The Cupertino Courier

Sports

Homestead trying to climb on top

By Mike Barnhart

With Cupertino and Saratoga promoted to the De Anza Division this season, some of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League's El Camino coaches quickly installed newcomer Homestead as the favorite to supplant 'Tino as boys basketball champion.

"It's Homestead's title to lose," claimed Mountain View coach Bob Heckmann in mid-December, citing the presence of 6-foot-8 center Ryan Dedrick and 6-foot-5 forward Tim Vanderet in the Mustangs' lineup as the reason why the El Camino title chase would be "a battle for second and third place."

"Any time you have two big men who are agile and can run the floor, it's hard for teams to match up," noted Heckmann, whose Spartans, like Homestead, dropped down from the De Anza circuit this winter.

But, that was before an eight-game losing stretch, six tournament losses in a row to end December and two division setbacks to start the new year.

But, under coach Shawn Hook, Homestead's third head coach in three seasons, the Mustangs chose to be determined, not defeated. They won five El Camino games in a row, including convincing decisions last week over Lynbrook and Wilcox.

"We are trying to catch Monta Vista--that's the team to beat now," Hook said after the Mustangs' 52-36 win over Lynbrook. "We believe that the league champion will have to go through Homestead."

Monta Vista, 6-1, avenged its only division loss by dumping Mountain View 60-38 on Jan. 26. Meanwhile, Homestead turned the tables on Wilcox, 48-33, remaining one game behind the Mats at 5-2, heading into a Jan. 30 tilt at third-place Los Altos (4-3). Wilcox and Mountain View entered the week at 3-4, followed by Lynbrook at 2-4 and Santa Clara at 1-6.

If Monta Vista and Homestead both can win their next four division games, their Feb. 13 division finale would, indeed, determine the El Camino champion.

For the Mustangs to keep their title hopes alive, according to Hook, they need continual outstanding play from Dedrick, a second team all-De Anza pick last year. Dedrick posted game-high efforts of 18 points and eight rebounds at Lynbrook and 16 points against visiting Wilcox.

Homestead took command of a two-point game at Lynbrook, when 6-foot-9 Viking junior Andy Meunier went to the bench with his fourth foul early in the third quarter. The Mustangs took advantage of Meunier's absence, outscoring the Vikes 13-6 the rest of the period. Dedrick put up 10 points in the span.

Although feeding the ball inside to Dedrick is a "no-brainer," Hook said Homestead's success also depends on consistently good play from three other seniors, Vanderet and guards Mickey Lai and Shamir Ross, as well as limiting turnovers.

The trio delivered on both ends of the court against Lynbrook, combining for 23 points and helping force 21Lynbrook turnovers, 12 in the second half. And, after 10 first-half turnovers, the Mustangs took care of the ball the rest of the way.

"We had just two turnovers in the second half," Hook noted. "That's a confidence builder."

The Mustangs also were able to hold down high-scoring Lynbrook senior Kris Gingrich in the second half. Gingrich, a second team all-El Camino choice last season, erupted for 10 of his team's 12 points in the second quarter, but managed just five the rest of the way.

Vanderet finished with nine points for Homestead. Lai had eight, including four of the Mustangs' 10 fourth-quarter free throws. Ross had two three-pointers for six, Jeff Whitford scored four, Patrick Myers three and Eathan Radicky and Alex German two apiece.

Supporting Gingrich's 15 for Lynbrook were Eric Fan and Kameron Zhao with six points apiece. Steven Sanders added four, Brian Wu three and Meunier two.

Monta Vista rolled over Mountain View, the only team to beat the Matadors in division play. Eric Lee (18 points) and Marcus Woo (11) were the high scorers, followed by Sean Brar (nine) and Ben Hodges (eight), Phil Kou and Kevin Lang chipped in with four each and Brett Colloton and Eric Sum had two apiece.

Brar (16) and Lang (13) paced Monta Vista's 66-49 win over Santa Clara earlier in the week.

De Anza race tightens

Cupertino created a three-way tie for first place in the De Anza Division by knocking off Palo Alto, 44-41.

Down by one at halftime, the Pioneers outscored the Vikings 16-5 in the third quarter and hung on for the win. The result left both teams at 5-2, the same slate as Gunn, which won at Milpitas, 62-53.

Cupertino buried six three-pointers against Palo Alto, while the Vikings did not score from beyond the arc. Senior Ryan Matsuoka, who had a game high 14 points, nailed three of the threes. Brian Ly, a 5-foot-7 junior, canned two and finished with 10 points. Juniors Mike Carson and Eric Heslin both scored seven and J.D. Deborba bucketed six. Heslin, who led the Pioneers with seven rebounds and four assists despite fouling out, knocked down the other three.

Senior center Kenji Mitchell and sophomore guard Kevin Lew did not score, but provided valuable minutes. Mitchell had two key rebounds, two assists, a blocked shot and a steal. Lew chipped in with two assists, a rebound, a block and a steal.

After a game at Saratoga on Jan. 30, the Pioneers will host Gunn, Feb. 2 at 7:45 p.m.

Harutyunyan rolls

Cupertino 145-pounder Aris Harutyunyan improved his ranking to No. 2 in the Central Coast Section and earned an "honorable mention" state ranking by winning three tournaments on consecutive weekends in January.

After taking first place at the Cupertino Memorial on Jan. 6, the senior nabbed gold medals at the Jim Root Classic at West Valley College and the Overfelt Classic in San Jose.

With a victory during a dual meet loss to Los Gatos last week, Harutyunyan improved his season record to 30-1.

Grabau lifts Mustangs

Homestead's girls soccer team tightened up the De Anza Division standings with a pair of wins sandwiched around a 0-0 tie with the unbeaten league leader Los Altos.

Senior Michelle Grabau's hat trick helped Homestead start the productive week with a 4-1 win at Mountain View. Grabau also assisted on Katie McCafferty's goal. Andrea Grabau, Kristine Roome and Melanie Jones also notched assists.

Led by Diana Charrier's two goals, the Mustangs improved to 4-2-3 in division play and 8-3-4 overall with a 5-1 win over Saratoga. Roome, M. Grabau and Katie Phan also scored goals.

With wins over Los Gatos and Mountain View, Monta Vista improved to 9-2-4 overall and 5-0-2 in the division. Los Altos finished the week in first place at 7-0-3 and 24 points, followed by Monta Vista at 17, Palo Alto (5-2-1) at 16 and Homestead at 15.

Freshman Michelle Pao played a great game for Monta Vista on Jan. 12 with three goals and three assists in an 8-2 win over Saratoga.

Homestead shares lead

Homestead's six-game unbeaten streak to start the El Camino season ended with a 37-30 loss to Saratoga. Senior Kate Mower scored 17 for the Mustangs, who slipped into a first-play tie with the Falcons at 6-1.

Mower also paced Homestead (11-9 overall) earlier in the week at Lynbrook, pumping in 21 points to spark a 44-42 triumph. Only three other Mustangs scored, Emily Blazensky with 12, Desiree Prevo six and Elan Kim five. Senior Emily Shen scored 16 for the Vikings, who dropped to 4-2 in the division and 16-5 overall.

Monta Vista, after a 7-6 start in preseason, improved to 2-5 in El Camino play with a 69-42 victory over Cupertino. Seniors Sophia Tam (18 points), Kelly Bodwin (15) and Sheleana Varvaro (9) led the Matadors, while Cupertino sophomore Tiffany Wang poured in a game high 21. Junior Victoria Wu added nine for the Pioneers.