Leland wins seventh straight, can clinch title versus Prospect in homecoming test

By Karl Laucher

Sports Editor

Leland High School, winner of seven straight games, sits atop the Blossom Valley Athletic Santa Teresa Division, waiting until after its homecoming game rendezvous with Prospect High School before feeling the glow as division champions. The game is set for 1:15 p.m. Saturday.

Oh sure, Prospect, 0-5 in league and 1-7 overall, could pull off the shocker of the millennium, but let's take a chance here and say the Panthers are an endangered species in this league.

The “prospect” of football players Mike Day, Alex Baumeister or Zac Brant getting named homecoming king at halftime may be something more of a mystery.

However, Charger lineman Scott Glicksberg voiced the team mantra when he said “the next game is the biggest game of the year.”

With the opportunity to clinch a title before the homecoming floats depart, Leland likely will be hard at work trying to raise its game for the postseason. The Chargers may have worked too hard for every yard against stubborn Westmont to pound out a 22-10 victory on a clammy Saturday night in front of the Warrior homecoming audience.

Leland runningback Michael Day collected 153 yards and two touchdowns in the win, but it came in short chunks as the Chargers sweated out their Halloween candy, leading only 14-10 after three quarters. Day's one-yard plunge for a fourth-quarter TD sealed the deal and helped boost his league-lead scoring total to 118 points and his league-leading in rushing compilation to 1,670 yards.

“We came out kind of flat,” noted Glicksberg. “But we have a lot of heart on this team. The defense picked our offense up.”

While it was the Chargers who walked away with the win and the inside track to the championship, some of the Westmont players said they were not all that impressed. “We played up to their level,” said Westmont defensive back Burt Codera. “They have some big guys, some real big hogs.”

One of the Chargers' big guys not in action was fullback-linebacker Darren Gemoll, who is sitting out two games having sustained a concussion two weeks earlier. Gemoll also will sit out the Prospect game.

Leland will close the regular season, hosting Lincoln on Nov. 15.

Pioneer humbles Saints, jousts Independence for playoff berth

By Karl Laucher

Sports Editor

Ambition runs deep in the Blossom Valley Athletic League's Mount Hamilton Division where six teams still have visions of post-season playoff action. So, the Pioneer High School football team, although reinvigorated with a decisive win over Santa Teresa High School last week, must gird its jawbone for regular-season ending rutting matches against Independence High School at home Saturday at 1:30 p.m., and against Silver Creek High School on Nov. 15.

“We're feeling pretty strong right now,” said Pioneer runningback Jeremy Landucci. “I hope we can have another five-game winning streak, like we did at the beginning of the season, and get a CCS (Central Coast Section) ring.”

The Mustangs, 3-2 in league, 6-2 overall, certainly looked powerful against hapless Santa Teresa, rolling up 470 yards rushing in a 38-6 win over the Saints who marched home with a 1-7 record. “They (the Mustangs) are big and well coached,” said Santa Teresa Coach Nick Alfano. “They had plays where they blocked every one of our kids. Their offensive line is outstanding; they get to you and they don't let you go.”

For the record: Pioneer's starting offensive line is composed of tackles Jeff Terry and Armando Apolinar, guards Steve Matos and Jory Wilson, center Pat Walsh, and tight end Rolando Gomez.

Pioneer Coach Mark Krail noted that the defensive unit also stood tall, allowing only six points. “The team's effort was night and day compared to the week before against Piedmont Hills (a 25-21 loss),” he said.

Against Santa Teresa, the Mustangs got a special gift of 169 rushing and a TD from Shaun Souza, who is coming back from an injury. Running back Andrew Schultz scored twice and Landucci and quarterback Jared Koblis scored one TD each. Landucci remains among the BVAL Mt. Hamilton leaders, standing third in rushing (674 yards) and receiving (377 yards). Collin McCarthy leads the defense with 65 tackles, also third in the division.

The Mount Hamilton Division is expected to send four teams to the CCS post-season playoffs. Pioneer stands third among the six contenders. As for the pending showdown with No. 4 Independence, Krail says, “Independence is very physical up front, on both sides of the ball. They are a running team with talented offensive backs that can break one at any time. The defense will have to stop the run, and put out the same effort as this past week. On offense we know it's going to be a very physical game, but I think our guys are up for the challenge.”

LELAND SPORTS ROUNDUP

Compiled by Athletic Director Chris Hansen

Girls volleyball : The girls volleyball team added two more league victories to their record last week with wins over Mt. Pleasant 25-19, 25-20, 21-25, 25-19 and Oak Grove 25-17, 25-20, 25-20. Senior Briana Scala recorded 18 kills against both teams. The teams league record is now 10-0. The girls also played in the Milpitas Spikefest Tournament over the weekend where the team finished fifth out of 32 teams. The Chargers recorded wins over Alisal 25-10, 25-17, Homestead 25-16, 25-11, Gunn 23-25, 25-13, 15-11 and Santa Cruz 25-16, 25-19. The team was also named Cal Hi Sports Team of the Week.

JV volleyball : The JV team went one and one last week with a great win over Mt. Pleasant 25-21, 23-25, 15-13. The team was lead by the powerful hitting of Kelly Keiley and the outstanding serve receive passing of Jenny Tremann. The Chargers lost a close one to Oak Grove 25-15, 21-25, 11-15. The team is currently 6-4 in league.

Girls JV water polo : The girls JV water polo team took a third place finish in the Hollister tournament this weekend. The girls lost to San Benito 7-10 and then came back with three straight wins defeating Monterey 16-6, Lynbrook 14-6 and Saratoga 13-4. The girls are currently 3-0 in league.

Frosh/soph football : After recovering from a tough loss to Branham, the Leland Chargers shut down the Willow Glen Rams 24-0. The first half ended with the Chargers ahead 8-0, although the game was a lot closer than the score indicated. Outstanding defensive line play by Eric Hailes, Collin Khoshabian and Joe Peera lead the defensive charge. Defensive backs Lance Gemette, Steven Dudley, Borna Haghahi, George “G-Man” Mikhail and Steve Ruel allowed only one completion by the Rams for the whole game. The linebacker core of Nick Mortenson, Richard Wellington, Nathan Mitchell (in his first start) and Travis Delamore let the Rams know that there was a Charger storm in front of them. On offense, Kyle “K-Walk” Walker stayed poised in the pocket delivering strikes to receivers Mike Hagashiosha, Nick Mortenson and Steven Ruel to put two scores on the board and keep Willow Glen's offense off the field. K-Walk was protected by outstanding play by offensive linemen Mike Rulfs, Will Baumeister, and John Friedman.

The game was put away by the outstanding running of Adam Ondi and a 70-yard run by Lance Gemette. Team play was the key to the Chargers' victory. Players like Roland Li stepped up to record his first sack of the season. Defensive line players like Cody Willard made their presence known with a special teams tackle and an assist on a sack. In the secondary, Brandon Denault, Suleymahn Ersahn, Negad Zaky and emerging freshman Billy “Airstrike” Osterreich played outstanding. Billy capped off the game with his first interception and the Chargers' fourth of the year to finish a dominating performance by the Chargers.

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK:

CHRISTY GILLICK - Girls volleyball

Christy helped lead the Chargers through two more league wins and a fifth place finish in the Milpitas Spikefest. Christy was able to run an effective offense recording 153 assists in five matches at the tournament. Not only is she able to deliver the ball accurately each time, she has made herself an offensive threat in the front row as well, recording10 kills herself. Keep up the great work!

LELAND SPORTS SCHEDULE

Football at Westmont, frosh/soph 5 p.m.; varsity 7:30 p.m.

Field hockey at Saratoga, Varsity 2:45 p.m., JV 4 p.m.

Tennis BVAL finals at Mount Pleasant, 3 p.m.

Tennis BVAL finals at Mount Pleasant, 3 p.m.

Volleyball at Piedmont Hills, JV 5 p.m.; varsity 6 p.m.

Volleyball at Branham, JV 5 p.m.; varsity 6 p.m.

LELAND SPORTS ROUNDUP

Compiled by Athletic Director Chris Hansen

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL: The girl's team moved a step closer to a second straight Blossom Valley League championship last week with wins over Santa Teresa and Willow Glen. The Chargers beat Santa Teresa 29-27, 25-13, 25-20. The team was lead by Briana Scala posting 13 kills and Alaina Walker with six service aces. The chargers also got past Willow Glen 23-25, 25-16, 25-13, 25-8. In the last scheduled home match for Leland, the team paid tribute to its four seniors, Briana Scala, Alaina Walker, Sally Hahn and Becky

Tremann. Senior match contributions included Briana Scala with a season high 26 kills, 11 digs, and 1 service ace, Alaina Walker with five service aces, 13 digs and three kills, Sally Hahn with nine digs and 80 percent serve receive and Becky Tremann who hit .500 for the team. The girls are currently 12-0 in league and 23-3 overall.

GIRLS JV VOLLEYBALL: Leland JV volleyball had a great week, crushing both Santa Teresa (25-16),(25-17) and Willow Glen (25-8), (25-10) with the tough serving of Margo Consul, ranking in 10 aces, and the outstanding net play of Justine Johnson, earning five kills and stuff blocking more than four a game. The team is now 8-4 in league and

19-8 overall.

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK:

ALAINA WALKER (volleyball) . Alaina is one of four seniors on the volleyball team. She had an outstanding week last week against opponents in Santa Teresa and Willow Glen. Alaina had 41 digs and 11 service aces in the two games which helped the Chargers remain undefeated in league. Alaina has a very powerful serve that is difficult to handle. She is quick and reads the offense well. It is difficult to get a kill on Alaina's side of the court.

Leland Sports:

Homecoming Schedule

Fri. 11/7

Rally, gymnasium.

Sat. 11/8

Football vs. Prospect (homecoming).

JV game 10:30 a.m., parade immediately following.

Varsity game at 1:15 p.m.

Wed. 11/12

Volleyball @ home, first round of Central Coast Section, 7 p.m.

Tennis BVAL team tournament @ Mt Pleasant, 2 p.m.

PIONEER SPORTS ROUNDUP

Boys Water Polo

By Coach Scott Kaubish

Another wild week laid to rest and the finals at the doorstep. This past week the Pioneer team took on Independence. The Play was fast paced and the Mustangs found themselves battling in a game where the lead switched sides several times. After three quarters played the score was tied up at 8. The Sixers prevailed as some the Mustangs could not find the goal after the Sixers found it twice and ended the game 8-10. It was a tough loss to take. The Mustang Squad played hard but could not settle into their rhythm, having too many adjustments to make along the course of play. It's the tough losses like this that are hard to forget. Two days later the squad was up against Silver Creek in the last home game of the season. Seniors Chris Emert, Kyle Zondervan, Kyle Simpson, Craig Fergus, and Alex Manzano where given the opportunity to start and finish in their final home game and pulled out a convincing 7-1 victory, each scoring in their final home stand. With Halloween, the next trick was three games at the Monta Vista Tournament. First up was Valley Christian. This turned out to be no treat as the Warriors frustrated the Mustangs. Shooting over 30 attempts on the goal yet only getting 7 in a 7-14 loss. From there the squad found success with a sound victory over Santa Clara in which Pioneer was able to get well into the bench to finish the game. The next day's matchup would be Carmel, which the Mustangs trampled out a 5-goal lead in the second and third quarters but slowly slipped away to a one goal difference with 4 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Carmel struggled to get a goal getting off eight attempts on the goal, but were turnedback and the Mustangs took control and wore the clock out to hold on to a9-8 victory.Next stop is League Finals Nov. 7 and 8 at the Frank Fiscalinni Aquatic Center at Independence. Seeded fourth behind Mount Pleasant in third andIndependence in second, the Mustangs are looking to take advantage of theopportunity to improve their standing.

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

By Coach Michelle Ritter

The Lady Mustang volleyball team, after a spectacular showing the weekbefore, had only one game this week. They met at Yerba Buena wherePioneer played hard and came out on top. The last meeting between thesetwo schools resulted in Pioneer's worst loss of the season and Pioneer wasready to save face. The Lady Mustangs won in three straight games, 25-9, 25-12, and 25-22 bringing their record to 6-4. This is the first seasonin over five years that the Lady Mustangs will finish with a winningrecord!This week is the last week of the season. The Mustangs will host JamesLick on Wednesday and celebrate Senior Night and will finish their seasonat Evergreen Valley College on Friday.

JV FOOTBALL

By Coach Greg Savage

The Pioneer Mustang JV football team suffered its third straight loss onSaturday, falling 34-0 to the Santa Teresa Saints. The loss drops the JVto 4-4 overall and 2-3 in league. The Mustangs could not get anythinggoing on offense or defense and the Saints had their way with theMustangs. Clark Worthington returned the opening kickoff 60-plus yards butthe Mustangs stalled. The Saints went on to score 21 points in the firsthalf. The second half fared no better for the Mustang as the Saintsscored 14 more points.Good efforts were put in by Ken Dorsett on defense with anotherInterception, and Clark Worthington was in on many tackles. Chris Foleyhad a good game on offense as did Sean Dreher. The next game for theMustangs will be on Saturday at 11 a.m. at Pioneer against Independence.The Mustangs look to get back on the winning side this Saturday.

Almaden Little League signups Nov. 12 and 13

Almaden Little League Baseball and T-ball signups for ages 5 to 18 are Wednesday, Nov. 12 and Thursday, Nov. 13 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Pioneer High School. New players MUST bring ORIGINAL birth certificate. All players must bring proof of residency (95120 or 95042 zip code). Visit www.almadenll.org or call (408) 997-6669 for more information.

Leland, Pioneer share 6th in BVAL cross country championship

Led by fourth place finisher Alex Ramon (No. 82), and 11th place Ken Elkabany (No. 69), Leland had the talent up front. But Pioneer High School was able to amass more Mustang runners around team leader Sean Lopes (No. 414), who finished 15th, to muscle in for a share of sixth place in the Blossom Valley Athletic League Cross Country Championships held Monday on the 2.9-mile Crystal Springs course in Belmont. The girl's team for neither school finished in the top 10 or had a runner in the top 15. Twenty-two schools and more than 100 boys and 100 girls competed in the varsity division. The top finishers in each category will compete next in the Central Coast Section championships at Crystal Springs on Nov. 15. --By Karl Laucher

Moons over Boulder

Golf tournament to raise funds for Pioneer/Leland athletic programs

Mr. Ki-Chun Mun, owner and operator of Moon's Best Cleaners on Branham Lane, and Frank Oliver, owner/broker for Vivid Estates, a Santa Clara Valley based brokerage firm, have organized a golf tournament to be played at Almaden's Boulder Ridge Golf Course on Thursday, Nov. 13 at 10 a.m. The second annual “Moon's Best Cleaners Classic” is designed to generate much needed funds for the athletic programs at Leland and Pioneer. “My sons played football for Leland,” says Mr. Mun. “They had great opportunities because a lot of people cared about the sports and athletes there.”

Mr. Mun conceived the idea for the golf tournament, recognizing that many residents in the area enjoy meeting people on the golf course and supporting local endeavors be it for business or fun. “I hope a lot of community members can make it out to the course. We are going to have a great time for a good cause,” said Mun.

Players will enjoy a beautiful day of golfing and a taste of Korean Bar-B-Que. In addition, the participants will receive a tournament T-shirt, catered lunch, and opportunities to win prizes or gift certificates from several local businesses, including Eulipia, Willow Street Pizza, and Aqui's.

If you are interested in playing in the tournament, contact Frank Oliver at (408) 472-4700 or by e-mail at frankoliver@vividestates.com . -By Justin Petersen

Almaden Pee Wee Chargers roll on in Pop Warner football playoffs

The Almaden Chargers of the Pop Warner Youth Football league have teams for players ages 7 to 15, but only the Pee Wees (ages 9-11) made it to the postseason playoffs, which they took advantage of in a big way by upsetting the perennial powerhouse Oak Grove Rattlers 26-6 last weekend.

Commented Almaden coach Kevin Jones: “Considering the fact that we were moved up to Division 1 this year, no one expected anything from our association. We have been the Cinderella story this season.” The Chargers will continue the hunt for the glass slipper in the Peninsula Pop Warner action this week facing East Bay East of Oakland at Santa Clara's Townsend Field, 9 a.m. The winner plays, a week hence, for the Peninsula championship, the winner of the Sunday game between Coyote Creek and Palo Alto, set for noon at Yerba Buena High School. The Peninsula champion earns a ticket to Florida for the National Pop Warner Championships.