Falcons rebound for 27-13 win over Pioneers

By Dick Sparrer

Basketball players rebound.

But sometimes, football players can too.

Because the Saratoga football players certainly rebounded last Friday night when they came back after a tough loss to Mountain View a couple of weeks ago to knock off Cupertino in a nonleague game.

The Falcons fought back from a 7-0 deficit to cruise to a 27-13 victory over the Pioneers on Friday at Los Gatos. The win helped Saratoga improve to 2-1 for the year while Cupertino sank to 0-3.

The Pioneers scored a first-quarter touchdown, but the Falcons battled back with a second-period TD when junior running back Matt Bickenbach scored on a 9-yard run.

The Falcons trailed 7-6 at intermission, but the Cupertino lead lasted until only the first few seconds of the third quarter. Senior speedster Devin Schrock returned the second-half kick off 90 yards for a touchdown. It marked the second time this year Schrock has gone the distance with a kick off.

Senior back David Lii ran in for the 2-point conversion, and the Falcons were up 14-7. It was a lead they would never lose.

Saratoga moved in for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter, and senior fullback Todd Ziegler scored on a 3-yard run. A.J. Weitsman kicked the extra point, and the Falcons were in control 21-7.

Cupertino kept things interesting with a touchdown, but Saratoga answered that with an insurance score late in the game. John Griffin scored on a 3-yard run, and the Falcons had enough to secure the 27-13 victory.

The Falcons will now take their 2-1 nonleague record into league play when they visit Wilcox on Sept. 28, 7:30 p.m., to open play in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League. The Warriors take a 1-2 record into the game after beating Homestead 21-7 last Saturday.

Warriors win again

Westmont made it three straight in the young football season with a convincing 21-6 victory over Mount Pleasant last Friday afternoon.

Junior running back Mike Jiosa broke a scoreless tie when he scored on a 3-yard run in the second quarter, and Ben Peterson kicked the extra point to give the Warriors a 7-0 lead.

Westmont made it 14-0 before intermission when junior quarterback Bryen Blankenship hit Connor McDonald with a 21-yard TD toss and Peterson converted again.

The Cardinals cut the lead to 14-6 with a touchdown in the third period, but the Warriors added an insurance score in the fourth when senior back Todd Bethke took off on a 35-yard TD gallop. Peterson's third kick capped the 21-6 Westmont win.

The Warriors have now racked up wins over Fremont, Lincoln and Mount Pleasant, and they have one more preseason test before opening play in the Santa Teresa Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League.

Westmont will host Harker Academy on Sept. 28, 7:15 p.m., in the final nonleague game before starting the league season the following week against Prospect.

Panthers slip to 0-3

Prospect dropped a 34-7 nonleague decision to Leigh last week to slip to 0-3 in the 2001 season.

It was actually the Panthers who scored first in the Friday afternoon game. Senior running back Ryan Schaefers bolted 11 yards for a first-quarter touchdown, and Brent Maselli kicked the extra point to give Prospect a 7-0 lead.

But the Longhorns answered with a touchdown in the first, then scored two times in the second quarter to lead 21-7 at intermission. Leigh added two more TDs in the third quarter on the road to the lopsided 34-7 victory.

The Panthers will be back on the field this week chasing their first win of the year when they host Del Mar on Sept. 28, 3:30 p.m. The Dons are also winless, dropping to 0-4 after a 41-20 loss to Lincoln last week.

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