Almaden Resident
Sports
Plenty of heroes when Mustangs face Lions
By Kevin Sparrer
It is in the most trying of times that someone steps up against great odds to accomplish unimaginable feats and a hero is born. Fortunately for both the Pioneer and Lincoln football teams, neither is lacking in this particular area.
Pioneer ultimately took home a 28-26 victory on Oct. 14, but both teams were led by players who stepped up their game in an attempt to take home the win.
In a game that matched opposing head coaches who are admittedly as close as brothers, Pioneer's Mark Krail and Lincoln's Kevin Collins led their teams in a grueling battle for victory. Krail and Collins have been friends for years, dating back to the days they played against each other in high school, Krail at Willow Glen and Collins at Del Mar.
This time it was Krail's Mustangs who were victorious, but it was not without an epic struggle from the Lions.
"There were tons of heroes today," said Krail to his team after the game. "Some were in Mustang Royal Blue and some were in Lion White."
Junior Marquee Heffner is the first of the Mustang heroes. Heffner carried the ball only four times, but rushed for 94 yards and broke a 59-yard touchdown run late in the game that was ultimately the winning score for the Mustangs.
Another Pioneer hero player was the kicker, Kyle Burchfiel. Consistency wins the game every time, and when the senior kicked all four extra points through the uprights, he became one of the heroes of the day. Without his consistent kicking, Pioneer might have made it possible for Lincoln to stay within striking distance.
Burchfiel also had a heroic day on defense with four tackles and an interception deep in Pioneer territory seconds before the end of the first half.
"He's had an interesting season," said Krail. "Every week he has gotten better. We gave him the opportunity to play defense and he has done well for us."
Senior Jason Wetzel also became a hero for the Mustangs when late in the game he broke across the line to block a Lincoln extra point attempt. That single point was enough to force the Lions to go for a two-point conversion after their final touchdown in hopes for a tie. And when junior Pierre Woods batted down the pass, the Mustangs had another hero on the field.
Pioneer senior Steven Lopes was in his usual form, moving the ball all over the field. Lopes carried the ball 20 times for 113 yards and he scored twice. The first score came on a 3-yard run and the second was on a 23-yard reception from senior quarterback Chris Foley.
Foley completed 4 of 7 passes for 55 yards. He threw for the one score and ran one in himself from a yard out.
Protecting Foley was a front line of senior Grant Mayer at left tackle, senior Chris Brookmeyer at left guard, junior Eric Kuykendall at center, senior Russell Marrone at right guard and junior Tyler Chase at right tackle.
Junior Shane Murray moved the ball well for the Mustangs with 17 touches for 72 yards, and he caught two passes for 23 yards.
"I'm so proud of these guys," said Krail. "They fought and scratched for every yard today. We had some big plays on fourth downs that allowed us to keep our drives going.
"And I have the utmost respect for Lincoln. They played to the last down."
For Lincoln, heroes were just as abundant as the Lions attempted a comeback that almost was. Senior Michael Fleet carried 16 times for 184 yards, including two touchdowns. The second time Fleet touched the ball he broke through the Mustang defense and ran 66 yards for the first Lincoln score of the day. Then late in the game, with his club trailing 21-7, Fleet broke another run, this time for 32 yards into the end zone for a Lion score.
"Fleet does a great job for us," said Collins. "He's a fast kid who runs the ball hard."
Along with Fleet, junior Jagjeet Sidhu caught two passes for 54 yards, one of them for a touchdown when Lincoln was behind 28-14. Sidhu caught a pass from senior quarterback Tarik Hakmi for a 45-yard touchdown to bring the game within one score.
The Lions scored again, then attempted an onside kick in the final 18 seconds, but after recovering the ball on the first attempt were forced to try again due to an offsides flag. Pioneer junior Joe Alise fell on the ball the second time and the Mustangs ran out the clock for the win.
Pioneer, now 2-1 in the Mt. Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League and 3-3 for the year, will head to Branham (1-2, 4-2) to face the Bruins on Oct. 20, 7 p.m.
