December 4, 2008

SPORTS

Mustangs upset by Los Gatos in CCS playoffs

Senior Justin Souza dives across the end zone for a Pioneer score.
Justin Souza sends Los Gatos running back into a spin with his tackle.

With a 10-1 season under their belts, the Pioneer Mustangs went into the CCS semi-final game against Los Gatos with confidence to prevail over the Wildcats. Pioneer was the number-one seed and Los Gatos was the number-four seed in the medium school division.

Junior RJ Silvey looks to get a pass off against Los Gatos. Photos by Kevin Jones

The game proved to be a close, hard-fought one as the teams slugged it out all night up to the very last play.

Tied after halftime, Los Gatos put together two scoring drives that yielded a touchdown and field goal to lead 17-7. Pioneer bounced back with two scores of their own in the fourth quarter to go ahead 20-17. Justin Souza and Brandon Henry scored on runs of 6 and 9 yards respectively.

Holding on to that slim lead proved difficult for the Mustangs, as they could not stop Los Gatos from scoring in the final minutes of play. Pioneer had one last opportunity but that was dashed when quarterback RJ Silvey was sacked to end the game and season for the Mustangs.

Los Gatos goes on to play Palo Alto in the championship on Saturday at San Jose City College Game time is 7 p.m.

Almaden Mustangs head to Florida for national championship

Pictured in the row, from the left, are Travis McCurdy, Kyle Ishizaki-Cooper, Austin Karr, Matthew Giacobbe, Matthew Mohs, Chandler Ramirez, Austin Denholm, Brian Clark and Jake Pauer. The middle row includes Jack McGivern, Aurmon Bani-Taba, Jacob Balistreri, Michael Sandoval, Jeremiah Burnham, Daniel Raley, Lucas Malik, Sean Harris, Parker Bastian and Brandon Koehne. In the back row are Curt Calomeni, Cooper Burrill, Justin Dunne, Erik Sargis, and Miles Trudeau, and the top row includes coaches Jeff Ramirez, Gary McCurdy, Mike Denholm, Mark Calomeni, Paul Sargis, Scott Raley, Mike Karr and Steve Dunne.

The Almaden Valley Mustang Pee Wee Football team won the Pacific Northwest Regional Championship Saturday by beating the San Francisco Seahawks 31-6. The victory sends the Mustangs to Florida to compete for the Pop Warner National Championship Dec. 7-13.

This is a first for Almaden Pop Warner Football. Four years ago the Junior Pee Wee team got close but lost a tough battle to the Douglas Tiger team from Nevada in the Reno “Snow Bowl” to fall just short of the national invitation. The team they lost to four years ago was from the same league as the semi-final game held at Pioneer High School on Nov. 22.

The Pee Wee Mustangs had a score to settle from four years ago and the Tigers knew it. In front of a large home crowd, the Mustangs played a hard-hitting defensive game, shutting out the Douglas Tigers 14-0 to advance to the regional finals. The community support was overwhelming with the entire side of the Pioneer bleachers packed with fans holding Mustang signs and rally towels.

The regional final game was held Nov. 29 at Woodside High School against the San Francisco Seahawks. That team defeated the Jets from Washington the week prior. The Mustangs dominated both sides of the ball early on to blow out the Seahawk team 31-6.

In Florida, the Mustangs will compete against other teams from across the nation in the Pop Warner Super Bowl National Championships. The Pee Wee Mustangs had a 7-1 regular season record, winning the Peninsula Championship 27-6 over the

West Bay Rams prior to competing for the regional championship.

The Mustangs are made up of 24 young men who recognize that hard work, dedication and the emphasis on team are the most important pieces of a successful season. It was instilled upon these boys very early in the season what Mustang Pride was all about. These coaches and boys believe “in one team, one heartbeat, one heartbeat, one team, together, can’t lose and will continue to carry that belief all the way to Florida.”

Sporting Green Soccer Girls capture 6th outdoor title

The Sporting U11 Girls Select soccer team completed a perfect season and captured their sixth consecutive outdoor championship. The Sporting girls won the league title with a record of 10-0. The team also won the District II Cup over the Nov. 22 -23 weekend.

Pictured in the front row, from the left are Ashley Lawrence*, Maddie Cavanna*, Shaelan Murison, Hanna Gratny*, Megan Wheelock, and Erica Nakano*. Middle row: Reese Gonzalez, Sierra Painter*, Cecelia Hinz*, Lauren Plesse, Lauren Craft*, Fiona Sequeira and Stephanie Magellan. In the back row are head coach Jim Lawrence*, Erin McCoy*, Michelle Stack, Danielle Hadfield*, assistant coach Jamie Berg*. Regan Heslop* is not pictured. (* Denotes Almaden Resident).

A total of 10 teams competed in the District Cup tournament; it is one of the area’s most competitive tournaments. The Sporting girls played three games in bracket play and scored 10 goals for and one goal against in order to advance to the finals. The finals were played against the Central Valley Mercury team and the Sporting dominated the game with a 6-0 score to capture the Cup.

“I am so proud of our girls’ accomplishments,” said Jim Lawrence head coach of the Sporting. “They consistently play at such a high level of play, it is hard to believe that they are only U11 players. They have a great future ahead of them.”

The team is currently preparing for the second round of the NorCal State Cup Championship. The top 16 teams in northern California are participating in the Sporting’s bracket and there will be no easy victories. Last year the team placed second with a tough loss to the Danville Xplosion, the number-one ranked team in northern California.

Sports Briefs

Girls’ U13 Soccer Tryouts

The South San Jose Hot Shots, a U13 Girls “comp” soccer team, is holding tryouts for the 2009 season. Experienced players born on or after 8/1/1996 are eligible to play. For tryout details, please send email to SSJ.HOTSHOTS@GMAIL.COM.

2009 Almaden Valley Girls Recreational Softball Registration is open

This year the AVGSL has implemented an online registration system. Please visit WWW.AVGSL.ORG to register or to find out more information regarding our league.  We are accepting registration for ages Under 6, Under 8, Under 10, Under 12 and Under 14. Everyone is welcome to join our league – from first-time player to all-star - because we have a spot for you.  AVGSL’s main goal is to ensure that all players are in a fun, positive environment while learning and expanding their softball skills. AVGSL promotes a sense of belonging for everyone. We emphasize teamwork and the sense of individual success that contributes to team sports. No player will sit out more than two innings during a game, which offers each girl the opportunity to make contributions to their team while participating in a large part of all activities.  If you have questions, please email president@avgsl.org and we will be happy to help.


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