats off to these champions.

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