SPORTS

Leland falls in season finale; Leigh triumphs

Too little, too late versus MHAL co-champion Leigh Longhorns

By Justin Petersen
Staff Writer

From left, Leland captain Kyle Jones, Art King, Jr., Kirk Andre, Gabe Castaneda and Alex Bynum face down the Leigh captains prior to the coin toss. Photo courtesy of www.mikejanes.com.

Kyle Jones’ field goal attempt sailed wide right as time expired in Leland High School’s 14-12 loss to Leigh High School Nov. 12. The 42-yard attempt capped a frustrating return to the Mount Hamilton Division for the Chargers (3-7, 2-5) and a fairy tale season for the Longhorns (9-1, 6-1), who—staggering—secured their first MHAL championship in 10 years.

Battling minus arguably the three most effective offensive weapons in the league, Leigh eked out as many victories in the waning weeks of the season, sharing the MHAL championship with Oak Grove High School and winning an untimely bid into the CCS Open Division playoff bracket.

Leigh will face an ascending West Catholic Athletic League Champion Saint Francis High School on Friday, Nov. 19 without seniors Matt Hoffman [WR, 7 touchdowns in four games], Jon Brown [FB/LB, 15 touchdowns], and Brian Wendt [TE/LB, 5 touchdowns, 60 tackles in six games].

“The kids will come out and fight,” assured Leigh Head Coach Shawn Thomas, bittersweet following the win. Thomas conveyed his excitement for the kids’ hard work in the off season culminating in an MHAL championship; however, pulling into the playoffs without three All-CCS-caliber players, recalls a dream that ‘could have been.’ “Of course we’re going in banged up, playing without three studs, including the best defensive player in the league (Wendt), but we’ll fight. You know you’ve got your work cut out anytime you face St. Francis.”

Leland rolled into Friday’s contest at its peak of powers—and revitalized—after smashing Piedmont Hills High School Nov. 5—the inaugural game held at Pat Tillman stadium. The Chargers, who battled, injury and loss beginning even before the season, received an influx of strength in the second half with the return of senior RB/LB Kirk Andre, amongst others.

“Leland got healthy on us,” said Thomas, relieved that the Chargers’ best spoiler impression missed the mark.

“Their record was out the window in this game. That’s a good team and well coached. They did a wonderful job keeping the ball out of our hands.”

Leland defense, led by senior LB Alex Bynum, set the tone early, shutting down the juggernaut Longhorns’ passing game, which has accounted for an unprecedented 3,000 yards passing this season. The Chargers game plan—slow Leigh QB Kiel Trudeau’s tempo and close passing lanes—proved very successful until late in the fourth quarter.

With approximately five minutes remaining, Leland set the stage, driving the length of the field behind the churning legs of Jones and Andre. Gritty efforts by the two tailbacks, following the light of FB, Bynum blocking, allowed Jones to nail a field goal, moving Leland ahead 10-7. Enter Trudeau.

The CCS’ leading passer then orchestrated an approximate 70 yard drive—a la 1990’s John Elway—culminating in a 15-yard touchdown pass to hit WR Andy Holloway in the left corner of the end zone.

With two minutes remaining, trailing by four points, Leland mounted a counter punch, turning to senior star receiver Art King, Jr. King, Jr. forged up the field turning three short passes into first downs and setting up several cracks at the end zone. However, on third down, quarterback Corey Williams was hit in motion by Leigh junior Aaron Lavell, sending the ball sailing into the Longhorn secondary, where it was picked off by Brandon Feria.

With 1:30 remaining, Leigh in control and Leland heartbroken, the game appeared finished. However, when a Leigh running back was knocked out of bounds to stop the clock on third down, the Longhorns were forced to punt—or rather—take a safety in the interests of field position, making the score 14-12. The ensuing kickoff set up a last second opportunity for the Chargers.

Leland’s historically sputtering offense again mounted a drive in the clutch, setting up the 42-yard attempt by Jones.

“Obviously I would have liked to have seen us not have the interception or to have made that field goal,” said Leland Head Coach Kelly Edwards. “Against a team like Leigh, to be in that position in the game is where you want to be. We gave ourselves the chance and we came up short. But I thought our kids played great.”

The loss, in conjunction with trying efforts in 2004, raises questions for Leland in the future. Will the Chargers remain in A-league competition? “We find out on Wednesday (Nov. 17),” said Edwards. “I’d like to stay in the A-league. I think it’s a good league for us. But it’s all in the hands of the other coaches.” Coaches representing each team in the MHAL vote to determine who comes and who goes. “It’s always disappointing to lose, but less so dealing with circumstances. I wish we had five or six more weeks left. We finished a lot stronger than we started,” finished Edwards.

Individually, several Leland players are likely to receive attention from recruiters throughout the off season. King, Jr. will visit University Nevada-Reno in December and has received attention from Washington and CAL, among others. Bynum, gifted and reputedly a hard worker in the classroom, is being courted by Harvard. And Jones, Andre and Gabe Castaneda are also considered prospects to move on to the next level in college.

High School Sports Schedule Nov. 19-Nov. 25

Leland High School
Saturday – Varsity boys’ basketball at Branham, 12 p.m.

Wednesday – Varsity boys’ basketball alumni game at Leland, 7:30 p.m.

Pioneer High School
Saturday – Varsity football at Soquel, first round of Small School Division CCS Playoffs, 1 p.m.
Saturday – Varsity girls’ basketball vs. Wallenberg, 2:30 p.m.

Tuesday – Varsity girls’ basketball at Lincoln, 7 p.m.
Tuesday – Varsity boys’ basketball vs. Soquel, 7 p.m.

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

Mustangs overcome deficit to 76ers and walk away with 33-33 tie

Pioneer tailbacks Andrew Schulz and Shaun Souza combine for 265 yards on the ground

By Diego Abeloos
Sports Writer

The Pioneer Mustangs walked into the field at Independence High School on Nov. 11 tied with the 76ers for second place in the Mount Hamilton Division—and walked out the same way, as both teams settled for a 33-33 tie.

Things didn’t appear headed toward a tie late in the third quarter of the contest, when the 76ers went up 33-17 on a fumble by Mustang fullback Jon Silva that was recovered and returned 45 yards by 76er defensive back Tyler Osborne with 3:02 left.

However, like most of the night, the Mustangs (6-3-1 overall, 4-2-1 league) hung around close enough to keep the 76ers sweating.

“A tie is a tie,” said Pioneer Head Coach Mark Krail. “It is what it is, but it sure felt good from our end to get back and tie that ballgame.”

On a drive that began late in the third quarter, the Mustangs got back on the board on a 3-yard touchdown run by Andrew Schulz with 11:16 to go in the fourth quarter. The Mustangs elected to go for a two-point try on the next play, and it worked, as Pioneer running back Shaun Souza cut left on a run and made his way into the end zone, cutting the 76ers’ lead to 33-25.

“That team is quick and they hit hard,” Souza said of the 76ers. “Me and Schulz just kept pounding and looking for the holes. It just opened up for us a few times.”

Independence (7-2-1 overall, 4-2-1 league) proceeded to drive their offense to the Pioneer 24, chewing up eight minutes of the game clock before stalling well short of the end zone when 76er running back Quentrel Hunter was hit eight yards behind the line of scrimmage by Mustang defensive lineman Steve Matos on 4th down.

“We gave up a couple of big plays but we stepped it up and didn’t let anything happen in the fourth quarter,” said Matos of the Mustang defense.

The play gave the Mustangs the ball back with 3:08 to go on their own 32 and it didn’t take long for Pioneer to spring into action.

On the second play from scrimmage, Souza took a handoff from quarterback Chris Foley and ran the distance, sprinting 68 yards for a touchdown with 2:44 left. Once again, the Mustangs went for a two-point try and pulled it off, handing the ball off to Souza, who managed to sneak a foot into the end zone before being pushed back, tying the game at 33.

“That play was working all day so we thought we should go to it again,” said Souza, who ended the night with 128 yards rushing and 59 yards receiving. “I just pounded the ball in and our line blocked great both times (on two-point conversions).”

The 76ers, with time still on the clock, made one last effort to retake the lead, driving the ball from their own 36 to the Mustang 11. On 4th-and-two, the 76ers sent out kicker Jesus Gil for a 28-yard field goal attempt, but Gil kicked the game-winning field goal attempt right into the backs of his offensive line, giving Pioneer the ball back with only one second to spare in regulation.

“They (76ers) were bigger than us, they were faster than us, but our guys punched, kicked and scratched, did everything they could to stay in that game,” Krail said.

The game started out on a promising note for the Mustangs, as the offense directed a game-opening drive to the 76er 25 before settling for a 42-yard field goal from Mustang kicker Bobby Lopez with 10:29 left in the first quarter.

The Mustang lead didn’t hold for long, as the 76ers scored on a 52-yard touchdown run from Osborne with 9:41 to go in the quarter, giving Independence a 6-3 lead.

The 76ers extended their lead to 13-3 later in the first quarter when Hunter scored on a 57-yard touchdown run with four seconds left.

Pioneer clawed back to within three at 13-10 when the offense engineered a nine-play, 73-yard drive capped by a 1-yard touchdown run by Silva with 1:57 left in the first half.

“We just kept fighting,” said Krail. “Our first quarter, we thought we were going to get boat-raced, but we slowed them down a little bit and we were able to figure out what they were doing.”

But the 76ers answered back with a 41-yard touchdown pass from Calvin Carter to Willie Scott with eight seconds left in the first half before scoring two more times in the third quarter. The first one coming on a 64-yard run from Osborne with 4:33 left in the third quarter and the second score coming on the Silva fumble recovery.

In between the two 76er touchdowns in the third quarter, Pioneer managed to tack on a touchdown as well, getting a 43-yard touchdown run from Schulz with 7:06 left. Schulz finished the night with 137 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 11 carries while accumulating 40 yards receiving as well.

“It was big,” Matos said of the game. “In the beginning of the season, we were always the underdog but I think after tonight, we have something to prove in CCS.”

The tie didn’t hurt either team’s chances of advancing to the Central Coast Section Playoffs, as the Mustangs will go on the road to take on Soquel in the first round of the Small School Division playoffs on Saturday, Nov. 20 at 1:30 p.m.

Independence will face Gilroy at home the night before at 7 p.m. in the first round of the Large School Division playoffs.

Central Coast Section Playoffs Roundup

By Diego Abeloos
Sports Writer

Leland Girls’ Volleyball Drops Round One CCS Playoff Game to Palo Alto
The Leland girls’ volleyball team got an early exit from CCS playoff contention, dropping a 25-9, 20-25, 25-23, 14-25 and 15-5 loss to the Palo Alto Vikings in the first round of Division II play on Nov. 10.

Leland’s Chaulet Scala led the offense with 11 kills, followed by Caryn Mohr, who registered nine kills in the loss.
After a first game that saw the Vikings go on scoring runs of 6-0 and 8-0, the Chargers bounced back to take the second game of the contest 20-25. The Chargers went up by starting out on a 9-14 scoring advantage and pushing the lead 19-23 before closing the game out and tying the contest 1-1.

“We got our butts kicked in the first game 25-9,” said Leland co-head coach Trisha Moore, “and for a team to come back after that is a big deal.”

Palo Alto regained momentum in a close third game, winning it 25-23, but not before the Chargers managed to tie the game at 22. The Vikings closed out the third game by going on a 3-1 scoring run.

In game four, the Chargers managed to score early and often, going up 5-1 early and stringing together two 4-0 scoring runs as well as a 6-0 run to take the game 14-25.

The Vikings, however, came out victorious in the end, taking the fifth and tie-breaking game 15-5 by outscoring Leland 8-2 early on before reeling off four straight points to end the game 15-5 and sending the Chargers home to think about next season.

“They continued to exceed the expectations of everyone,” said Moore of her team, which had only two seniors on the roster. “Leland does not typically get too much credit for what they accomplish. We are young and small and we were able to come out victorious 18 times this season.”

Leland Girls’ Water Polo Gets 3-2 First-Round Exit From CCS
The Leland girls’ water polo team, coming off a perfect 10-0 record in Mount Hamilton Division play, ended their season prematurely after dropping a 3-2 decision to Soquel in the first round of CCS playoffs on Nov. 10.

“We played well, but (Soquel) just had a top-flight goalie,” said Leland head coach Eric Rise of Soquel goalie Kelsey Thorne, who stopped 29 shots during the game.

The game, which was tied at 1-1 after two quarters, was a tough one to take for the young Charger squad.

“They were bummed,” Rise said of his team. “They’ve been working hard, but they have nothing to be disappointed about.”

The Chargers scored their two goals, one by Christy Stibbe and one by Elena SantaMaria, in the second quarter and fourth quarter and had a chance to tie the game with the clock ticking down. Stibbe fired a shot that hit the side of the goalie cage with time expiring, missing by mere inches a chance to continue play.

“We had some cross-cage shots and we worked all week to beat (Thorne), but she got to them,” Rise concluded.

Leland Boys’ Water Polo Ends CCS Run with 10-4 Loss to Salinas
The Leland boys’ water polo squad ended their season on Nov. 13, dropping a 10-4 loss to second-seeded Salinas in the quarterfinal round of Division I CCS Playoffs.

Despite two goals from Leland’s Jon Foote, the seventh-seeded Chargers failed to stop a five-goal third quarter by Salinas, which set the score after three quarters at 8-3.

“We just made a couple of errors in the third quarter,” said Leland head coach Mike Monsees. “Those errors allowed a few goals to go in.”

The Chargers also received goals from Brian Perasso and Michael Steranka in the loss, which ended a season in which Leland registered an overall record of 11-19 and a 6-2 Mount Hamilton Division record.

“Our goal was just to make it to CCS,” said Monsees. “To get a seventh seed in Division I playoffs was great. The season was a success for us.”

Leland Cross Country Sends Eight to CCS, None Advance
Although Leland’s cross country squad sent eight runners to the Division II CCS playoffs at Toro Park in Salinas, none qualified to advance to state finals.

Sophomore Dean Crosbie was the only representative on the boys’ team for Leland, finishing 75th overall with an 18:06 time on the three-mile course.

As for the Leland girls, junior Katie Buckley finished first among her teammates in 59th place, accumulating a time of 21:20. Not far behind Buckley was Kikita Fkiaras, finishing 67th with a time of 21:38.

Other runners for Leland girls’ squad included Cassie Garcia (84th – 22:12), Monica Song (89th – 22:28), Danielle Ott (96th – 23:12), Tanya Sukhija (97th – 23:31) and Christina Tran (106th – 24:29).

Pioneer Cross Country’s Steven DeLay Misses Chance to Advance to State
Pioneer’s Steven DeLay missed his chance to go to state finals in cross country by three spots, finishing 15th overall in the Division III playoffs at Toro Park in Salinas on Nov. 13.

Pioneer’s cross country crew, missing no. 2 runner Jeff Higashi (broken bone in right foot), won the West valley Division Championship for the second season in a row but fell short of sending a runner deep into the playoff picture, as DeLay’s time of 17:02 was only six seconds short of 12th place, the final spot for a runner to advance.

In addition, the team as a whole finished ninth in Division III with 230 points.

“I was really pleased with the performances,” said Pioneer head coach Jim Polanco. “Considering the injuries. Losing Higashi and Hudson (who ran with an ankle sprain) was tough.”

Hudson, Pioneer’s no. 5 runner, finished the three-mile course at Toro Park in 71st place with a time of 19:42.
Despite the early exit, Polanco sees nothing but a bright future ahead.

“I look at the whole season as being great,” concluded Polanco. “After all, we won another league title.”

Leland product Alex Ramon shines as Occidental Tiger

By Karl Laucher
Staff Writer

Alex Ramon turned in many a gilded performance as a Leland High School distance runner. Having just completed his freshman campaign cross country at Occidental College in northeastern Los Angeles, it appears is performance has produced a quantum upgrade in quality relative to the competition. His bid for a berth in the NCAA National Division III championships last weekend, however, was dashed when he was unable to finish the Western Regional race last weekend at Chico Hills.

“He gave it a superbly valiant effort but a migraine forced him out at just after one mile,” reported Occidental Coach Troy Engel.

Too bad, because Engle reports that Ramon combined an “up-beat spirit with a great work ethic.”

“He never gives less than 100 percent,” Engel added. ”That’s also why he is such an outstanding scholar.”

As a Leland Charger, Ramon was the Blossom Valley Athletic League champion at 3200 meters in track, and the BVAL’s fourth-place finisher in cross country. He received the Gordon Leland Award for superior athletic and scholastic achievement, sportsmanship and leadership.

As an Occidental Tiger, Ramon hit the ground running, highlighting his season with a fourth-place finish among a field of 93 harriers in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference competition held in Chico Hills on Oct. 30.

“I knew he’d do well,” said Leland Coach Jerry Rose. “He’s a hard worker.”

Pee Wee Chargers win 43-18, take Peninsula Pop Warner championship

While most of Almaden Valley was still waking up, the Pee Wee Chargers were playing in the Peninsula Pop Warner championship game against Menlo-Atherton at 8 a.m. in Woodside.

The early start agreed with the Chargers, as they dismantled the Vikings 43-18 to win Almaden’s first-ever Pop Warner championship.

Nick LeDeit, Patrick Appleman, Ross Donaghay, John Hanna and Kyle Medeiros, the running backs for the Chargers, ran over and around the Vikings all day thanks to the superb blocking of Michael Reeve, Chad McCarthy, Brian Dandelet, Shane Pizzo and Kyle Cunningham. Conor Jones, Ryan Smith, Brian Michaelis, Vinny Gemette and Alex Gonzalez scored touchdowns in the win for the Chargers.

“The boys knew what was on the line today,” said Charger Head Coach Kevin Jones.

“They fell behind early in the game but kept their composure and came back to score 43 points. That speaks to this team’s confidence in their ability to play with anyone. Our entire coaching staff is extremely proud of these kids. For as hard as they have worked since they started out way back on Aug. 1, they deserve all the success that comes their way.”

Now with the trophy in hand, the Chargers are ready for the next challenge. They now advance to the Pacific Northwest Regional playoffs. Their first game will be at Kezar Stadium this Sunday, Nov. 21 at 10 a.m. Should it rain before the game, they will play at St. Ignatius High School. Should the Chargers advance past the Pacific Northwest Regional Playoffs, they will play in Reno at the University of Nevada at Reno the following weekend.

If the Chargers are fortunate enough to win both of those games, they will advance to the Pop Warner Super Bowl in Orlando Fla. at the Walt Disney World Sports Center in early December.

Sports Briefs

49ers help feed the needy Nov. 16 in San Jose
49ers players and staff as well as volunteers from Cisco served food to those less fortunate at the Emergency Housing Consortium as part of the Fifth Annual NFL Hometown Huddle. Volunteers prepared and served food, organized the food warehouse and arranged the dining room for lunch on Nov. 16.

The Emergency Housing Consortium is Santa Clara County’s largest provider of shelters and services for people who are homeless. The Consortium provides emergency shelter, transitional and permanent housing and support services through a network of program locations throughout Santa Clara County.

Individual players are out in the community every Tuesday, but in 1999, the NFL and United Way went further and established Hometown Huddle. On this annual “Super Tuesday” each team—its players, coaches and executives—band together to participate in a community project.

Recent projects have included visiting local military bases, building homes for low-income families, working with the elderly, building playgrounds and serving food to the homeless.

The event was held at the Emergency Housing Consortium, 150 Almaden Blvd, Suite 500 in San Jose.

Motion volleyball tryouts on Dec. 5
The Motion Volleyball Club will hold tryouts for all fifth through eighth graders (12s and 14s) on Sunday, Dec. 5, at the Leland High School gym from 10 a.m. to noon. A parent meeting will also take place during tryouts at 10:15 a.m.

For more information, log on to www.lelandgirlsvolleyball.com

U.S. Youth Volleyball signups now in progress
Signups for USYVL spring season are taking place in Los Gatos, San Jose and Morgan Hill. The USYVL is a coed instructional league for children ages 8-14.

The season begins in April and runs eight weeks with games at Los Gatos High School, Kirk Park in San Jose and Paradise/Galvan Park in Morgan Hill.

For more information, call 1-888-988-7985 or log on to www.usyvl.org

ALMADEN’S RUGBY ENGINEER
He’s a rookie with the San Jose Seahawks Rugby Club, but Gabe Calebotta (center) may know as much about the dynamic properties of the game as club President Karl Laucher (left) or Head Coach Tom Phillips. The 6-foot-3, 212-pound Calebotta, age 26, joins the Seahawks after a career as a player and coach at UC-Santa Barbara, leading the Gauchos to a finish among the top 16 Division I teams in the nation (out of more than 400 clubs) in both capacities. He has a UCSB degree in physics and now is doing graduate work at San Jose State University in material engineering, studies proven to be key components in advancing a rugby ball though a galvanized opposition. “Rugby requires a high level of fitness and skill,” says Gabe. “The position you play is secondary.” He adds that rugby is a “worldwide fraternity” as evidenced by his acquiring good friends in seven countries through the heralded hospitality qualities of the game. Calebotta, who earned Southern California Griffin all-star honors as a Gaucho, hopes to help the Seahawks move forward with steely resolve starting the Silicon Valley Rugby Classic tournament at Watson Bowl in San Jose on Dec. 4 and the Northern California Rugby Football Union season opener at Reno on Dec. 11. For more information on the Seahawks visit www.sjrugby.org or call 267-7117.

—By Karl Laucher / Photo by Gary Eagan

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