October 9, 2008

SPORTS

Leland JV opens tough MHAL season

The Leland Char-ger JV football team wasted little time serving notice to the rest of the league that they are here to win football games.

Sophmores Conor Jones #16 and Michael Reeve #5 bring down a Westmont runner during their league opening win. Photo by Kevin Jones

The defending STAL champions have moved up to the tougher MHAL league this year and did so in convincing fashion by defeating Westmont 26-6 at Leland on Oct. 3. After an impressive preseason, the team currently owns a 3-1 record while averaging 28.1 points per game.

Repeating as champions won’t be without a battle this year with the likes of Lincoln, Pioneer, Oak Grove and Live Oak also capable of winning on any given Friday.

The second game of the regular season is Friday at home against the Lincoln Lions. Game time is 4:30.

—By Kevin Jones

Sporting Girls win first annual Hannah Welker Tournament

During the weekend of Sept. 27-28, the Sporting Girls Select U11 team placed first in the first annual “On Your Toes” Hannah Welker Memorial Tournament held in San Jose.

This tournament was held in memory of Hannah Welker, a North Valley San Jose Thunder player who tragically lost her life in an automobile accident July 20 on the way home from a tournament in southern California.

Each game held in this inaugural tournament began with 47 seconds of silence in honor of Hannah who played Number 47 on her team. Proceeds from this tournament went to the memorial fund dedicated to Hannah’s family in their time of need.

The Sporting Girls advanced in their bracket by winning three straight games with a total of 18 goals for and none against. The finals were held on Sunday afternoon against the number-four-ranked team in northern California, the East Diablo Konfusion. Although it was a tough game on both sides, the Sporting Girls emerged victorious with a 3-1 victory.

Jim Lawrence, the Sporting Girls coach felt that it was especially important to be represented at this tournament. He said: “I have coached some of Hannah’s teammates over the years, and knew how meaningful it was to show my support for her family. I am glad they know how the soccer community comes together to support their own.”

The winners of the first annual Hannah Welker Memorial Tournament include, first row from the left, Megan Wheelock, Maddie Cavanna*, Fiona Sequeira, Lauren Craft *, Sierra Painter*, Erica Nakano* and Stephanie Magellan. In the second row are assistant coach Jamie Berg*, Danielle Hadfield*, Erin McCoy*, Hanna Gratny*, Reese Gonzalez, Shaelan Murison, Michelle Stack, Lauren Plesse, Regan Heslop*, Ashley Lawrence*, Cece Hinz* and head coach Jim Lawrence*. (* Denotes Almaden Resident).

Almaden Valley Strikers ’95 take first place at Santa Cruz tourney

The boys under-13 Almaden Strikers ’95 soccer team struck gold by taking first place in the 2008 Santa Cruz classic soccer tournament on Sunday, Sept. 28.

The Strikers ’95 show off their gold medals after winning the 2008 Santa Cruz Classic tournament.

The Strikers entered the tournament after winning their first two league games against NV MYSC Revolution ’95 and West Valley United ’95. Tying their third game against Mt. Hamilton Bulldogs and then placing third at their first tournament of the season, the Tiburon Fall Kickoff.

To qualify for the championship game, the Strikers needed a minimum of three points in their Sunday morning game against the Aptos Tide 95B. They started slow allowing one goal in the first half, but could not get it in the net themselves. Then five minutes into the second half Tyler Nall got Almaden’s first goal of the game. But Aptos put the heat on and put one in the net minutes later. The Strikers still needed at least one more goal in less than 10 minutes to advance. With five minutes remaining in the game, Nall stuck again to register the Strikers second and final goal, tying the game and propelling them to the finals.

The Strikers met the Rincon Valley Rebels in the championship match Sunday afternoon. It was a hard fought physical game. The Strikers scored first with a goal by Tanner Haas to put Almaden up 1-0. Just after halftime, the Strikers struck again, with a goal by Anthony Cervantes. The match was controlled well from there by the Strikers and a late strike from Haas settled the score at 3-0 confirming the team’s first tournament championship this season.

Throughout the tournament, the entire team played at an exceptional level. Defense was made up of Caleb Sexton, Conner Sexton, Eddie Ruppel, Avik Mondal, Peter Pecora, Cyrus Ebadat, Shaun Steele (goalie) and Jacob Valverde (goalie), all of whom played hard every minute of every game and registered two shut outs. Pecora, Nick Angileri, Nick DeQuiroz, Trevor Ergas, Matt Blomquist, Valverde and Damian Urias patrolled midfield, controlled the tempo and pace of each game, set up multiple goal scoring opportunities and scored clutch goals. The forwards, made up of Eoin Conroy, Nall, Haas and Cervantes were relentless in their pressure on opposing defenses and scoring in crucial situations.

Based on the early results this year, the AVYSL Strikers ’95 appear poised to challenge the league with balanced combination of stingy defense, dominant midfield play and aggressive and opportunistic goal scoring ability, said Coach Lela Huenergardt.

Coaches Corner

Leland wins league opener versus Westmont

By Mike Carrozzo
Special to the Times

This game represented a battle between the two teams that moved up from the Santa Teresa division to the top tiered Mt Hamilton division. It was virtually a must win game for both teams who aspire to make the playoffs. The final score was Leland 28 Westmont 13.

Westmont threw a ton of curve balls at us opening up with a brand new offensive and defensive scheme that they have not run in the last two years. We prepared for an entirely different scheme and had to make several adjustments to be effective. I was extremely please with our teams ability to think on their feet and embrace the changes that needed to be made.

“Overall we played a great game for preparing for a totally different team,” said DE Matt McDonald. “We played close to our potential. We played our best game yet, however we still have a long way to go. We came together as a team and I can’t wait to see what more our team has to offer,” said OT/DT Mike Economy.

It started rather bleak when on our second drive we fumbled the ball away and Westmont drove down the field for the opening score. That’s when the Chargers started rolling. The ensuing drive started on our own 20-yard line. Ten plays and 80 yards later Leland found pay dirt with a 20- yard touchdown toss from Will Boring to Ryan Smith, his third clutch catch of the drive. The drive was also highlighted by a 15-yard tough run inside by Jon Ruel and a solid pass by Boring to TE Ben Delamore for 25 yards. The next time our offense touched the ball it was much of the same. This time it was all on the ground. On the eight play drive RB Matt Machado carried the ball three times for 26 yards, Ruel toted it once for 13 yards and RB Vinnie Gemette amassed 30 yards on four carries including the 15 yard run to the end zone leaving Leland up 14-7 at halftime.

The second half started the same as the first. On the opening series, we turned the ball over. Westmont takes over deep in our end at the 28-yard line. The Charger defense steps up and on fourth down and seven yards to go Amir Tadros sacks the Westmont quarter-back for a 13-yard loss and a turnover on downs. Westmont scored a few drives later but missed the extra point leaving the score 14-13. That didn’t last very long. Gemette and the Charger O Line once again led the team down the field on three carries for 36 yards and Boring once again hit Ryan Smith at the back of the end zone for a 10-yard score making the score Leland 21-13. The last scoring drive of the night once again featured Gemette who had carries of 13, 14 and 9 yards before capping the drive with a 7-yard touchdown run. The final score was Chargers 28-13.

In total Leland rushed for 250 yards in 38 attempts. The leading rusher was Gemette with 19 carries for 155 yards. Other carries include Ruel with nine for 50 yards and Machado six for 36. QB Boring completed five of seven passes for 69 yards and two touchdowns. “I thought we played a lot more disciplined and our overall performance as an offense was better,”said Ruel.

Defensively the Chargers held dynamic Westmont quarterback Cannon Bernarding to 13 of 23 for 157 yards. This is a quarterback that averages almost 250 yards passing a game. Westmont rushed for a total of 66 yards on 32 plays.

“Our defense did a great job holding an offense like that to just two touchdowns” said Tadros. “The O-Line opened up some pretty nice holes and our backs did a great job running the ball and reading their blocks. Ryan Smith also made some spectacular catches for touchdowns.”

Leading receiver Smith caught four passes for 44 yards including the two touchdowns. Leading tacklers included LBs Mike Santini with 13, Shane Pizzo with 11, Machado with 10 and Ruel with 7. Defensive backs Yuta Kai, Tom Felt and Zach Hill had 8, 7, and 4 tackles, respectively. DE Alex Oberman had five tackles including a sack, DT Alex Nunes had four, DT Economy had four with DE Ben Delamore tackling twice and DT Tadros had two and a sack.

There are many reasons that we started to hit our stride in this game. One of them was trust. “I could tell that we, as an offense are starting to trust each other a lot more and the O-Line did a hell of a job,”said Gemette. OL Sean Dalton adds, “I think we came into this game with a really positive attitude which really gave us that edge to win.”

Leland finally opened our new snack shack/restroom building, which was a blessing. Our full staff of parent volunteers was amazing in support of the program and did a magnificent job with concession and merchandise sales. Our program is extremely lucky to have such a dedicated bunch of exceptional people.

Time to get ready for the Lincoln Lions in league game #2. See you out there Friday night. GO CHARGERS!

High School Sports Schedule, Oct. 10 - 16

Leland
Friday—Football vs. Lincoln at Leland; JV at 4:30; Varsity at 7 p.m.
Friday—Field hockey vs. St. Francis at St. Francis at 3:30 p.m.
Friday—First round S/D division play 3:15 p.m.

Tuesday—Girls volleyball vs. Mt. Pleasant at Leland; JV at 5 and Varsity at 6 p.m.
Tuesday—Girl’s tennis vs. Leigh at Leigh at 3:15 p.m.

Wednesday—Field hockey vs. Los Gatos at Leland at 2:45
Wednesday—Boys water polo vs. Live Oak at Live Oak JV at 4:15 and Varsity at 3 p.m.
Wednesday—Girls water polo vs. Live Oak at Live Oak, Varsity at 5:15 p.m.

Thursday—Girl’s tennis vs. Evergreen at 3:15 p.m. at Evergreen
Thursday—Girls volleyball vs. Leigh at Leland at 3JV at 5 and Varsity at 6 p.m.
Thursday—Cross country vs. Willow Glen and Piedmont Hills at Montgomery Hill at 3:30 p.m.

Pioneer
Friday—Football vs. Leigh at Pioneer; JV at 4:30 p.m. and Varsity at 7 p.m.
Friday—Girls volleyball vs. Overfelt at Overfelt; JV at 5 and Varsity at 6 p.m.

Monday—Cross country vs. Live Oak and Mt. Pleasant at Montgomery Hill at 3:30 p.m.

Tuesday—Girl’s tennis vs. Lincoln at Lincoln at 3:15 p.m.
Tuesday—Girls volleyball vs. Andrew Hill at Pioneer; JV at 5 and Varsity at 6 p.m.

Wednesday—Girls water polo vs. Independence at Independence; Varsity at 4 p.m.
Wednesday—Boys water polo vs. Willow Glen at Live Oak; JV at 6:30 and Varsity at 7:30

Thursday—Girls tennis vs. San Jose at Pioneer at 3:15 p.m.
Thursday—Girls volleyball vs. James Lick at Pioneer; JV at 5 and Varsity at 6 p.m.


For more information about Leland and Pioneer sports events, go to:

Pioneer athletics: www.phsathletics.com
Leland Athletics: www.lelandathletics.com
Blossom Valley Athletics League: www.bval.org

Sports Briefs

Girls’ Volleyball Tryouts
Jumpstart Volleyball Club tryouts are scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 9, 2008, at Buchser Middle School located at 1111 Bellomy St.,Santa Clara. 

Tryout times:
12 yrs & under - 10 a.m. to 12 noon;
13 to 14 yrs - 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
15 thru 18 yrs -  6 p.m. to 8 p.m. 

Tryout fee is $30. For more information, visit www.jumpstartvolleyball.com or call 408-378-8590.

Almaden Elite seeks players
Almaden Elite U16 Girls Soccer needs Select Division 1 team members. Interested players should contact Irene Johnston at 859-3617 or irene_johnston@yahoo.com.

South Valley Lacrosse Club needs players, Coaches and Referees
Registration is now open for the Spring 2009 Season! Space is limited due to our high rate of player return so act now! We are looking for players ages 7 - 15.

Our season runs from Jan. 12 - May 29. Practices are in the Cambrian area and games are on Saturdays or Sundays.

Coaches: If you have lacrosse experience we could use your help. Referees: Our league is very low on referees so if you would like to become a ref, let me know. (It’s great pay - $40 per game at minimum.) Questions? E-mail Joy Bender at joy@joybender.com. To register or for more information about our club: www.svlax.com.

Walk For Lupus Now
The Lupus Foundation of America is hosting their inaugural Walk for Lupus Now event in San Francisco on Oct. 11 at The Band Shell in the Music Concourse at Golden Gate Park. This is a 5K (3.1 mile) fundraising walk that raises critical funds for lupus research, education programs, and patient and family support services. This year, thousands of walkers will participate in more than 52 Walk for Lupus Now events in the United States, promoting lupus awareness, physical activity and healthy living in a family-friendly setting. They will walk to raise funds to save lives from lupus, a life-threatening autoimmune disease that damages any organ in the body and affects more than 1.5 million Americans today. The proceeds from Walk for Lupus Now are invested into each local community. To Register: walkforlupusnowsf.kintera.org.

Holy Spirit School & Church Golf Tournament on October 23
Enjoy some beautiful fall outdoor time with friends and colleagues for a round of golf, dinner, awards and auction. Green fees are $195 per golfer which includes cart, range balls, tee prize, lunch, drinks on the course and dinner. All will be held at the fabulous Cinnabar Hills Golf Club in San Jose.

The event will begin at 1pm with a shotgun start. Cocktails, dinner, awards and auction follow immediately after golf at 6pm. If you don’t play golf, please feel free to join your friends and family for the evening events. Dinner will be $40 per person for non-golfers. Remember all proceeds will go to support Holy Spirit School & Church. You can register on line at www.holyspiritchurch.org. The deadline to register is Oct. 17.

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To charge your payments call Sonia Pineda at 494-7000 x205. Be sure to reference your team/organization with your payment. Listings appear once payments are received. TMI sponsored events and full-proceed charity fundraisers
exempted. Email, fax or mail listing text to: candy@timesmediainc.com 1310 Tully Road, Suite 107, San Jose, CA 95122. 408-494-7078 (fax) Limit 200 words. Questions? Call 494-7000 x225