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He Ain't Heavi: Del Mar's Heavi Williams ran 46 yards for a first-period touchdown that helped the Dons to a 21-16 win over Westmont last Friday night.
Photgraph by Kathy De La Torre
Dons, Panthers fight for 2nd
Dons beat Warriors, Panthers lose to Bucs
By Dick Sparrer
No matter how you figured it, Prospect would have to beat Del Mar in the second-to-last game of the regular season if the Panthers had any hopes of finishing second in the football race in the Santa Teresa Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League this fall.
Still, Piedmont Hills made the formula a little more complicated that Friday night.
The Panthers and Dons entered play last Friday tied for second place in the division with matching 2-1 records. Each team had suffered its only league loss against unbeaten Pioneer.
The clubs appeared to be on a collision course for a key Nov. 5 match-up at Del Mar (2:45 p.m.) that would determine second place in the division and give one of the two clubs an automatic berth in the Central Coast Section playoffs.
But Piedmont wanted to have something to say about that.
The Pirates knocked off the Panthers 28-13 last Friday night while Del Mar was beating Westmont 21-16. And now only two things are certain: Pioneer will finish in no worse than a first-place tie, and second place won't be determined until this Friday at the earliest.
Right now Pioneer tops the division with a 5-0 record and just one league game to play. Del Mar is a solid second at 3-1, but Prospect and Piedmont share second place with matching 2-2 marks.
The Pirates will likely close out the year with wins over Independence (0-4) and Willow Glen (1-3) to finish 4-2. And a Prospect win over Del Mar this Friday could lead to a three-way tie for the runner-up spot.
The Dons, however, could have other ideas.
Dons top Warriors
Del Mar pushed its record to 3-1 in the division and to 7-1 for the year with a tight 21-16 win over Westmont last Friday night.
Jason Campbell, who just a week earlier left the field in an ambulance after suffering a lower back injury, returned to action to rally the Dons to the victory.
The junior quarterback completed 11 of 19 passes for 139 yards and a touchdown to lead Del Mar to the important win.
Heavi Williams, who led the Dons on the ground with 139 yards on 17 carries, took off on a 46-yard touchdown run in the first period, and Ted Perry kicked the extra point to put Del Mar up 7-0 early.
Westmont bounced back with a 25-yard field goal by Ben Holmes to cut the lead to 7-3 by the end of the quarter, and that's how things remained through intermission.
Del Mar started to pull away in the third. Vu Nguyen raced in from the 6 for a touchdown, then Campbell went on top to hit John Martin with a 44-yard touchdown pass. Perry kicked a pair of extra points, and the Dons had upped their lead to 21-3 after three quarters.
But the never-say-die Warriors came fighting back.
Cris Snyder went to Holmes for 27 yards and a touchdown, and Holmes kicked the extra point to cut the lead to 21-10.
Snyder went right back to Holmes with a 23-yard touchdown pass, and the Warriors trailed just 21-16.
But that was as close as Westmont could get as time ran out on the Warriors.
Adam Antolin hauled in five passes for 114 yards in the game, and Holmes had the two catches for 50 yards and the two touchdowns.
Westmont will take a break from division play this week when the Warriors host Valley Christian on Nov. 5, 7:15 p.m., in a nonleague game.
Panthers fall
Del Mar, meanwhile, will meet Prospect in the key match-up that will have a huge impact on second place in the circuit.
The Panthers were hoping to take a 3-1 league record into the game, but Piedmont took care of that with the 28-13 win last Friday.
The Pirates jumped out to a quick 21-0 lead in the first quarter before Prospect came fighting back.
Saladin Washington, who had rambled for 232 yards and four touchdowns a week earlier in an easy 43-20 win over Independence, ran one in from the 6 in the second quarter to cut the Piedmont lead to 21-6.
But the Pirates ran back the ensuing kick-off 91 yards for a touchdown, and the Panthers again found themselves three TDs behind.
Brian Shouse got that one back for Prospect, though, when he picked off a Pirate pass and raced 73 yards for a touchdown. Andrew Heling's extra point cut the Piedmont lead to 28-13 at the half.
But the clubs struggled through a scoreless second half, and Piedmont Hills managed to hang on for the victory.
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Campbell, California
