Westmont, Saratoga pull out victories

By Dick Sparrer

They had to hold off a late surge by Mt. Pleasant to do it, but the Westmont Warriors nailed their second win of the young football season with a 30-28 victory over the Cardinals last Friday night.

Two touchdowns apiece by Mike Hilbert and Chris Snyder helped Westmont build a 30-6 lead through three periods, and the Warriors hung on for the win despite three four-quarter touchdowns by the Cards.

Westmont took an early lead in the first when Hilbert scored on a 4-yard run.

The Warriors added to their lead with two touchdowns and a field goal in the second quarter. Hilbert blasted over from the one and Snyder raced in from the 13 for Westmont.

Ben Peterson, who converted after each of the Hilbert TDs, booted a 30-yard field goal just before the half, and the Warriors went in at intermission with a comfortable 23-6 lead.

Snyder scored again, this time on a 4-yard run, and Peterson kicked the extra point that gave Westmont a commanding 30-6 lead heading into the fourth.

As it turns out, the Warriors would need just about every point of that lead to hang on for the win as Mt. Pleasant scored 22 points in the final quarter, only to come up two points short.

Billy Stouffer had a big night on both sides of the football for the Warriors. Stouffer topped the Westmont ground game with 93 yards on 12 carries, and he was also the club's leading tackler with nine stops.

Hilbert finished the night with 59 yards on nine tries, including a 25-yard run on a fake punt.

Snyder was impressive through the air, hitting on nine of 18 passes for 103 yards. Todd Bethke pulled in four of Snyder's tosses to lead all Westmont receivers.

Dave Horner and Aremon Habibi joined Stouffer among the tackling leaders, getting in on six each, and Luke Rocheleau picked off a pair of enemy passes, returning one 23 yards.

The Warriors will try to make it two straight this week when they host Prospect on Sept. 29, 7:15 p.m., in the league opener for each club. Westmont is 2-1 heading into the opening round of the year in the Santa Teresa Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League.

Panthers fall

Prospect, a 27-6 winner over Mt. Pleasant a week ago, dropped a lopsided 63-0 decision to powerful Leigh last Saturday. The Panthers, now 1-2 for the year, will try to get back on the winning track when they visit Westmont on Friday.

Falcons are 3-0

Ian McAllister snapped a 14-14 tie when he rambled to a 6-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to lead Saratoga to an exciting 21-14 win over Lynbrook on Friday night at Los Gatos.

The Vikings had taken the early lead in the game when Brodie Maag scored on an 11-yard run and Grodon Hawley kicked the extra point.

Saratoga tied it before the end of the first period when senior James Lii blasted over from the one and A.J. Weitsman converted, but Lynbrook scored in the second to take a 14-7 halftime lead.

Shawn Dormishian scored on a 2-yard run and Hawley converted again to give the Vikings the advantage at intermission.

But John Griffin scooped up a Lynbrook fumble and raced 12 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter. Weitsman kicked the game-tying point, and the clubs were headed to the final period locked in a 14-14 tie.

Saratoga broke the tie on McAllister's touchdown run, and Weitsman's third extra point made the final 21-14.

But the win certainly didn't come easy for the Falcons. The Vikes were throwing for a possible game-tying score in the final moments when Ryan Helmuth broke up a Lynbrook fourth-down pass.

Kirk Robinson led the Falcons' ground game with 69 yards on nine carries and Lii supported with 55 yards on nine tries.

Senior fullback Josh Huizar rambled for 69 yards on 14 attempts for the Vikings.

The win upped Saratoga's season record to 3-0 as the Falcons prepare to open league play this week. The Falcons will host Wilcox on Sept. 28, 7:30 p.m., at Los Gatos in the first game of the year in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League.

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