Photograph by Kathy De La Torre
Saratoga's Scott Moran, lining up behind center John Hart, had a big night in the Falcons' 24-24 tie with Homestead.
Falcons fight Mustangs to tie
Moran leads Saratoga offensive attack
By Dick Sparrer
There was no stopping the Saratoga Falcons when they battled Homestead last Friday night.
Unfortunately, the Falcons had their share of problems stopping the Mustangs.
So, when all was said and done in the Friday night game at Fremont, there was no winner. The Falcons and Mustangs played to a 24-24 tie when Scott Alexander drilled a 42-yard field goal with just seconds remaining in regulation.
Homestead ended up winning a tiebreaker in four possessions of overtime play, but the decision only comes into play in the event of a tie between Homestead and Saratoga in the regular, and then only if there are Central Coast Section playoff implications. The game officially goes into the books as a tie.
And this game also goes into the books as a solid effort for the Falcons, according to their coach.
"I think we played very hard," said Saratoga head coach Kurt Heinrich. "And I think that a young team got a little better."
"We did a pretty good job of controlling the ball," said the coach, whose Falcons ran 63 plays and gained 408 yards of total offense. "But we've got to shore some things up and get better defensively."
Saratoga was certainly able to score against Homestead on Friday. But the Mustangs answered each score on the way to the tie.
A.J. Weitsman gave the Falcons the early lead with a 25-yard field goal in the first period, but Homestead answered with a touchdown before the end of the period.
The Falcons went on top 10-7 on a 7-yard touchdown run by Mike Cable and a Weitsman extra-point kick, but once more Homestead responded with a TD.
Junior quarterback Scott Moran found tight end Troy Follmar for 19 yards and a touchdown before the half, and Saratoga went in at intermission with a 16-14 lead.
Homestead scored first in the third quarter, but the Falcons came right back with a 12-yard TD run by Cable. The senior fullback then pounded in for the 2-point conversion, and the Falcons were up 24-21.
But that just set the stage for Alexander's game-tying field goal in the final seconds.
Moran starred in the game for Saratoga, hitting on 10 of 17 passes for 160 yards and a touchdown.
"He had an excellent game," said Heinrich of his quarterback. "We ran a lot of option at them, and he had a lot of good reads on the option."
James Lii and Todd Ziegler led the ground attack, and Heinrich said he was glad to have Cable back on the field at fullback.
"He was very strong around the goal line," said Heinrich of Cable.
The coach was also pleased with the showing of his offensive line in the game, praising the work of Chris Barrett, Connor Peck, John Hart, Greg Van Hoesen, Jon Moshier and Michael Charters.
He added that Follmar played well as a blocker and receiver at tight end, and praised the efforts of wide receiver Devin Schrock, who hauled in six passes for 63 yards.
Defensively, Heinrich was pleased with the work of Van Hoesen and Peck up front and Schrock in the secondary.
The Falcons are now 0-1-1 in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League, and they are 3-1-1 for the year.
Saratoga will host Monta Vista on Oct. 13, 7:30 p.m., at Los Gatos. The Matadors are 3-2 for the year and 0-1 in the division after losing 37-7 to powerful Milpitas last Saturday night.
"They played Milpitas very tough," said Heinrich. "They're aggressive, and they have good speed, a burly-type fullback and a crafty quarterback."
"And we can't take anyone lightly," added the coach. "They're going to be very formidable."
Vikings win
In other local action, Shawn Dormishian ran for two touchdowns to lead Lynbrook to a 27-3 win over Cupertino in the El Camino Division.
Dormishian blasted over from the 3-yard-line to get the Vikings on the scoreboard in the second period, and he scored on another 3-yard run later in the quarter. Harun Ghori kicked the extra point after the first touchdown and Gordon Hawley converted after the second to give the Vikes a 14-0 lead.
But Lynbrook wasn't finished yet. Josh Huizar took off on a 60-yard touchdown run before the half and Hawley converted to make it 21-0.
Cupertino drilled a field goal before intermission, but that was all the Pioneers could manage in the game.
Lynbrook scored one more time in the game when Chris Fisher scooped up a fumble and raced 40 yards for a TD to make the final 27-3.
Lynbrook, now 2-3 for the year and 1-0 in league, will visit Fremont on Oct. 14, 7:30 p.m., for an El Camino Division game.
Panthers get even
One team was hoping to get even, the other was hoping to get started.
And after half last Saturday afternoon, it was still anyone's guess who was getting to get their wish.
Both the Prospect and Willow Glen football teams had open the year with losses in the Santa Teresa Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League.
The Panthers needed a win to get even in the league race. The Rams could also get even with a victory, but with four losses to start the year, Willow Glen needed a win just to get things started in the 2000 season.
But after trailing just 10-3 at intermissions, the Rams ended up falling 33-9 to the Panthers.
Prospect evened its record at 1-1 in the division and improved to 2-3 for the year with the impressive victory.
Saladin Washington had a big day for the Panthers, carrying the football 35 times for 239 yards and four touchdowns.
Despite Washington's big numbers, the game was still close at the half.
Prospect took the early lead on a 35-yard field goal by sophomore placekicker Brent Maselli in the first period, but the Rams tied it in the second quarter on a 41-yard field goal by Scott Wallberg.
Washington scored on a 2-yard run before intermission and Maselli tacked on the extra point to give the Panthers the 10-3 lead at the break.
In the second half, it was all Prospect.
Washington blasted over from the 1 and Ray Woodie ran in for the 2-point conversion to make it 18-3.
The Panthers added to their lead in the final quarter when Washington scored on an 11-yard run and Woodie went in for another 2-pointer.
Willow Glen came fighting back on a 7-yard touchdown run by junior Mark Sarinara, but Prospect will have the last word.
Washington scored his fourth touchdown of the day when he went seven yards for a score, and Maselli's kick made the final 33-9.
The highlight of the day for the Rams was the performance of senior quarterback Bobby Hobbs, who completed 16 of 32 passes for 222 yards. But his Rams could get into the end zone only once.
Prospect will be back home to host Gunderson on Oct. 13, 3:30 p.m., hoping to make it two straight in league play.
The Rams, meanwhile, will be looking to get on the winning track on Oct. 14 when they host Hill at 1:30 p.m. Willow Glen is off to an 0-5 start in the 2000 campaign.
Westmont falls
Chris Snyder tossed a 23-yard touchdown pass to Todd Bethke in the second quarter, but that was all Westmont could manage in a 31-7 Santa Teresa Division loss to Gunderson last Saturday afternoon.
Bethke's touchdown and an extra point kick by Ben Peterson put the Warriors up 7-6 in the second quarter, but the Grizzlies scored before the half to take a 12-7 lead at intermission.
Saratoga, California Since 1955
