SPORTS

Pat Tillman, Zac Monsees honored in S.J. Hall of Fame ceremony

By Karl Laucher
Staff Writer

The cast of the bronze bust that will represent Pat Tillman in the San Jose Hall of Fame

Pat Tillman burned bright as a personality, an athlete and as the ultimate warrior. Bright enough that San Jose Hall of Fame should consider naming their institution after him, as opposed to saluting him as an honored inductee. The latter was the case during ceremonies at the HP Pavilion last week.

As is their wont, the Tillman family avoided meeting with the media prior to ceremonies, and Pat’s widow, Marie, kept her acceptance comments short during the actual presentation event, saying little more than thank you.

Pat himself, of course, was reticent on self-promotion, but a demonstrative human being in most other ways.

Joining Tillman among the 2004 Hall of Fame inductees were former Stanford and 49er football star John Brodie, Olympic gold medalist Amy Chow, former Cupertino High, Santa Clara University and Los Angeles Lakers basketball standout Kurt Rambis, and San Jose State University golfer Ken Venturi, who went on to win the U.S. Open before a career as an analyst in TV sports.

Monsees, the lanky star of Leland High School aquatics over four seasons, was honored as the male High School Athletic of the Year. He was a two-time All-American and Blossom Valley Athletic League Most Valuable Player in water polo and a six-time All-American and Central Coast Section champion in swimming. Last summer, he helped the Lamorinda Water Polo Club of the East Bay win the national under-20 championship.

Now a freshman in regular playing rotation for the No. 4-ranked Cal-Berkeley Bears water polo team, Monsees was unable to attend the ceremonies due to a game conflict, but was represented at the event by his parents, Mike and Sandy, and sister, Courtney.

The award was backed by a video presentation produced by Robert Braunstein of the Cal High Sports TV show.

“For Zac to be recognized as the top all-around high school athlete is so very amazing because water polo and swimming get such minimal acceptance,” said Mike Monsees, who, as Leland’s water and polo and swimming coach, witnessed virtually every stoke Zac ever took.

The following are the biographies on Tillman and Monsees presented by the sponsoring San Jose Sports Authority at the Hall of Fame banquet.

PAT TILLMAN
San Jose Hall of Fame inductee

Pat Tillman died a hero. He was in harm’s way in Afghanistan last April by choice, and few people–weighing whether the alternatives of life as a pro football player or the risks of a soldier in a combat zone–would have made the same choice he did.

Still, it’s important to remember that Tillman’s choice was about service; it was neither a quest for heroism nor a death wish. “The essence of the man was to help somewhere else if he felt he was needed to help,” said Dave McGinnis, coach of the Arizona Cardinals in 2002 when Tillman decided to give up his NFL career for the U.S. Army Rangers following the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States.

Tillman’s death sharpened the nation’s understanding of how fully and intensely the San Jose native and Leland High graduate lived his life. He fully supported family, friends and teammates and accepted the consequences of those commitments.

In high school, where he played both ways, Tillman once sneaked back into a game after being subbed out, so the coach took his shoulder pads and helmet away from him the rest of the game. He also came to the defense of a friend in a fight and had to serve 30 days’ juvenile detention. He later told Sports Illustrated he was proud of that chapter of his life, not because of what happened but because “it made me realize that stuff you do has repercussions. You can lose everything.’’

That was two weeks before his first football practice at Arizona State and was the last fight he was involved inn until Afghanistan. The Sun Devils planned for Tillman to redshirt his freshman year, but he made it clear his commitment to them was for four years, after which he had other plans. He rewarded ASU by leading the team to the 1997 Rose Bowl as a linebacker and being named Pac-10 Conference Defensive Player of the Year as a senior. He graduated in 3 ½ years.

Still, he was considered undersized at 5-11, 192 pounds, and the Arizona Cardinals waited until the seventh round to take him in the 1998 NFL Draft.  He switched to safety and became the first rookie starter at that position in team history. He led the Cardinals in special teams tackles with 30 in 1999, and by the end of the 2001 season, the team was prepared to reward him with a $3.6 million contract.

But for the second time in his football career, Tillman had to tell his coach he had other plans. He and his brother Kevin, a former minor league baseball player, had been profoundly moved by the terrorist attacks on the United States, and they enlisted in the Army together.

Tillman’s decision ended a great football career as well as his life. But it was the decision of a man more concerned with what he could contribute than what he would receive.

ZAC MONSEES
High School Athlete of the Year

Zac Monsees was head and shoulders above the rest as Leland High School’s aquatics ace. Photo by Michael Pimentel.

In an Olympic year, it would be difficult for any top high school swimmer to keep his thoughts from drifting away from local meets to the glamour of bigger competitions. Zac Monsees had to fight that temptation.

His sister Courtney, younger by three years, had already qualified in early spring for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in swimming. But Zac, a perennial Central Coast Section swim champion at Leland High as well as an all-CCS water polo player, asked not to be included in the family’s travel plans to Long Beach to see her swim. He wanted to earn his own way.

His best chance was in the 200-meter individual medley, an event combining all four strokes that he had specialized in because it would make him a better candidate for a college scholarship. The CCS finals in May gave him hope. For the third straight year he won two events including his second consecutive 200 IM title. A month later, Zac earned his Olympic Trials qualifying time in an international meet at Santa Clara to make the Long Beach trip a full family affair.

High School Sports Schedule Nov. 12-Nov. 18

Leland High School

Friday – Varsity girls’ tennis CCS quarterfinals at high seed home site, 2:30 p.m.
Friday – Frosh/soph football at Leigh, 4:30 p.m.
Friday – Varsity football at Leigh, 7 p.m.

Saturday – Varsity girls’ volleyball CCS Div. II quarterfinals at Leland, 5 p.m.
Saturday – Varsity boys’ water polo CCS Div. I quarterfinals vs. Salinas at Independence, 10:40 a.m.
Saturday – Varsity girls’ water polo CCS quarterfinals at Independence or St. Francis

Tuesday – Varsity girls’ water polo CCS semifinals at Independence or St. Francis
Tuesday – Varsity boys’ water polo CCS Div. I semifinals at Independence or St. Francis

Wednesday – Varsity girls’ water polo CCS semifinals at Independence or St. Francis
Wednesday – Varsity boys’ water polo CCS semifinals at Independence or St. Francis
Wednesday – Varsity girls’ volleyball CCS Div. II semifinals at Leland, 6 and 8 p.m.

Pioneer High School

Saturday – Cross country CCS championships at Toro Park in Salinas

Thursday – Varsity girls’ preseason basketball at Gunderson, 5 p.m.
Thursday – JV girls’ preseason basketball at Gunderson, 5 p.m.
Thursday – Varsity boys’ preseason basketball vs. Cupertino, 3:30 p.m.
Thursday – Frosh/soph boys’ preseason basketball at Cupertino, 6 p.m.

NOTE: For more information on CCS Playoffs, log on to www.cifccs.org

Cell phone fundraiser to send Pop Warner football team to Florida

Kevin Jones, a Pop Warner football coach, has come up with an innovative way to raise funds should his boys go all the way this year and need to fly out to Florida for the Pop Warner Super Bowl the first week of December.

“We’re doing very well in the playoffs,” says Jones. “If things go right for us we could find ourselves in the Super Bowl of Pop Warner in Florida first week of December! You can imagine the cost to get everyone there. So, we found a fundraiser where we are paid money for every out of use cell phone we can bring in.”

If you are interested in helping the team out drop your cell phone off in a receiving box on Jones’ porch at 1190 Old Oak Drive (off of Trinidad at Crown). Leave your name and number too so the boys can send you a thank you.

Leland Chargers pound Pirates 27-7 at opening of Pat Tillman Stadium

Leland’s Kyle Jones and Kirk Andre combine for 219 yards rushing in win

By Diego Abeloos
Sports Writer

The Leland Chargers played at the newly christened P at Tillman Stadium for the only time this year and made it count, getting a 27-7 win over the Piedmont Hills Pirates on Nov. 5.

On a night designated to honor Pat Tillman, the Chargers gave a fitting end to the festivities with the win, improving the team’s record to 3-6 overall and 2-4 in Mount Hamilton Division play.

“It was important for our kids to come out and respond well early, and they did,” said Leland Head Coach Kelly Edwards. “It’s important for one team to come out and explode early, and that team was probably going to end up winning the football game. Fortunately enough, that was us.”

Leland running back Kyle Jones, along with fellow Charger running back Kirk Andre, had the offense moving swiftly and efficiently against the Pirate defensive line, as Jones rushed for 129 yards on 19 carries with two touchdowns.

Meanwhile, Andre complemented Jones’ effort with 90 yards on the ground on 16 handoffs, including a touchdown.

“Our coaching staff did a good job of putting together a game plan that had Kirk and Jones on the field at the same time,” said Edwards. “We felt they were good enough to keep in the game at the same time and trying to find a scheme that would let that happen and so we did our power-I (set).”

The Chargers wasted no time getting ahead of the Pirates, driving the ball 74 yards on their game-opening offensive series, culminating in a 25-yard pass play from Charger quarterback Corey Williams to Logan Foos. On the play, Foos stopped in mid-stride, leaped and caught the under-thrown ball from Williams, taking it in the rest of the way to the end zone for a 7-0 Leland lead with 1:13 left in the first quarter.

Near the end of the second quarter, the Chargers extended their lead to 14-0, going on a four-play, 66-yard drive, highlighted by a 53-yard run from fullback Alex Bynum on the first play of the offensive series. The run set the Charger offense at the Pirate 13 and Jones went the rest of the way, running the ball three times and getting into the end zone on a one-yard touchdown run with 3:17 left in the first half.

Much like the first series of the game for the Chargers, the second half opened up with another scoring drive for Leland. Driving the ball 51 yards, all seven plays came on runs, including a one-yard touchdown run from Andre with 8:26 left in the third quarter.

“We put them in the best position to help us out,” said Charger linebacker Taylor Hubbard of Jones and Andre. “We just had a lot of fun and they (Jones and Andre) did great today.”

Less than two minutes into the fourth quarter, the Pirates finally got on the scoreboard, putting together a three-play, 50-yard drive. On the drive, Pirate running back Chris Jones carried the ball twice for 28 yards, but it was second-string quarterback Michael Chou who did the rest, running 22 yards on a quarterback keeper for the touchdown with 10:49 left for a 21-7 score.

A little over five minutes later, it was Leland on the board again, as the offense collaborated on an 11-play, 59-yard drive to put the Chargers up 27-7 with 5:25 to go. On the drive, Jones carried the ball three times for 41 yards, including an 11-yard touchdown run, his second of the night.

“The whole season we’ve been waiting for this game,” said senior wide receiver Foos, referring to the opening of the new home field and the Pat Tillman ceremony before the start of the game. “It’s big because it’s the first home game, the only home game as a senior for me. We’re never going to do this again.”

Mustangs fumble their way to 29-28 loss against Leigh

Leigh preserves first-place tie with Oak Grove, Pioneer stays in 2nd

By Carl Ponzio
Times Intern

With a mere 19 seconds left on the clock, the Pioneer Mustangs fumbled away their chance at tying for first place in the Mt. Hamilton division on Nov. 6. With time ticking, the Mustangs lost the ball inside Leigh territory on an Andrew Schulz fumble, giving Leigh the ball back with 13.9 seconds to spare.

When time expired, the Mustangs saw themselves on the losing side of a one-point victory by the Leigh Longhorns.

The scoreboard, showing Pioneer 28, Leigh 29, reminded the Mustang players that for the second time in a row, their fate was decided by just one point. “If you look at the scoreboard, we came up short,” said Pioneer Head Coach Mark Krail. “Our kids put forth a great effort and, you know, you have days like this.”

Last week, Pioneer battled back in the fourth quarter to win 41-40 against the Piedmont Hills Pirates. This time however, after another nail-biter against the first-place Longhorns, Pioneer came up just a little short of a victory.

As the second quarter came to a close, Pioneer had all of the momentum on their side of the ball.

With seconds ticking away on the clock, the Mustangs dazzled the home crowd with a 32-yard halfback option pass from J.J. Goulden to Alex Pagan. With 1.3 seconds remaining in the half, the Mustangs had tied the game at 14.

“I wasn’t really worried about the passing getting to (Pagan),” said Goulden of the trick play. “I was just worried about my blocking and it (the play) just happened in the right way.”

Starting from the Leigh 20, the Longhorns tried one last play to win back some of the energy they had lost on the touchdown by Pioneer. But in the final second of the half, Pioneer’s Rolando Gomez and Bobby Lopez sacked quarterback Kiel Trudeau.

The Mustangs came out strong in the third quarter, scoring two touchdowns and blocking Leigh’s only PAT of the quarter. Things got started for the Mustangs in the quarter when Shaun Souza returned the second-half kickoff to the Leigh 34 yard-line. That set up a three-play drive ending with a six-yard touchdown run from fullback Danny Ventura with 10:58 left, giving the Mustangs a 21-14 lead.

“We put together a lot of really good drives and our offensive line played great,” said Ventura. “That’s what gave me my run, the offensive line.”

Leigh bounced back with a scoring drive as well, driving the ball 76 yards and ending with a one-yard touchdown run from running back Mark Carlotta with 7:29 left. On the PAT, Pioneer’s Justin Kaufmann leapt over a pile of players from both sides, blocking Daniel Franke’s attempt to kick another point through, giving Pioneer a slight 21-20 edge.

Just before the end of the third quarter, Pioneer engineered another scoring drive, starting from the Leigh 28 and working the ball down to the Leigh 3 before Ventura punched in another touchdown run with 37.6 seconds left, putting the Mustangs up 28-20.
However, Pioneer was unable to keep the Longhorns corralled for too much longer. The fourth quarter opened with a 12-yard pass from Trudeau to wide receiver Andy Holloway with 11:51 left in the game. After a failed two-point conversion the score was 28-26 Pioneer. Pioneer could do little on offense the following series, driving to the Leigh 48 before being forced to punt the ball away.

Leigh took advantage of the Pioneer punt, getting the ball on its own 10-yard line with 9:19 left in the quarter.

The Longhorns proceeded to put together a 21-play drive that consumed over 8 minutes on the clock, with the offense settling for a 19-yard Longhorn field goal from Franke, giving Leigh a 29-28 lead with 51.8 seconds on the clock.

“We were able to keep them out of the end zone but weren’t able to keep them off the scoreboard,” Krail concluded. “That turned out to be the difference.”

In a mad dash to get into field goal range, the Mustangs completed one pass from Chris Foley to Pagan before a second reception from Andrew Schulz was stripped by defenders and fumbled down the left sideline with 19 seconds left in the game with Leigh recovering the ball on the play. The lost dropped the Mustangs to 6-3 overall and 4-2 in league.

HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS ROUNDUP

By Diego Abeloos
Sports Writer

Leland High School
Girls’ water polo wins BVAL championship, head to CCS

The girls’ water polo team had a week to remember, winning two games in the Blossom Valley Athletic League Championships on Nov. 5 and Nov. 6 and clinching the league title to advance to the Central Coast Section playoffs.

The Chargers took their first step to CCS by defeating Pioneer 13-4 on Nov. 5. Christy Stibbe was a key player for the Chargers, scoring seven goals in the contest, while Courtney Monsees chipped in three more in the win.

The following day, the Chargers clinched the BVAL title by coming back from a 5-3 deficit in the third quarter to win 8-6 over Independence. Stibbe, Monsees and Rebecca Pele scored two goals apiece in the win for the Chargers (23-9 overall, 10-0 league).

“We’re very excited,” said Leland Head Coach Eric Rise. “We have a good chance of winning (in CCS). Two of our goals were to break the school’s win total and to win league. Our third goal is to win round one of CCS.”

Boys’ water polo
splits two at BVAL championship, ranks seventh for CCS

The boys’ water polo crew saw success at the BVAL championships as well, getting a close 6-5 win over Independence on Nov. 5. Scott Stuart helped out his Charger teammates by scoring twice in the victory.

The following day, the Chargers dropped a 9-3 decision to Mount Pleasant, but were seeded seventh for the CCS playoffs nonetheless, setting the stage for a CCS division I Leland matchup against Salinas on Nov. 13.

“The goal was to make CCS,” said Leland Head Coach Mike Monsees. “We made it and we got a real good ranking … we still have a chance to move on.”

Girls’ volleyball takes two games, gears up for CCS Division II playoffs
The Leland girls’ volleyball squad went undefeated for the week, getting wins at Independence on Nov. 2 and a victory over Branham on Nov. 4.

Against Indepen-dence, the Chargers took the contest in three straight games, winning 25-17, 25-22 and 25-20. Marissa Brehmer led all Chargers with 13 kills.

Two days later, the Chargers won over the Branham Bruins in five games, winning by scores of 25-12, 16-25, 25-15, 20-25 and 15-12. Chaulet Scala led her team with 16 kills in the victory over the Bruins.

The end result of the wins was an eighth-seeded ranking in the CCS Division II playoffs for the Chargers (18-10 overall, 9-5 in Mount Hamilton Division play).

“We are thrilled to be in CCS this year,” said Leland Co-Head coach Trisha Moore. “We are a really young team, probably the only team in CCS to start as many sophomores and freshmen as we do.”

Field hockey loses
2-1, miss playoffs by one game

The girls’ field hockey season ended on a down note, as the Chargers dropped a 2-1 decision to St. Ignatius on Nov. 2. Ashleigh Adams scored Leland’s lone goal in the loss.

For the Chargers, the lost meant missing the CCS playoffs by one game, as Leland ended the season with a 7-6-1 league record.

“I guess from the beginning of the season to the end of the season, we made great improvements,” said Leland Head Coach Sharan Kalla. “We could’ve stepped it up a bit more though; we just needed one more win.”

Pioneer High School
Girls water polo wins Santa Teresa
division, loses in bid for CCS playoffs

The girls’ water polo team ended the season by winning two games to take the Santa Teresa Division championship before splitting two games at the BVAL championships, which ended the Mustangs’ run to the CCS playoffs.

The Mustangs got the week going with a 19-0 blowout win over Evergreen Valley on Nov. 2. Kate Waggoner and Elyssa Samson scored three goals apiece, while four other mustangs scored two goals each as well in the victory.

The following day, the Mustangs took a close 7-6 win over Willow Glen, aided by two goals from Cara Simpson, to win the Santa Teresa Division with a perfect 10-0 league record.

But the Mustangs’ bid for a place in CCS playoffs fell short, as Pioneer dropped a 13-4 decision to Leland on Nov. 5 during Mount Hamilton Division championship play. The following day, the Mustangs ended their season with an 8-4 win over Santa Teresa, taking third place in the Mount Hamilton Division championships, one place short of advancing to CCS.

“We had such a great season,” said Pioneer Head Coach Gordy Smith. “It’s disappointing, but it’s also not because we played so well. CCS was a long reach for us … but we’re extremely pleased with the season we had.”

Boys’ water polo ends season by splitting two at Mount Hamilton championships
The boys’ water polo crew saw the season end as well, as the Mustangs split two games at the Mount Hamilton Division Championships on Nov. 5 and Nov. 6.

The Mustangs got things going on a positive note, getting a 14-9 win over the Piedmont Hills Pirates, as Kevin Zondervan and Ryan Peterson led the Mustangs with three goals apiece.

The game one celebration was short lived, as the Mustangs proceeded to drop a 22-4 loss to Mount Pleasant later that day. On Nov. 6, the Mustangs ended the season with a 10-6 win over Independence to take third place in the league tournament and end the season with an overall record of 18-14 and a 5-6 league record.

“We played well,” said Pioneer Head Coach Scott Kaubish of the 10-6 win on Nov. 6. “I think the team played very cool throughout the game, like they were in control. For the most part, they played four solid quarters.”

Girls’ volleyball ends season with loss, bids farewell to six seniors
The girls’ volleyball team ended the season by splitting two games, winning against James Lick on Nov. 3 before dropping the last game of the season to Gunderson on Nov. 5.

Against James Lick, the Mustangs took the contest in three games by scores of 25-23, 25-13 and 25-13. Senior Kristen Harris led the way for the Mustangs with five kills. The game also featured Senior Night, the last home game for six pioneer seniors. Harris, Stephanie Morales, Kay-tee Henshall, Christee Lee, Jamie Hopper and Stephanie Habian were showered with praise and parting gifts, as the seniors played on their home court for the last time.

“It’s hard to see them go,” said Pioneer Head Coach Michelle Ritter. “Senior Night was hard. They were upset because it was their last home game.”

The Mustangs then ended the season on Nov. 5 with a 21-25, 25-17, 25-22 and 25-18 loss on the road to Gunderson, finishing the season with a 10-7 overall record and an 8-4 record in league play.

“I’m really happy with the season,” Ritter said. “The girls came out and did all they could do and more … they’re really happy with the season and so am I.”

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