SPORTS

Pioneer pounds Piedmont Hills 37-13

Mustangs move into tie for first with Oak Grove

By Ken Lotich
Staff Writer

After losing its first game of the season against Oak Grove on Oct. 29, the Pioneer varsity football team bounced back against Piedmont Hills with a decisive 37-13 victory at home on Nov. 5.

Pioneer running back Nick D’Antonio carried the ball 13 times for 99 yards and also caught four passes for 48 yards in a 37-13 win over Piedmont Hills on Nov. 5. Photo by Kevin Jones at www.johub.com.

Pioneer sits tied atop the Mt. Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League with Oak Grove, both with 5-1 records.

Oak Grove beat Leland 44-13 on Oct. 29 to remain a contender for the league title.

Mustangs Head Coach Mark Krail said his squad shook off the loss from Oak Grove strongly. He admits the team took the loss from the Eagles a bit hard. However, when they hit the field for practice the next Monday, all animosity was put aside and the team was able to stay focused for the Pirates.

“Our motto all year has been to stay in the present,” Krail said. “What happened with Oak Grove is over, and we decided we’re going to move forward and not dwell on it. We didn’t even look at film for that game.

“I thought there might be a bit of a hangover from last week,” Krail added. “But the guys bounced back and showed everyone that we’re going to be okay.”

Pioneer sped past Piedmont Hills, shutting them out 28-0 on the half. Piedmont Hills only scores would come in the final quarter from reserve quarterback Danny Cruz.

Just before the half, the Mustangs ran a reverse tied in with a flea flicker.??? Quarterback Chris Foley then launched the ball downfield to a wide-open Nick D’Antonio who ran to the end zone for a 55-yard touchdown reception.

Foley went eight for 22 with 128 yards in the air, with one touchdown and an interception. D’Antonio carried the ball 13 times for 99 yards with four passes caught for 48 yards.

Running back Shaun Souza led the offensive attack with three touchdowns. Souza had 210 yards on 20 carries and caught three passes for 62 yards.

On the defensive side of things, linebacker C.J. Miller led the team with six tackles and 10 assists.

Pioneer’s defense also picked off three passes on the day.

Krail said the team mixed its defensive schemes up by bringing the blitz from all directions, which helped counter the Pirates’ shotgun offense.

“Our defense played unbelievably well today,” Krail said. “We knew (Piedmont Hills) was going to spread us out.
When that happens, there’s one of two things you can do. You can go after them, or sit back and mix up your coverages—that was the route we chose—and it paid off.”

Chargers drop 44-13 loss at home to Oak Grove

Chargers’ record drops to 2-4 in league play;
season ends on Nov. 10 at Piedmont Hills

By Diego Abeloos
Sports Writer

The Leland football team took a 44-13 loss to Oak Grove on the chin Nov. 5 as the Chargers closed out the home portion of their 2005 schedule.

Leland defenders get after Oak Grove running back Jerid Ferranti (4) during a 44-13 loss to the Eagles on Nov. 5. Ferranti led the Eagles with 193 yards rushing and three rushing touchdowns. Photo by Kevin Jones at www.johub.com.

The Chargers, who dropped to 3-6 overall and 2-4 in Mt. Hamilton Division play, finish off their season on Nov. 10 on the road at Piedmont Hills.

For Leland Head Coach Jason Tenner, the lopsided loss was a frustrating one, given the fact that the Chargers took an exciting 20-13 win the week prior at home over Silver Creek.

“I just didn’t think we played good football in the first half,” Tenner said. “Guys were making mental mistakes and not executing. We just didn’t play good, hard-nosed, sound football in the first half.”

For Oak Grove, the win meant keeping pace with the league’s best. Coming into the game, the Eagles shared a three-way tie for first place in the Mt. Hamilton Division with Pioneer and Piedmont Hills. With Pioneer taking a 37-13 win over Piedmont Hills on the same day, the Eagles suddenly found themselves sharing first place with the Mustangs and only one game left on the regular season schedule.

“We’ve worked hard to get ourselves in a position for a league championship,” said Eagles Head Coach Ed Buller. “Our goal all week long was to start off fast and we did.”

The Eagles struck quickly and often in the first half, taking their opening drive and scoring on a 31-yard touchdown run from Jerid Ferranti with 8:48 left in the first quarter for a 7-0 lead.

The Chargers countered with their only scoring drive of the first half, driving the ball from their own 38 and finishing when quarterback Garret Avilla tossed a lateral to Anthony Sunseri, who then found a wide open Billy Oesterreich for a 30-yard touchdown pass with 7:07 left. Following a missed extra point, the Chargers found themselves down by one at 7-6.

Oak Grove struck back quickly however, as the Eagles took their next offensive series 80 yards downfield, ending with a Ferranti scoring run of 19 yards with 3:33 left for a 14-6 lead.

Just before the end of the first quarter, the Eagles were on the board again, getting the ball on offense with 2:04 left and scoring on their first play when Ferranti ran the ball into the end zone for a 41-yard touchdown run with 1:55 to go, giving the Eagles a 21-6 lead.

Ferranti led the Eagles on offense throughout the day, racking up 193 yards rushing on 16 carries.

“He did a nice job,” Buller said of Ferranti. “Our offensive line opened up some nice holes and we had a nice scheme coming in, I thought. He did his part, everyone else did their part and we executed well.”

The Eagles managed three more scoring drives before the end of the first half for a 38-6 lead heading into the third quarter.

The Eagles got on the board with 10:21 left in the second quarter when a drive stalled at the Leland 26 but ended with three more points when Joel Kinne booted a 43-yard field goal for a 24-6 lead.

After a Leland offensive series stalled at the Chargers’ 37, Oak Grove’s Josh Grant blocked Kevin Battipede’s punt, with Eagles defender Mark Forrest recovering the ball in the end zone for a touchdown with 8:07 left, giving Oak Grove a 31-6 lead. Grant led the Eagles defense, registering four sacks on Avilla throughout the day.

“He’s played well for us all year long,” Buller said of Grant. “ … That’s big going into the playoffs.”

The Eagles squeezed in one more scoring drive before the end of the first half, driving the ball from the Leland 43 on eight plays, ending with a 1-yard quarterback sneak from Kevin Vye with 2:35 left, extending the lead to 38-6.

For Leland, the positives came in small doses in the second half.

After the Eagles scored on their first offensive series of the second half, getting a 1-yard quarterback sneak once more from Vye with 8:45 left in the third quarter for a 44-6 lead, the Chargers managed to keep the opposition scoreless for the remaining 20 minutes of the game.

That allowed the Chargers to put together one last scoring drive toward the end of the game, taking the ball from the Leland 28 and driving toward the end zone on seven plays, culminating in a 1-yard touchdown run from Lance Gemette with 20 seconds left for a 44-13 score.

“In the second half, we came out and the guys played with pride, intensity and got after it a little bit,” Tenner said. “That’s all we can ask. Everyone was where they needed to be in the second half.”

Tenner added that he would like nothing more than for the Chargers to finish the season strong against Piedmont Hills on Nov. 10.

“We need to finish strong and play the kind of football that we’re capable of playing,” Tenner said. “We need to end the season the way the way it should end for the seniors—send them out with a victory and play the kind of football that we can be proud of and give us something to build on going into the off-season.”

Sports Briefs

Venom boys’ U9 class 3 soccer team looking to add players
The Almaden Venom Boys U9 Comp soccer team is looking to add a couple of quality players for the winter indoor soccer season at Off The Wall Soccer Arena. If interested, please contact Dave Ballard: dballard@ipass.com or 408-268-1305. Age requirement: Born between 8/1/96 and 7/31/97.

Almaden United girls’ U12 class 1 soccer tryouts Nov. 13
The Almaden United, a Girls Under 12 Class 1 soccer team and defending District 2 champion, will hold tryouts on Sunday, Nov. 13. Girls need to have been born after July 31, 1993 and should e-mail Frank at dflaca@att.net if interested.

High School Sports Schedule

Leland High School
Saturday – Varsity girls’ volleyball CCS Division II quarterfinals at Leland (if necessary), 5 p.m.
Saturday – Cross-country CCS championships at Crystal Springs, time TBA
Saturday – Varsity girls’ water polo CCS quarterfinals at St. Francis (if necessary), 1:20 p.m.
Saturday – Varsity boys’ water polo CCS Division I quarterfinals at Independence, 9:20 a.m.
Saturday – Varsity girls’ field hockey CCS quarterfinals at St. Francis (if necessary), time and opponent TBA

Tuesday – Varsity girls’ water polo CCS semifinals at St. Francis (if necessary), 3:15 p.m.
Tuesday – Varsity girls’ field hockey CCS semifinals at St. Francis (if necessary), time and opponent TBA

Wednesday – Varsity girls’ volleyball CCS Division II semifinals at Santa Clara (if necessary), time and opponent TBA
Wednesday – Varsity boys’ water polo CCS Division I semifinals at Independence (if necessary), 2 p.m.

Pioneer High School
Saturday – Cross country CCS championships at Crystal Springs, time TBA
Saturday – Varsity girls’ water polo CCS quarterfinals at St. Francis (if necessary), 2:40 p.m.

Tuesday – Varsity girls’ water polo CCS semifinals at St. Francis (if necessary), 3:15 p.m.


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

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

Leland girls’ volleyball closes regular season with
loss at Leigh, win versus Mt. Pleasant

Chargers finish season at 23-10 overall and 10-4 in league play;
garner 8th seed in CCS Division II playoffs

By Diego Abeloos
Sports Writer

The Leland girls’ volleyball team took a close 3-1 loss to neighborhood rival Leigh in their final road game of the 2005 regular season on Nov. 1.

THE SENIORS. Leland girls’ volleyball says goodbye to the team’s four seniors on Nov. 3. From left: Stephanie Kato, Margo Consul, Caroline Underwood and Caryn Mohr. The goodbyes will be delayed for a while however, as the Chargers will go on to play in the CCS Division II playoffs beginning Nov. 8. Photo by Diego Abeloos

The Chargers then finished off the regular season schedule with a 3-1 win at home over Mt. Pleasant to finish the season with a 23-10 overall record and a 10-4 record in Mt. Hamilton Division play, good for third place in the standings. The Chargers’ regular season also promised the team a CCS playoff berth, garnering a No. 8 seed in Division II.

Despite the loss to Leigh, which saw the Chargers lose three games by a combined difference of 14 points, Leland Co-Head Coach Trish Moore said the tightly contested game served a purpose, namely good practice in facing top-flight competition for the upcoming CCS playoffs.

“It’s tough. No matter what, we’re going to draw somebody hard,” Moore said of her team’s competition in CCS. “So it’s kind of nice to be able to play Leigh at the end of the season because we’re going to play somebody that good. It’s good practice for us.”

Game one saw the Chargers take a 25-23 win, getting a tip from Joyce Chang to clinch the game. However, things changed from that point on for the Chargers, who saw the Longhorns take three straight games for the 3-1 win.

Game two saw the Longhorns take a 20-14 lead on a 5-1 run that included a tip and a kill from Lauryn Dowd, who led Leigh with 27 kills. Leading 20-16 after two straight Leland points, the Longhorns finished off game two with a 5-2 run for a 25-18 win.

Game three saw both teams stay close, with Leigh taking an early 17-11 lead. The Chargers then embarked on a 5-1 run, getting a kill from Chaulet Scala and a tip from Caroline Underwood to cut the lead to 18-16.

After trading points toward the end of the game, with Leigh still holding onto a two-point lead at 23-21, the Longhorns finished off the win on two straight Dowd kills for a 25-21 win and a 2-1 lead.

Game four saw the Chargers jump out to a 19-14 lead, which was later extended to 22-19 on a pair of Leigh hitting errors and a kill from Scala. But the Longhorns rallied once more, going on a 6-0 run on kills from Dowd, Maddie Weismann and Caitlin Torres for a 25-22 win in game for and an overall 3-1 win to stay undefeated in league at 13-0.

Leland’s Vicki Chang (on the ground) makes a diving dig on a Leigh kill attempt during a 3-1 loss on Nov. 1. Photos by Diego Abeloos

“Leland is a great team,” said Leigh Head Coach Mack Chen. “They’re one of the top teams in our league so we knew they were going to come at us. The girls really responded to that, especially in that last game and I’m just real proud of them … My team doesn’t quit. They just go, go, go because we know the first one to 25 wins.”

For Moore and Co-Head Coach Chris Hansen, the regular season-ending game two days later meant saying a delayed goodbye to the team’s four seniors—Underwood, Caryn Mohr, Stephanie Kato and Margo Consul—given the fact that the Chargers will move on to face stiff competition in the CCS playoffs beginning Nov. 8, when the Chargers will square off at home against Gunn at 7 p.m. in round one. Still, knowing that the end is near for the team’s seniors is a somber thought for the Leland coaching staff.

“It’s sad for us; it is every year,” Moore said. “It’s very emotional for those kids because they put everything that they have into it. These kids work very hard academically and we ask just as much of them out there on the volleyball court. They’ve all done it for four years and for it to come to an end, it’s hard for them and it’s hard for us because we just love them to death.”

Leland frosh/soph football pulls out 13-9 win over Eagles

Leland’s frosh/soph football team beat Oak Grove for the first time in 27 years by a score of 13-9 on Nov. 5. The Chargers’ record now stands at 7-2 overall.

Oak Grove opened the game by driving down the field and scoring on Leland. The Chargers then settled in and shut the Eagles out for the rest of the game.

The Chargers controlled the tempo on both sides of the bal in the win, getting Ricky Battipede to score on a quarterback sneak after Nate Jones (shown catching the ball) caught a big 30-yard first down pass to keep that drive alive.

Jeff Sommer (also shown with ball in the end zone) jumped on a muffed punt in the end zone for the go-ahead and decisive Charger score. On the final Oak Grove drive of the game, Nate Jones stepped in front of an Eagle receiver to intercept the pass and end any hopes the Eagles had of pulling out a victory. The Chargers finish the season against Piedmont Hills on Thursday, Nov. 10, with a chance for the league championship.

Lady Chargers surge ahead to CCS Individual Tennis Playoffs

By Pam Headley,
Leland girls’ tennis head coach
Special to the Times

The Leland girls’ tennis team is riding the momentum of a successful 15-1 regular season into the playoffs.
Following a strong showing in the Blossom Valley Athletic League Division tournament, two Lady Charger singles and two doubles teams advanced to the BVAL League tournament, in a single-elimination contest to decide who represents the league in CCS Individual play.

Leland’s No. 1 doubles duo of Aileen Tsay (left in blue) and Allison Hsia (right in blue) will take on Gina Nguyen and Samantha Chen, the sixth seed from Notre Dame San Jose, in the CCS Individual Tournament beginning Nov. 21 at the Courtside Tennis Club in Los Gatos. Photos by Diego Abeloos

Leland freshman Lydia Chow, the division playoff third place finisher, defeated Abby Zacheo from Mt. Pleasant, 6-1, 6-2, before dropping the semifinal match to Independence’s Nicole Blatt, 4-6, 2-6. With her postseason in jeopardy, Chow came out firing the following day, ousting Anna Guzman of Leigh in the third place playoff match, 6-2, 6-3. The victory assured Chow a place in the CCS Individual Tournament alongside junior Roxy Pourmirzaie, who had clinched her CCS spot the day before.

Pourmirzaie, the tournament’s top seed, received a first round bye before defeating Guzman 6-1, 6-2 in second round action. Having faced each other three times in the last five weeks, and already assured a CCS berth, Pourmirzaie and co-finalist Blatt declined to play for the league championship, leaving Pourmirzaie’s 3-0 record against Blatt to speak for itself.

In doubles action, a pair of crafty veterans in seniors Katie Alesch and Connie Wang, and a set of solid freshmen, Allison Hsia and Aileen Tsay, represented Leland.

The freshmen came to the tournament as the division champions, earning a first round bye. From there they defeated Willow Glen’s team of Van and Tro in straight sets, on their way to a finals showdown with Oak Grove’s Brittain and Borjon.

The championship match was worth the price of admission, as the young Leland team jumped ahead with a first set win 6-2, only to drop the second set in a tiebreaker. A league title on the line, Hsia and Tsay regrouped and redoubled their efforts, taking the third set with authority, finishing off the Eagles 6-1 for the victory.

The Leland seniors also had an exciting road to the CCS qualifying rounds. After cruising to victory in their first round match against Westmont, 6-2, 6-0, Alesch and Wang faced the tough Oak Grove team of Brittain and Borjon. Foreshadowing the league final, the Charger team came out strong, decisively taking the first set 6-2. But the Eagles weren’t going to back down. The Oak Grove girl’s took the next two sets 1-6, 5-7, to secure the win, forcing Alesch and Wang to a playoff for their postseason future.

The determined team came back the following day and made quick work of Willow Glen’s Van and Tro, 6-4, 6-0, to ensure their place in the CCS draw.

“I’m excited to go to CCS,” said Alesch. “Connie and I are really close and we’re honest with each other, which really helps us on the court.”

At the CCS seeding meeting held last Saturday, Pourmirzaie and Chow each drew tough competitors.

In round one action, Chow will face the number one seed, Samantha Rosecrans from Sacred Heart Prep, while Pourmirzaie steps up against the Almaden Valley’s Taylor Davis, the number four seed playing for Archbishop Mitty. The doubles draw pits Alesch and Wang against fourth seeded Anita Athavale and Sami Kawahara from Mitty. Hsia and Tsay will take on Gina Nguyen and Samantha Chen, the sixth seed from Notre Dame San Jose.

CCS Individual Singles and Doubles action begins Nov. 21 at the Courtside Tennis Club in Los Gatos.

Exercising for A’s

Santa Clara County Office of Education launches Fit for
Learning Program on Allen at Steinbeck Grounds Nov. 26

By Diego Abeloos
Editor

Santa Clara County Office of Education officials joined soccer star Brandi Chastain on Oct. 26 at Allen at Steinbeck Elementary School to launch the Fit for Learning program, a school-based program combating childhood obesity and poor health.

Two-time Olympic gold medal soccer star Brandi Chastain talks to a crowd of Allen at Steinbeck students about the importance of fitness and healthy eating. Chastain spent much of the break period playing jump rope and basketball with the students. Photos by Diego Abeloos

Chastain and SCCOE officials joined students during their morning break, jumping rope and playing basketball with the kids.

“As parents we have to be good role models, as athletes we have to be good role models. There’s easy solutions,” Chastain said of combating poor childhood health and fitness.

“It’s helping kids understand that fitness is not a four-letter word. Fitness is fun. Any kind of fitness is good for you—jumping rope, playing basketball, playing soccer, hopscotch, dancing, anything—just to keep your heart pumping.”

The program was designed in response to 2004 state Physical Fitness Test results, which showed that only 28 percent of local students in Santa Clara County passed all fitness areas of the exam. Furthermore, nearly 25 percent of students in the state were deemed overweight. SCCOE estimates that these children’s health problems cost the state approximately $12.7 billion per year.

SCCOE officials met with medical, public health and education officials to design the program, which will be incorporated with regular lesson plans this year at the fifth grade level. The program will be expanded next year to include all elementary grades.

“What we find is that kids who are obese or overweight, or aren’t physically fit, have lower self esteem, are less likely to be socially involved in the school, do not do as well on tests, do not do as well in school. There’s a whole cycle of failure that’s created,” said Dr. Colleen Wilcox, County Superintendent of Schools. “For the whole society, this is a very important project. With this enormous emphasis on math, science and language art achievement, it’s really important that we begin to infuse fitness and nutrition into our core curriculum as well.”

The program trained over 200 local teachers to incorporate fitness and health into classroom learning, said Wilcox, who estimates that the number of teachers trained will expand dramatically in the coming years. Wilcox cautioned that without family and community support, the program isn’t likely to have a big impact on the changing and correcting problems in children’s health.

“If the parents aren’t involved in schools with this effort, it’s probably not going to be supported,” Wilcox said. “Right now I think there’s a mindset amongst so many parents who want to celebrate their child’s birthday or their child’s friend’s birthday, to bring a bunch of cupcakes or whatever to the school. We want them to think about healthier choices for our kids and still create a great sense of celebration.”

For more information about the SCCOE Fit for Learning program, go to www.fitforlearning.org.

Almaden Country School fifth-sixth grade C team wins
St. Victor’s football tournament

The Almaden Country School football teams heads to St. Victor’s football tournament each year to compete against squads from outside the Silicon Valley Athletic League. Although the Cougars have finished as high as third, a tournament championship against bigger teams from the Catholic and South Valley leagues had eluded them—until this year.

The undefeated fifth-sixth grade C team was dominant from start to finish on its way to a 4-0 record and the tournament championship.

From left, back row: Coach Travis Linquist, Trevor Fedyna and Coach Aaron John; middle row: Spencer Pace, Michael Gallo, Chad Piper, Matthew Ashley, Ben Busath, Cal Smith, Christopher Panella and Jason Dietz; front row: Will Hayden, Eric Louie, Dylan Hunter, Robert Musci, Sean Davis, Drew Fryhoff and Dylan Bell; missing: Nicky Silva.

The day began with a pool play game against a strong St. Christopher’s squad. ACS quarterback Sean Davis threw a 29-yard completion to receiver Dylan Hunter and the tone was set. Two plays later Davis crossed the line on a
sneak for the game’s first score.

Offensive lineman Jason Dietz, Trevor Fedyna, and Robert Musci, and Chad Piper were near perfect all tournament. Their performance allowed the Cougars to move the ball into St. Christopher’s territory on the next ACS possession. Tailback Will Hayden took the ball to the 1-yard line and Davis scored on another sneak to put the game away. St. Christopher’s was unable to find the end zone and ACS took an early lead in pool play. Game two against Harker’s sixth grade team was a defensive gem for ACS.

Safety Cal Smith intercepted a Harker pass and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown. Harker’s next possession ended just like the first. Cornerback Michael Gallo intercepted the Harker quarterback and found the end zone on a 37-yard return.

Defensive ends Spencer Pace and Drew Fryhoff contained the mobile Harker quarterback all game and ACS kept a second opponent out of the end zone en route to a 2-0 pool play record and first round playoff bye.

Host St. Victor’s would prove to be the Cougar’s toughest test of the day in the semi-finals. After scoring early, the ACS defense gave up its first touchdown and St. Victor’s moved to within a touchdown of the Cougars. ACS scored on the ensuing drive and Coaches Travis Linquist and Aaron Schubbe opted to go for two points and put the game out of reach. On the conversion, Tight end Chad Piper broke to the back corner of the end zone and the pass from Davis looked to be slightly overthrown.

Piper then made the play of the day when he dove and secured the ball with one hand landing just inside the end zone pylon.

The semi-final victory meant a first ever trip to the championship game for an ACS team. The championship game turned out to be a rematch of an earlier non-league contest between ACS and the Harker fifth grade team. The Cougars won that closely contested game at home, but Harker rallied late and was no doubt looking to avenge the loss with a tournament victory.

Harker was unable to move the ball on their first possession, and opted to punt. On their first possession, the ACS team took a holding penalty and found themselves in third-and-long situation.

Davis looked deep for receivers Dylan Hunter and Michael Gallo. Unable to find an open teammate, Davis scrambled for 18 yards creating a fourth and short situation. Choosing to go for it on fourth down, Linquist called the “stop” play that has been practiced all season, and never run in a game. Davis dropped back while Hunter broke downfield selling a long route, stopping just across the first down line, Hunter turned and Davis delivered a perfect strike for the first down.

The Cougars scored two plays later and never looked back. The ACS defense pitched its third shutout in four games and the boys walked off the field as tournament champions.

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