September 12, 2008

SPORTS

The Coach’s Corner

Leland ties Prospect in season opener

By Mike Carrozzo
Special to the Times

This game was odd from the beginning—a tale of two halves. After a total of six points were scored in the first half, an avalanche of 50 points were scored by both teams in the second half.

Leland seniors Michael Santini along with Alex Nunes and Amir Tadros rough up Prospect’s quarterback. Photos by Kevin Jones

The scoring got started on the second Leland drive of the game, a typical Wing T drive of 10 plays for 75 yards. The drive was highlighted by a great pass from Will Boring to Ryan Smith for 38 yards. Then Vinnie Gemette busted a sweep for 20 more yards. Jon Ruel put the ball in the end zone with a 6-yard run, however the point after attempt was unsuccessful.

On the ensuing drive for Prospect, they started to move the ball down the field with some success, but defensive end Alex Oberman put an end to that by forcing a fumble that safety Tom Felt jumped on to end the drive. On the three subsequent drives, Prospect went for it on fourth down and each time the Chargers were up to the task, stuffing them and taking over on offense. That was the first half.

After Prospect scored on the first drive of the third quarter, Leland was down 6-7. That didn’t last long. On the first play from scrimmage, Matt Machado blasted past the line and screamed down the field for an 80-yard touchdown run answering our opponent’s score to regain the lead 13-7.

Then Prospect had a short field due to a great kick-off return, and punched it in a few plays later leaving Leland a point behind again 13-14. The following drive seemed all but stopped, but Prospect roughed punter sophomore Michael Reeve to create a first down and keep our drive alive. Reeve had a very solid day punting the ball. Junior offensive lineman Alex Rorie kicked out a trap block to free Jon Ruel through the line and he did the rest scrambling for a 37-yard gain. Gemette took a sweep over the right side and dove out at the 1-yard line. Quarterback Will Boring took the plunge from there for the score. Leland was now up 20-14.

Senior Yuta Kai lays out a Prospect runner with the help of senior Matt Machado.

After trading a few punts by both teams, Prospect put together a solid drive to score once again leaving us behind 20-21. That was answered on the kick-off when Gemette, who fielded the ball at the 5-yard line, flew down the left side for a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Now in the fourth quarter it seemed like we were going to swap touchdowns all night so we decided to go for two. Quarterback Boring found Michael Reeve in the end zone for the 2-point conversion leaving us up 28-21.

Senior linebacker Mike Santini intercepted a pass from the Prospect quarterback to end the next drive, but on Prospect’s following drive hey managed to score on a long pass tying the game at 28-28 and that would be the final.

Leland rushed for a total of 225 yards on 36 carries with three touchdowns and a few fumbles. Gemette had 12 carries for 62 yards, Ruel had eight carries for 53 yards, and Machado had three carries for 84 yards. Boring completed six passes in 15 attempts for 84 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. Junior Ryan Smith had three receptions for 67 yards in his first varsity game.

“The offense made some solid adjustments at half time that allowed us to get our running game going.  Our offensive line did a good job of getting to the point of attack with some passion and executing their blocks that gave our RBs some creases to run,” said offensive coordinator Scott Portera.

Senior running back Matt Machado rumbles 80 yards for a touchdown with nice blocking from Amir Tadros. Photo by Kevin Jones

Defensive leaders include Santini, who led the team in tackles with 13 plus the interception. Ruel had 12 tackles including a sack. Yuta Kai had an outstanding day coming up from the cornerback position to stop the Prospect running game with 10 tackles, several of which were monster hits. Other defensive standouts include Tom Felt with nine tackles and a fumble recovery, Machado with nine tackles, senior Alex Nunes had eight tackles including half a sack, senior Amir Tadros had six tackles with one-and-a-half sacks, Oberman had five tackles and a forced fumble and Alex Rorie had three tackles and a sack.

Looking back at this game it’s clear that there is much that we need to work on. However, we saw glimpses of the team that we know we can be. Although the score may not reflect it, we are close to being a team that can accomplish our goals of making the playoffs and making news once we get there. With eight players not suited due to injuries and other various reasons, we stand to only get better in the near future. The Leland frosh/soph team destroyed Prospect 54-6.

Looking ahead to next week, we have Scotts Valley High School. They are back from their 42-27 season opening loss to Alice High School played in South Texas. The team has a strong program and runs a pro-style offense effectively. They are expected to battle for first place in the Santa Cruz County Athletic League and will be a formidable opponent for our Leland Chargers.

Leland girls get ready for water polo season

The Leland girls’ water polo team is looking forward to the season with all but one of its players returning from last year’s CIF division II runner-up team.

The team also added three more players and is comprised of eight seniors, five juniors and a sophomore, including Amy Georgiou, Rachael Hartman, Kelsey Nolan, Jaya Kasiraj, Courtney Gold, Melinda McKenzie, Tam Nguyen, Kylie Sarpa, Jennifer Korab, Stacey Koolpe, Brianna Sherrin, Morgan Gahagan, Jessica Shortt, and Leanne Kirtland.

Leland High School’s girls’ varsity water polo team took third place at a pre-season meet last weekend at the Clovis West 32 team Central Showdown. Pictured are Amy Georgiou, Rachael Hartman, Kelsey Nolan, Jaya Kasiraj, Courtney Gold, Melinda McKenzie, Tam Nguyen, Kylie Sarpa, Jennifer Korab, Stacey Koolpe, Brianna Sherrin, Morgan Gahagan, Jessica Shortt and Leanne Kirtland.

Because most of the girls played on club teams all summer, they’ve kept up their momentum. They traveled to Irvine to play in National Junior Olympics where they earned 24th place; they placed third in another southern California tournament; and finished the summer with a weeklong water polo trip to Oahu. They played in many close games with some of the best teams in the country. When pre-season conditioning started, these girls were ready to go. They put in over 40,000 yards of conditioning, hours of drills and legwork and have shown an exceptionally high level of dedication to the team and each other. What makes this team unique and potentially special is that each player is willing to fill their role and do all the little things necessary to win.

This past weekend, they started their pre-season off with a third-place showing at the Clovis West 32 team Central Showdown, defeating SJM 18-1 in the first round. In the second round they beat Porterville 10-5, a team that was a semi-finalist in the Central Section last year. In the quarterfinals they defeated Sunnyside 7-3, the Central Section Division II runner-up.

In the semis they lost to the eventual tournament champion Clovis West 1-5. Then in the third-place game they defeated last year’s Central Section division II champion, El Diamante, 7-2. The girls held their opponents to an average of 3.2 goals, but have many areas of the game still to work on.

This weekend, the girls are competing in the St. Francis Invitational, which includes nine of the top 10 CCS teams, as well as top teams from Sacramento, Davis and Clovis.

Undefeated AVAC tennis team leads way to Gar Glenney Cup victory
for second consecutive year

Almaden Valley Athletic Club announced last week the AVAC boys 12 and under tennis team helped win the 26th annual Gar Glenney Cup the second year in a row on behalf of USTA Northern California.

Pictured, top left to right: JT Nishimura, Coach Manny Fernandez, Cameron Klinger. Bottom left to right: Adrian Chamdani, Vikram Chari, Logan Staggs, Kial Kaiser. Not present: David Ball, Cody Rakela, Edward Ang

The Gar Glenney Cup is designed as an opportunity for the best USTA Northern California teams to go against the best USTA Southern California teams for a combined shot at the state championship.

Each participating NorCal team must win the Northern California Section Championships at the state level to qualify. During their 2007 and 2008 seasons under the coaching of AVAC tennis director Manny Fernandez, the AVAC boys 12 and under team has come in undefeated in league, sectionals and state competitions.

“Tennis is a great passion for many of us here at AVAC and we’re so proud to be able to bring together junior tennis players from all over South Bay in a win against USTA Southern California’s junior tennis teams,” said Joseph Shank, co-founder and owner of AVAC. “The fact that these boys have been undefeated for two consecutive years and are only 12 is amazing!”

The AVAC team has gone undefeated for 132 individual matches, a record in the program’s history. The team includes Edward Ang, David Ball, Adrian Chamdani, Vikram Chari, Kial Kaiser, Cameron Klinger, JT Nishimura, Cody Rakela and Logan Staggs – all ranked USTA junior players. Fernandez had the team practice once a week all summer to get ready for the tournament. Brett Sargeant, AVAC tennis pro, also lent his expertise as co-coach to the team.

“It’s the incredible chemistry of the team as a whole that keeps them in the winner’s circle,” said Fernandez. “Each demonstrates a maturity and professionalism that is refreshing to see in a young player. They are 100 percent committed to each other. In fact, when one finishes a match, he immediately proceeds to a court where his teammate is playing, to cheer him on.”

According to Fernandez, the boys will continue to practice at AVAC during the coming months in order to defend USTA Northern California’s title win over USTA Southern California in 2009.

For more information on USTA Northern California, log on to www.norcal.usta.com. For more information on the AVAC Junior Tennis program and other programs, visit www.avac.us/JrTennis.

High School Sports Schedule, Sept. 12-18

Leland
Saturday—Football vs. Scotts Valley at Scotts Valley—at 11:30 a.m.

Monday—Girls field hockey vs. Del Mar at Leland

Tuesday—Girls tennis vs. Evergreen Valley—at 3:15 p.m. at Leland

Wednesday—Girls field hockey vs. Live Oak at Live Oak

Thursday—Girl’s tennis vs. Santa Teresa at 3:15 p.m. at Santa Teresa

Pioneer
Friday—Football vs. Terra Nova—JV at 4 p.m. and varsity at 7 at Pioneer

Tuesday—Girls tennis vs. San Jose at 3:15 at San Jose

Thursday—Girls tennis vs. James Lick—at 3:15 at Pioneer


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

Pioneer athletics: www.phsathletics.com
Leland Athletics: www.lelandathletics.com
Blossom Valley Athletics League: www.bval.org

Sports Briefs

Almaden Elite seeks players
Almaden Elite U16 Girls Soccer needs Select Division 1 team members. Interested players should contact Irene Johnston at 859-3617 or irene_johnston@yahoo.com.

2008 Komen San Francisco Race for the Cure
This annual 5K Race/Walk and 1 Mile Fun Walk is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 21, 2008
Race path is along the Embarcadero, starting at the Ferry Building.

Register online at www.komensf.org. For more information visit www.komensf.org or call 415-397-8812

Out of the Darkness Community Walk benefits the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
Support the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention by participating in the San Francisco Out of the Darkness Community Walk on Sept. 27 at Crissy Field. Proceeds will benefit local and national prevention and awareness programs. Registration will be held at Crissy Field at 8:45 a.m. The walk will begin promptly at 10 a.m. The VIP speaker is Senator Tom Torlakson and he will discuss mental health policy and actions that the State Legislature is taking on this important issue. The event will also include music, refreshments and a thank you prize drawing at the end of the walk. KTVU Fox 2 is the Diamond Media Sponsor of the event and John Sasaki of KTVU will be the Emcee. Event sponsors include: John Muir Behavioral Health, Palo Alto Medical Foundation and UCSF. To register, donate or learn more, please logon to www.outofthedarkness.org.