November 1, 2007

SPORTS

Chargers fight hard, but lose homecoming to Del Mar

By Daniel Miranda
Sports Coordinator

A home is considered by many a place one feels safe, comfortable and where nothing bad can happen. But that wasn’t the case for the Leland Chargers at last Saturday’s homecoming game. Despite a hard fight, the Chargers lost to Del Mar 35-21, dropping to 3-2 in league and 5-3 overall.

Leland's Nate Jones reaches over Del Mar's Eric Tilbury for a reception that led to a touchdown during their game on Saturday Oct. 27. Leland lost the game 35-21 but Jones had 4 catches for 113-yards. Photo by Jeff LaPlante

“What I was most impressed with was the boys’ ability to fight back.” Said Leland head coach Mike Carrozzo. “Del Mar is really good team.”

The Dons were able to stifle Leland’s leading rusher Kevin Krail, holding him to only 31-yards on eight carries. With the running game stifled, the Chargers turned to the air attack.

Charger quarterback Ricki Battipede had his best game yet, throwing for 253-yards on 10 completions with three touchdowns. Nate Jones was on the receiving end of Battipede’s throws catching four passes for 113 yards with his longest being a 42-yard touchdown.

Leland started the game with the ball on its own 20-yard line. But on second and seven, Krail fumbled the ball and the Dons recovered. With 1 and 10 and a short field, it did not take long for the Dons to score the first touchdown with a 4-yard run by Michael Toso with 10:01 left in the first quarter.

On Leland’s next possession, a Battipede to Jones 43-yard touchdown pass was called back on a penalty. After a Jeff Sommer’s run, Battipede went back to the air, this time finding Jones for a 35-yard touchdown to tie the game a 7-7 as the first quarter ended.

The second quarter saw the Dons score two more times, increasing their lead by 14 points. Toso scored the Dons’ second touchdown on another 4-yard run with 7:32 left in the second quarter. With 25 seconds left, Anthony Cukar found Stephen Salerno for the Dons’ third touchdown and a 21-7 lead at halftime.

The Dons took the ball to start the third quarter and marched down the field scoring on a 27-yard run by Salemo to widen their lead to 28-7 with 10:28 left to play in the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Battipede found Jones for a 42-yard touchdown that brought the Chargers within two touchdowns at 28-13 as kicker Will Boring’s extra-point try failed, and there were just over 10 minutes left to play.

The Leland Cheerleading squad performs a dance to the song "Diamond are a girls best friend." during the half time show on Saturday October 27 in San Jose. Photo by Ben Dehoven

With the clock reading 3:44, the Chargers reached the end zone when Battipede found Sommer for a 17-yard touchdown pass. The Chargers then successfully tried for a two-point conversion, which Battipede achieved by sweeping around the right side for the touchdown. That left the Chargers with 7 points and a bit over three minutes to tie the game.

Del Mar resorted to the run to try to run some time off the clock but the Chargers’ fired-up defense stiffened and the Dons had trouble moving the ball. But on third down and 11, Del Mar’s quarterback Cukar found Bob Schooler, who ran a slant pattern down the middle and all the way to the end zone, for a 70-yard touchdown putting the Dons back up by 14 point with two minutes left to play.

Krail set up the Chargers on their 45-yard line with a great 35-yard return. Battipede tried to find Sommer, but Del Mar’s Cory Sullivan intercepted and the Dons ran out the clock.

Next up for the Chargers is Mt. Pleasant, which suffered a 17-14 loss to Evergreen Valley High School during in the last seconds of the game.

Pioneer holds onto its winning ways Defeats Branham 51-10

By Gary Van Den Heuval
Sports Writer

The Pioneer High School football team came one step closer to a possible first-place showdown against Oak Grove by defeating the Branham Bruins 51-10 on Saturday at Pioneer.

Pioneer's running back Shane Murray runs the ball through a big hole in the Branham's defense during their game on Saturday, Oct. 27 at Pioneer High School.

The win gives the Mustangs a league record of 4-0-1 and second place in the Mt. Hamilton division behind 5-0 Oak Grove, which shut out Piedmont Hills 35-0, and one game ahead of 3-1-1 Lincoln, which tied Pioneer the previous week. Branham is suffering through a winless 0-5 season (0-8 overall).

"You know when one team hasn't had a lot of success," Pioneer coach Mark Krail said after the game. "And you don't want them to have any against you." Krail made sure his team didn't look past the outmatched Bruins, who were overwhelmed by the multifaceted Mustang running game.

"We spread it around; we had five guys who scored for us," said Krail, and the Mustangs did indeed have four separate players--Marquee Heffner, who led Pioneer with 107 yards on 12 carries, Shane Murray, Cory Otsuji and Mike Cobb, who each gained over 60 yards on the ground. Pioneer's running attack racked up a total of 424 yards, compared to 123 yards for the Bruins.

Murray's 26-yard touchdown run started the scoring, and moments later defensive lineman Aaron Lefeber plucked an interception deep in Bruin territory and took it 11 yards for the score. He then kicked the extra point for a 14-0 lead.

In the second quarter, Cobb and Heffner both got into the end zone--Cobb from 19 yards and Heffner from 23. Branham was able to get on the scoreboard before halftime with a field goal, but Pioneer looked like a lock with a 28-3 halftime lead.

Any possible suspense was erased in the third quarter, when the Mustangs scored on a Sandro Culic safety, an 8-yard Murray run, his second touchdown, to go along with his 83 yards rushing on nine carries, and a 19-yard dash by Justin Souza.

Pioneer defensive lineman Sandro Culic sacks Branham's quarterback for a safety with the help of his teammate linebacker David Figueroa during the game. Photos by Ric Medlinger - www.medlinger.net

Branham's touchdown came in the fourth quarter. Trailing 51-3 after a 7-yard rushing score by Mustang Eric Ayala, the Bruins scored on a 59-yard run by Ellis Hampton, whose stats showed the stalwart the Pioneer defensive effort. Hampton carried four times for 57 yards, an impressive 14-yard-per-carry average, but 59 of those yards came on one carry and his other three rushes resulted in -2 yards.

The Mustangs’ Austin Noble, Enrique Martinez, Daniel Montesano and Logan Howard were constantly harassing Bruin quarterback Eli Caldwell and the Branham ball carriers. Lefeber and Mustang defenders Don Medlinger, Chad Dreher and Jeremy Dalton also had an interception each.

Pioneer's next opponent is Live Oak, another strong running team that Krail describes as "extremely well-coached." Krail referred to last year's game, when the Mustangs outgained Live Oak but lost a tough 15-14 decision. "I think our guys remember that," he said.

"We believe in what we do," said Krail, describing his approach to game planning and using his team's strengths. "We're not going to change what we do, but sometimes we have to improve how we do it."

High School Sports Schedule Nov. 2 – Nov. 8

Leland

Friday – Girls’ volleyball at Westmont, 4 p.m.
Friday - Boys’ water polo varsity league tournament at Live Oak, TBA
Friday – Girls’ water polo varsity league tournament at Live Oak, TBA

Saturday – Boys’ water polo varsity league tournament at live Oak, TBA
Saturday – Girls’ water polo varsity league tournament at Live Oak, TBA
Saturday – Frosh/soph football vs. Mt. Pleasant, 11 a.m.
Saturday – Varsity football vs. Mt. Pleasant, 1:30 p.m.

Pioneer

Friday – Boys’ water polo varsity league tournament at Live Oak, TBA
Friday – Girls’ water polo varsity league tournament at Live Oak, TBA

Saturday – Boys’ water polo varsity league tournament at live Oak, TBA
Saturday – Girls’ water polo varsity league tournament at Live Oak, TBA
Saturday – Frosh/soph football vs. Live oak, 11:30 a.m.
Saturday – Varsity football v Live Oak, 2 p.m.

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

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

Sports Briefs

Girl’s Club Volleyball Tryouts
Jumpstart Volleyball Club tryouts for beginner to advanced players for competition and developmental teams. Tryouts on Sunday, Nov. 4, 2007, at Buchser Middle School located at 1111 Bellomy St., Santa Clara. Tryout Times: 12 & under - 10 a.m. to 12 noon; 13 to 14 & under 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.; 15 thru 18 & under 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tryout fee $30 - www.jumpstartvolleyball.com for more information or call 408-378-8590.

Lacrosse Signups
Registration is now open for South Valley Lacrosse Club. We have 12 spots open for 3rd and 4th grade boys and a few spots open for 9th and 10th grade boys. Practice starts January 21 and games begin in March. Our season ends May 31. Learn to play the fastest growing sport in America!

Coaches Needed!
We have coaching positions to fill for boys in grades 5 - 10. If you have lacrosse experience, we would love your help! South Valley Lacrosse Club is entering it’s 4th season and we have lots of parent support! For more information, contact Joy Bender at joy.bender@prodigy.net or 679-1297.


Point Break Volleyball Club Clinics and Tryouts
We will be holding volleyball skills clinics on October 21 and 28 from 5-7 p.m. at Santa Clara High School. The cost is $20 per session. Players are encouraged to come out and meet the Point Break coaches, players, and families, and get a taste of the club’s “Live Aloha” style. Players of all ages who wish to brush up on their skills before the tryout season begins are welcome to participate, whether they plan to tryout for a Point Break team or not. Tryouts for Power and Area teams will be held on November 3 at Lynbrook High School for $25. Power team tryouts for all ages will be from 2:30-5:30 p.m. Area team tryouts for all ages will be from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Be sure to come at least 45 minutes early to check in. If you cannot make it on that date, there will be make-up tryouts on November 11 from 4-6 p.m. at Santa Clara High School for all ages, for both Power and Area teams. The cost is $25. For more information, please visit our website, www.pointbreakvbc.com.

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