November 29, 2007

SPORTS

Football season ends for Pioneer with loss to Riordan in CCS semifinals

By Gary van den Heuvel
Sports Writer

For the Pioneer High School football team, the 2007 football season ended last Saturday at the same place it began--Foothill College in Los Altos.

Pioneer's linebacker Dave Figueroa and defensive back Chad Dreher team up to stop Riordan receiver Aaron Criswell during the Central Coast Section semifinals at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills. Pioneer lost the game 48-20. Photos by Dan Miranda

The Mustangs played their season opener on Aug. 31 against Archbishop Mitty. The Mustangs played favored Mitty very tough, but came up short that night. Eleven games later, Pioneer was back at Foothill, but this time the stakes were much higher, the semifinals of the CCS medium school division playoffs.

The fourth-seeded Mustangs beat North Monterey County at home in the first round. The team’s second-round opponent, the Archbishop Riordan (San Francisco) Crusaders, were the division’s top seed and possessed a fast, athletic and explosive offense anchored by quarterback Darius Bell, who had thrown for over 2,000 yards and 22 touchdowns during the season—he plays great defense too.

Bell and the Crusaders advanced to the division finals against Live Oak, a team Pioneer beat last month by a score of 48-20.

A spectacular offensive display by Bell and his receivers turned a close game at halftime into a rout by the end of the third quarter. But before the Riordan scoring began, the Mustangs climbed out of an early hole and at halftime trailed by only seven points.

A hint of what was to come happened on the first play from scrimmage when Bell lofted the ball to an open Aaron Criswell, who made the catch and went untouched for the score.

On their second possession, Riordan showcased its offensive talents, which Bell uses with short darting passes to speedy receivers Criswell, Daniel Cannon, Anthony Ghanayen and James Carter. Or he sends them on deep routes, and he also can pick up yardage with his feet. And if all that doesn’t work, the pass-first Crusaders will run the ball with Johnny Greene and Osa Aighuza. It’s a tough package to contain.

Bell capped an eight-play drive with a 2-yard touchdown on a quarterback keeper and Riordan led 13-0, after missing their first extra point attempt.

Pioneer had another three plays and out possession but on fourth down, Coach Mark Krail gambled on a fake punt, snapping the ball to blocking back Mike Cobb, whose handoff to Justin Souza gained 28 yards and put the Mustangs in Crusader territory. The running combo of Shane Murray and Marquee Heffner ground the ball down to the 1-yard line, where Joe Alise scored on a quarterback sneak. A missed conversion left the Mustangs down 13-6 but with momentum swinging their way.

Pioneer's Marquee Heffner attempts to run the ball through Riordan's defensive back Daniel Cannon during the Central Coast Sections semifinals.

The Mustangs defense stopped Riordan for the first time and continued to move the ball on offense. “I was really proud. We hung with them, came back and tied the game,” said Krail.

The tying score came after a botched Riordan punt deep in their own territory gave the Mustangs a very short field to work with. Six plays later, Cobb scored from 1 yard out and Pioneer had tied the game 13-13 and had all the momentum on their side.

However, it didn’t last too long. Riordan changed its approach and called six straight running plays, with 56 yards coming from Aighuza on three carries. Bell reclaimed the lead for the Crusaders with a 9-yard pass, another lob that Cannon reached for and snagged in the end zone.

In the third quarter, the dam broke.

“Their offense was too good, too quick, too powerful,” said a weary Alise. “And we didn’t have an answer for it.”
It happened so quickly: a 22-yard touchdown by Greene, another scoring hookup between Bell and Cannon, an 11-yard scoring pass to Carter, and right before the third quarter was over, a short running score by John Marman.

Four touchdowns, and a 48-13 lead left fans heading for the parking lot. Bell, who was pulled from the game in the fourth quarter, finished with 21 completions in 29 attempts, 366 yards and four touchdowns.

The Mustangs hadn’t quit all year, and this day was no different. They held Riordan scoreless in the fourth quarter and finished their scoring with a Shane Murray short-yardage touchdown.

“It was a good season,” said Krail afterwards. “We got off to a bad start [0-3] and didn’t fold. Today we battled, ran into a real good team and they got the best of us.”

Pioneer finished its season with a 6-5-1 record, including a 5-1-1 league record and second-place finish to Oak Grove in the Mount Hamilton division.

Mustangs fail to upend Gunderson

By Gary van den Heuval
Sports Writer

As the fall sports season was ending and winter season beginning, the Pioneer High School soccer team went on the road to meet Gunderson High School.

Pioneer's Sean Pacheco and Gunderson's Omar San Juan react after going up for the header during their game on Wednesday at Gunderson High School. Photos by Dan Miranda

The Mustangs, back in the B league after a tough, winless season last year, didn’t fare too well as Gunderson roared out to a three-goal first half while holding Pioneer scoreless for 90 minutes and coasting to a 3-0 victory.

“We came out nervous in the first half,” said Mustangs coach Nick Hoffman. “We played OK in the first half, but we made three mistakes and they scored on all three.”

The first came when Gunderson’s Jose Ramirez was able to take control of the ball inside the Pioneer goal box and boot the ball left-footed past lunging Mustang goalie Daniel Diangson.

Pioneer defenders Kadar Arbuckle, Chris Jernberg and Jose Alvarado had their hands full with Gunderson’s attacking offense, but the Mustangs had no way to prevent Michael Parsons, who headed a corner kick with perfect timing into the Mustang net. At the 30-minute mark it was 2-0.

Shortly before halftime, Grizzly forward Guillermo Pineda made a nifty lob-style kick over the head of the harried Diangson, and Gunderson had a formidable three-goal lead at the half.

Pioneer's Max Sheehan and Gunderson's Jonathan Chavez go up for the header.

“In the second half we came out much more settled in and I thought we played much better – we shut them out,” said Hoffman.

New goalie Eric Linvill made some impressive saves in the second half and the Mustangs created some offensive opportunities to get back in the game but couldn’t break through.

A Pioneer penalty kick from 30 yards out was blocked by a bevy of Gunderson defenders. Another shot, this time by midfielder Ryan Nelson, was saved by Gunderson goalkeeper German Gopar; a corner kick by forward Carlos Lopez was thwarted by the Gunderson defense; a 25-yard penalty kick by Max Sheehan sailed too high.

On another scoring chance, Alvarado nearly took it to the goal single handedly but was tackled in the goal box, and the ball rolled harmlessly out of the pitch. Another penalty kick for the Mustangs came up fruitless.

Hoffman, however, is far from discouraged. “Last year we went 0-19-1, so we’re looking to improve,” he said. “We’ve got a good group of guys, and their grades are all good. It’s just a matter of settling down. It’s going to take some work, and we’re going to put it in on the practice field.”

High School Sports Schedule Nov. 30 – Dec. 6

Leland

Friday- Boys’ varsity basketball at Westmont tournament, TBA

Saturday- Boys’ varsity soccer at Christmas cup tournament vs. Oak Grove, 12:30 p.m.

Tuesday - Boys’ varsity basketball at Los Gatos tournament, TBA
Tuesday – Girls’ basketball vs. Saratoga, 5 p.m. JV and 7 p.m. varsity
Tuesday – Girls’ varsity soccer vs. Gunn, 3:15 p.m.

Wednesday - Boys’ varsity basketball at Los Gatos tournament, TBA.

Thursday – Boys’ varsity basketball at Los Gatos tournament, TBA
Thursday – Girls’ varsity basketball at Monta Vista tournament, TBA
Thursday – Girls’ varsity soccer vs. Branham, 3:15 p.m.

Pioneer

Friday – Boys’ frosh/soph basketball at Leigh tournament, TBA
Friday – Boys’ varsity basketball at Aptos Seascape tournament, TBA

Saturday – Boys’ varsity basketball at Aptos Seascape tournament, TBA
Saturday – Boys’ varsity soccer at Christmas cup vs. Los Altos at Yerba Buena HS, 10:30 a.m.
Saturday – Girls’ soccer vs. Willow Glen, 12:30 varsity and 2:30 JV

Tuesday – Boys’ varsity basketball at Wildcat Shootout tournament in Los Gatos, TBA
Tuesday – Boys’ frosh/soph soccer vs. Mitty, 3:15 p.m.

Wednesday Boys’ frosh/soph basketball at Fremont tournament vs. Cupertino, 5 p.m.
Wednesday – Boys’ varsity basketball at Wildcat Shootout tournament in Los Gatos, TBA

Thursday - Boys’ frosh/soph basketball at Fremont tournament, TBA
Thursday – Boys’ varsity basketball at Wildcat Shootout in Los Gatos, TBA
Thursday – Girls soccer vs. Del Mar, 3:15 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

Bret Harte Lacrosse is now forming teams for spring 2008
We still have room for 6-8 grade boys to play Lacrosse in the Almaden valley. Enrollment at Bret Harte Middle School is not required, but does ensure first priority for registration. Act quickly, space is limited. Registration and info at www.brethartelax.com.

For questions, contact Wayne Schatz at 623-4691

U10 Girls’ Select Soccer Tryouts
Santa Clara Sporting is looking for girls who love to play soccer in a competitive and fun environment. We focus on individual player development in a team setting. Your daughter will be coached and trained by experienced coaches who have special training and licenses for coaching young players. Neither team charges any coaching or training fees of any kind. We have two teams playing Class 1 select and both are expanding their rosters. Your daughter must be born on or after August 1, 1997. We’re looking for 4 – 5 girls for each team. Both teams have a track record of success including 2nd place at last year and this year’s Norcal State Cup. If you are ready to have your daughter step up to a challenging and FUN soccer environment, please contact either Jim Lawrence at 408-204-7020, sjlaw@aol.com or Dave Ballard at 408-600-4531, dballard12@sbcglobal.net. Tryouts are Dec. 11 and 12 from 5 -7 p.m. Location: Central Park in Santa Clara at the grass field adjacent to the International Swim Center at 2625 Patricia Dr., Santa Clara 95051 (behind the Santa Clara City Library). For more information, visit www.scsc97.com.

Pride of Morgan Hill hosts A Ball tryouts for 14U Girls’ fastpitch team 
Pride of Morgan Hill will field a 14U ASA – A team for the Spring 2008 season.  Former Pride, Live Oak High School, and collegiate (Eastern Kentucky University) player, Suzie Schaefer, has been named as Head Coach for the 14U team.  Pride will be hosting December tryouts at Community Park for girls who are 14U as of Jan. 1, 2008.  Try out times are:
 
December 1st:  Pitcher/Catcher 9 -10 a.m., Positions 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
 
December 9th: Pitcher/Catcher 11 a.m.-12 p.m., Positions 12 -2 p.m.

To speed up registration, download and complete a registration form off of the Pride website and bring it to tryouts. Girls are encouraged to come to both tryouts for the maximum exposure. For more detailed information about Pride please visit our website @ www.prideofmorganhill.com.

Almaden Valley Girls’ Softball League holds Sign-ups
The Almaden Valley Girls’ Softball League is holding sign-ups. Our league is a Santa Clara County-wide League and available to all Santa Clara County girls which means we are not restricted by territory. The age range is 5 to 16 years.  We welcome all applicable ages and every skill level.  We will be holding sign-ups on the following dates at Greystone Elementary School, 6982 Shearwater Drive in San Jose.:

Saturday, Dec. 8, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m,.

Wednesday, Dec.12, from 6 to 9 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 5, 2008, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Wednesday, Jan. 9, from 6 to 9 p.m.

For more information, please visit our website at www.avgsl.org.

Third Annual Silicon Valley E-Race Racism Run
Benefiting Youth Leadership Programs of the Local NAACP

The 3rd Annual Silicon Valley E-Race Racism 5K & 10K Run and 1-Mile Walk, will take place on Saturday, Dec. 1, at Lake Cunningham Park, in San Jose. This event will benefit youth leadership programs provided by the NAACP chapter of San Jose / Silicon Valley and promote healthy lifestyles and exercise.

All registrants will receive a commemorative T-shirt, refreshments, and more. Awards will be given in the 5K and 10K events, three-deep to the finishers in each male and female age category in 10-year increments. Special trophies will go to overall male and female finishers and male and female Masters (over 40-years old) winners. The 1-Mile walk is not timed, it’s designed to enjoy.

Entry fees for all three events with the E-Race Racism Run are $25 pre-registered, $30 race-day registration, and $20 pre-registered for participants under 17, or senior citizens (65-years and older), $25 day of registration. Families of four are $75 plus $15 for each additional member ($100 / $20 day of).

For more E-Race Racism 5K Run & Walk information and/or an application, visit their Web site at www.onyourmarkevents.com. For information about the NAACP Chapter of San Jose / Silicon Valley, visit www.sanjosenaacp.org.

San Jose Strikkers 18u – 2008 Summer Tryouts
The San Jose Strikkers 18u will be holding their 2008 summer tryouts on the dates listed below.  Just in case you have not heard we have already qualified for the 2008 ASA Nationals in Moline, Ill.!  Our main objective is to develop softball excellence and to assist each young lady in the achieving their goals on the softball field and assist them with their dreams of obtaining college scholarships.  Come and be part of our exciting team!  To learn more about our team philosophy and goals please visit our website. http://eteamz.active.com/sanjosestrikkers18u

Dates;  Sundays, 11/18, 12/2, 12/16, and (if needed) 1/6/08

Place:  Oak Grove High School

Times:  9 a.m. Pitchers & Catchers / 10:30 a.m. Position Players

If you have any questions, please contact Richard Fangonilo (408) 439-7383 or Frank King (408) 406-8191.

E-mail:  Richard Fangonilo rfangonilo@sjm.com  or Frank King fgking25@aol.com


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