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Prospect running back Ryan Schaefers, fighting for yardage in a game a couple of weeks ago against Del Mar, ran for 51 yards on 11 carries in a tough 17-14 loss to Silver Creek on Saturday.
Photograph by Paul Myers
Moran leads Falcons to victory
Panthers, Warriors each lose in BVAL
By Dick Sparrer
Trent Edwards is getting a lot of attention this fall, and for good reason. The talented Los Gatos quarterback is a blue chip prospect who is getting the attention of colleges across the country.
But while most of the attention in the Santa Clara Valley is focused on Edwards this fall, there's another talented quarterback quietly going about his business at Saratoga High School: senior Scott Moran.
All Moran is doing this season is consistently putting up impressive numbers--impressive enough to lead the Falcons to wins in four of their first six games.
"We've got four good quarterbacks in our league," said Saratoga coach Kurt Heinrich, referring to Edwards at Los Gatos, Dustin Guglielmelli at Milpitas, Kevin Cook at Palo Alto and Moran. "And I wouldn't trade Scott Moran for any of them."
Moran had another big night last Friday to lead the Falcons to an impressive 49-27 win over Santa Clara over at Townsend Field. He ran for 100 yards and threw for 50 more to lead the Falcons to the win that evened their record at 1-1 in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League.
"He's just phenomenal," said Heinrich of Moran. And he was last Friday.
Moran ran for two touchdowns and threw for one more to drive Saratoga to the victory. He scored twice in the first quarter as Saratoga ran up an early 21-0 lead over the Bruins.
Joining Moran in the scoring parade was senior speedster Devin Schrock, who ran back a kick off for a touchdown for the third time this season.
"He's the real deal," said Heinrich of Schrock. "He's got a real feel for it. He's just doing an outstanding job."
Schrock's 85-yard kick off return for a touchdown was a real game-breaker for the Falcons.
But as good as Moran and Schrock were last Friday, it was the defense that really set the tone of the night for the Falcons.
"Our defense did a great job," said the coach. "They turned the ball over and gave us a short field. And our offense took advantage of it."
A pass interception by defensive back Billy Miroyan set up the night's first touchdown, a 35-yard run by Moran.
Linebacker Marc Crosby recovered a fumble later in the period that set up Moran's second touchdown, a 12-yard run.
Crosby then forced a fumble that David Lii recovered, and Saratoga capitalized when Jeff Lee score on a 2-yard run.
A.J. Weitsman converted after each of the touchdowns to put the Falcons up 21-0. Weitsman finished the night with seven extra-point kicks.
Moran, who led the ground show with seven carries for 100 yards, later hit Troy Follmar with a 24-yard touchdown pass. Moran finished the night 3 of 5 for 50 yards through the air, hitting Follmar, John Griffin for 24 yards and Schrock for 13.
Crosby and Connor Peck also ran for touchdowns in the Saratoga win. Peck, a starting guard for the Falcons, moved to fullback to score on a 6-yard run.
Griffin ran three times for 30 yards in the win. Crosby carried twice for 24 yards and Lee had five carries for 18 yards.
Leading the charge up front offensively were Peck, Chris Barrett, Greg Van Hoesen, Jon Anderson and sophomore center Javier Meza, who took over for the injured Justin Oliver.
"We were incredibly pleased that we had no center exchange problems," Heinrich said. "He stepped up and did a great job."
The coach was pleased with the overall performance of the ballclub, indicating that "all three phases of the game were solid."
He added, though, that he was extremely happy with the defensive showing.
"Our defense did an outstanding job for us," he said, singling out Miroyan and Lee in the secondary, Marc Muniz in the defensive front and Crosby at linebacker.
The Falcons face a real test this week when they host Milpitas on Oct. 19, 7:30 p.m., at Los Gatos. The Trojans are 2-1 in league and 4-2 for the year after a lopsided 48-0 win over Gunn last week.
"They run the fly offense and they have good overall team speed," Heinrich said. "They have good skill guys and a great quarterback. We'll have our work cut out for us.
"But we feel like we're in pretty good position right now," he added.
Panthers come close
It was with high hopes that first-year Prospect football coach Mike Carrozzo and his Panthers entered the 2001 football season.
But though the Panthers have had their moments this fall, they have yet to bring home a victory.
They came close last Saturday at Silver Creek, but a fourth-quarter touchdown by the Raiders stole that elusive first victory away from the Panthers.
Silver Creek scored on a short touchdown pass with less than a minute left to play, and that proved the difference for the Panthers in a 17-14 loss to the Raiders.
It was a tough loss for Prospect to take since the Panthers had jumped in front 14-10 in the third quarter when senior Trevor Rogers raced 46 yards for his second touchdown of the day.
That lead stood up until the final minute of the game when the Raiders scored the game winner.
Silver Creek evened its season record at 3-3 with the win and improved its record to 1-2 in the Santa Teresa Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League.
Prospect slipped to 0-3 in the division and dropped to 0-6 for the year. The Panthers will go after their first win of the season on Oct. 20 when they visit Gunderson at 1:30 p.m. The Grizzlies are 2-0 in league and 4-2 for the season after an 18-7 win over Westmont last week.
Rogers had a big day for Prospect in the battle against Silver Creek. The senior carried just three times, but topped the century mark with 102 yards.
The Raiders took a 3-0 lead with a field goal in the first quarter, but Rogers put Prospect on top with a 46-yard touchdown run in the second. Brent Maselli kicked the extra points, and the Panthers were up 7-3.
Creek scored before the half to take a 10-7 lead in at intermission, but Rogers took off on a 50-yard touchdown run in the third. Maselli's second kick gave the Panthers a 14-10 advantage.
That lasted until the Silver Creek TD pass in the final minute.
Rogers led the offensive attack with 102 yards on just three carries, and senior back Ryan Schaefers supported with 51 yards on 11 tries.
Junior quarterback Steven Vidal completed four of 17 passes for 83 yards, including a 29-yard toss to senior Dejuan Quinine. It was one of two receptions for 37 yards for Quinine in the game.
Schaefers was in on eight tackles to lead the Prospect defensive effort. Junior linebacker Austin Baumgarten was in on six tackles and senior defensive back Mike Reclusado got in on five.
Warriors fall
Gunderson was able to overcome a 7-0 halftime lead to rally for an 18-7 win over Westmont last Friday afternoon.
It was the first loss of the year for the Warriors, who slipped to 5-1 overall and to 1-1 in the Santa Teresa Division of the BVAL.
Westmont took the early lead when senior running back Todd Bethke scored on a 7-yard run in the second quarter. Ben Peterson booted the extra point, and that 7-0 lead stood up at intermission.
But Gunderson ran back a fumble for a touchdown in the third period, then scored on a couple of runs by James Jones to pull out to an 18-7 lead.
Junior quarterback Bryen Blankenship tried to pull the Warriors back in front. He completed seven passes for 99 yards, but it wasn't enough for Westmont.
Things won't get any easier for Westmont this week. The Warriors will visit Overfelt on Oct. 19, 7:30 p.m., in a key league game. The Royals are 3-0 in the division and 6-0 for the year after claiming a 26-13 win over Del Mar last week.
To win, the Warriors will have to stop talented Overfelt back Alan Webster, who ran for 308 yards and three touchdowns in the win over the Dons last Friday.
Vikings lose
The Lynbrook football team lost a 46-0 non-league decision to Palo Alto last week to slip to 2-4 for the year. The Vikings will try to get back on the winning track this week when they take on Homestead on Oct. 19, 7 p.m., at Cupertino.
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Saratoga, California Since 1955
