Last-minute opponent tough on Prospect

By Dick Sparrer

There wasn't much time for the Prospect football team to prepare for their Friday opponent. Head coach Mike Carrozzo didn't find out until Thursday afternoon that the Panthers would face Lowell of San Francisco about 24 hours later.

"They run a tough offense to prepare for, especially when you only have about an hour of preparation," he said.

Not exactly the best circumstances, but then it was a rather unusual week.

The Panthers were scheduled to visit Sequoia for a Friday night game, but the Peninsula Athletic League canceled all football games in the aftermath of Tuesday's national tragedy.

Carrozzo did what he could to fill the void in the schedule, but he didn't get the call that confirmed the clash with Lowell until late in Prospect's Thursday practice.

"Don't get me wrong," he said, "they have a very good football team. But we needed to make massive adjustments to prepare for their offense, and we only had 45 minutes."

Lowell came right out to score a couple of first-quarter touchdowns to take an early 13-0 lead against the Panthers. But Prospect came battling back.

Senior running back Trevor Rogers broke a reverse 84 yards for a touchdown that got the Panthers back in the game.

Lowell scored again, but Prospect answered that TD before intermission.

The Panthers marched 65 yards on seven plays, Brent Maselli capping the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run.

A key play on the drive was a 23-yard pass from Steven Kong to Dejuan Quinine on a fake punt from the Prospect 35.

Junior quarterback Steve Vidal hit Mike Reclusado for 17 yards and tossed a screen pass to George Brown for 20 yards to get the Panthers into scoring range.

It was 20-12 at the half, but Lowell scored two unanswered touchdowns in the second half to clinch the 34-12 win.

"We just couldn't get the offense flowing in the second half," said Carrozzo.

"We weren't executing as well as we know we can," added the coach. "But the kids were playing with a lot on their minds. They played with a lot of heart, and I'm really proud of them."

Rogers led the ground attack with 111 yards on just six carries, but Prospect did most of its damage through the air with three passers completing 11 passes for 170 yards.

Vidal hooked up on 7 of 15 passes for 88 yards and Adam Day came on to complete 3 of 11 tosses for 59 yards. Kong completed his only pass for 23 yards.

Brown pulled in four passes for 39 yards in the game and Maselli snagged a pair of passes for 59 yards.

Quinine caught a pair of passes for 35 yards, but it was the defensive side of the ball where he really shined, getting in on 10 tackles from his cornerback spot.

"He laid a lot of big hits," said Carrozzo of Quinine. "We were very, very happy with his defensive performance."

Ryan Schaefers led the Panthers by getting in on 12 tackles and Brown was in on 11. Ted Piggins got in on nine tackles and intercepted a pass, and Austin Baumgarten was in on eight stops and forced a fumble.

Prospect, now 0-2, will be home this week to host a tough Leigh squad on Sept. 21, 3:30 p.m. Leigh is 0-2 following a 28-14 loss to Mitty last week.

Carrozzo figures the bout with Leigh will be a real test for his Panthers, but added, "Having [assistant coach Ken Padia] on our sidelines has to help--if he doesn't know them, we're in trouble."

Padia is the former Leigh head coach who stepped down after last season.

Warriors win

Westmont battled back from a 12-7 halftime deficit to roll to a 34-20 nonleague victory over Lincoln last Saturday afternoon.

Junior quarterback Bryen Blankenship threw for two touchdowns and ran for another to lead the Warriors to the victory.

Blankenship tossed a 16-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Connor McDonald and Ben Peterson kicked the extra point that put the Warriors up 7-0 in the first period.

But Lincoln scored twice in the second quarter to jump in front 12-7 before intermission.

In the second half, though, Blankenship and the Warriors took over the game.

Junior linebacker gave Westmont the lead when he scooped up a blocked punt and rambled seven yards for a touchdown. Peterson's kick made it 14-12, and the Warriors had a lead they would never relinquish.

Blankenship, who completed 15 passes for over 200 yards, went on top to hit junior wide receiver Brian DeWitt with a 23-yard scoring toss, and the Warriors took a 21-7 lead into the final quarter.

Blankenship snuck over from the one for a fourth-period TD and Peterson booted his fourth PAT to up Westmont's lead to 28-12.

Lincoln cut the advantage to 28-20 with a touchdown and 2-point conversion in the fourth, but Westmont answered that score with a score of its own.

Aremon Habibi scored on a 9-yard run to close out the scoring for the day.

Westmont, now 2-0 in the young season, will host Mount Pleasant in a nonleague game on Sept. 21, 7:15 p.m. The Cardinals are 0-2 following a 19-7 loss to Silver Creek last week.

Saratoga falls

After an impressive win over Prospect to open the season, Saratoga dropped a 35-28 heartbreaker to Mountain View in a nonleague game last Saturday at Benny Pierce Field.

The Falcons found themselves battling from behind most of the day after falling back 21-0 in the first quarter.

The Spartans jumped in front when Jordan Nelson, the son of former Stanford great Darrin Nelson, broke the second play from scrimmage 90 yards for a touchdown.

Mountain view scored two more times before the end of the period to take a commanding 21-0 lead, but the Falcons came fighting back.

Junior running back John Griffin took off on a 56-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and A.J. Weitsman kicked the extra point to cut the lead to 21-7.

The Spartans scored again before the half to take a 28-7 lead in at intermission, but Saratoga came out smoking in the second half.

Senior quarterback Scott Moran tossed a 14-yard touchdown pass to Devin Schrock and Griffin scored on a 15-yard run in the third quarter. Weitsman converted after each TD, and Saratoga had cut the lead to 28-21.

Saratoga will now take its 1-1 record up against Cupertino on Sept. 21, 7:30 p.m., at Los Gatos High School. The Pioneers are 1-1 after beating Gunn 28-21 last week.

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