Westmont's Mike Jiosa fights for yardage in last week's 54-17 win over Andrew Hill. Jiosa scored two touchdowns in the victory.




Photograph by Tustomu Fujita







Blankenship stars in Westmont win

Saratoga rolls to win over Gunn

By Dick Sparrer

Go Falcons! That's the cry coming up at Westmont right about now, because the Warriors are really pulling for Andrew Hill to wrap up the 2001 football season with a victory.

It may not have appeared that the Warriors were Hill football fans last Friday night when they were drubbing the Falcons 54-17. But they sure are now.

You see, the Westmont win helped the Warriors improve to 3-1 in the Santa Teresa Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League. And there's only one team ahead of them in the league standings: you guessed it--Hill's final opponent of the season, Gunderson.

The Grizzlies are 4-0 in league play after an impressive win over Overfelt last week. So Westmont's only hope of even nailing a first-place tie is for Gunderson to lose at least one of the final two games and for the Warriors to win out.

Westmont will try to do just that when the team visits Silver Creek on Nov. 3, 1:30 p.m. and host Del Mar on Nov. 9, 7:15 p.m.

Gunderson will close out league play at home against Del Mar on Nov. 3, 1:30 p.m., before facing Hill on Nov. 9, 7:30 p.m., at PAL Stadium.

So Westmont will be pulling for the Falcons to finish the year with a victory. And the Warriors wouldn't mind seeing the Dons come up with a win this Saturday.

Any cheering for the Falcons, though, was certainly not evident last Friday night when Westmont pounded Hill 54-17.

Junior quarterback Bryen Blankenship tossed five touchdown passes, three of them to senior wide receiver Connor McDonald, to lead the Warriors to the lopsided victory.

Westmont dominated the game from the opening kick off. Blankenship pitched three TD tosses in the first quarter to help the Warriors jump out to a 19-0 lead, then he threw another one in the second as Westmont built up a 40-3 lead by intermission.

The Warriors opened the scoring when junior tight end Brian Gellman hauled in a 33-yard touchdown pass from Blankenship. The quarterback went back to the air to hit McDonald with scoring strikes of 32 and 11 yards. Ben Peterson kicked the extra point after the third touchdown, and the Warriors were on top 19-0.

Hill got on the scoreboard with a field goal early in the second period, but powerful Westmont answered with three scores.

Blankenship hit McDonald with a 33-yard touchdown pass, then junior Mike Jiosa scored on a 6-yard run. Senior linebacker Aremon Habibi picked off a pass and raced 25 yards for a touchdown before the half and the Warriors led 40-3. Peterson converted after each second-quarter touchdown.

But the Warriors weren't finished. Blankenship hit Jiosa with a 71-yard touchdown strike, then the quarterback ran one in from 16 yards out to open the fourth quarter. Two more extra points by Peterson put Westmont up 54-3.

Hill scored two touchdowns late in the game to make the final 54-17.

Panthers slip to 0-8

Prospect slipped to 0-8 for the year after a lopsided 35-0 non-league loss to Piedmont Hills last Friday night.

The Panthers will return to play in the Santa Teresa Division this week when they host Andrew Hill on Nov. 3, 1:30 p.m. The Falcons enter the game 0-3-1 in the division and 2-5-1 for the year following the 54-17 loss to Westmont last week.

Ryan Schaefers led the Prospect offense with 76 yards on 13 carries, and David Katz added 21 yards on four tries, but that was the bulk of the attack for the Panthers in the loss to the Pirates. Schaefers, who had a 39-yard run in the game, also caught a pass for eight yards and led the club with 11 tackles, including a sack of the Piedmont quarterback.

Steven Vidal hit on just 2 of 8 passes for 11 yards and Adam Day completed 1 of 2 tosses for eight yards for Prospect. Mike Reclusado had a catch for nine yards.

Ted Piggins supported Schaefers' effort on defense, getting in on six tackles and intercepting a pass. Austin Baumgarten was in on five tackles for the Panthers.

Falcons roll

Saratoga evened its league record at 2-2 and kept its playoff hopes alive with a convincing 49-13 win over Gunn last Friday night at Los Gatos.

The Falcons opened up a 42-0 lead before the Titans could finally score in the third quarter. But Saratoga answered that TD quickly when Devin Schrock ran back the ensuing kick off 82 yards for a touchdown. It was Schrock's fourth kickoff return for a score this season, and his third TD of the night.

Saratoga took the early lead when senior quarterback Scott Moran scored on a 4-yard run. A.J. Weitsman kicked the first of his seven extra points, and the Falcons were up 7-0 early.

John Griffin scored on a 3-yard run to give Saratoga a 14-0 lead after a period, then Moran tossed a 9-yard TD pass to Schrock early in the second.

Moran went back to Schrock with a 20-yard scoring toss and Griffin went 29 yards for another touchdown to up Saratoga's lead to 35-0 at intermission.

Ian McAllister blasted over for a 2-yard touchdown run in the third period to make it 42-0 before Gunn eventually scored. But Schrock came right back with his third TD of the night.

Saratoga improved to 2-2 in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League with the win. The Falcons are 5-3 for the year and face two key games to wrap up the regular season.

The Falcons visit Palo Alto (5-3 overall, 1-3 in league) on Nov. 2, 3 p.m., before wrapping up the year against Los Gatos (8-0, 4-0). Wins in each of the two games would likely secure Saratoga a place in the Central Coast Section playoffs.

Vikings lose 48-12

A couple of late touchdowns by senior Sean Imai helped Lynbrook avoid a shutout last week in a 48-12 loss to Mountain View.

The Spartans, first in the El Camino Division of the SCVAL with a 4-0 record, opened up a 48-0 lead on their way to the lopsided win over the Vikings, who slipped to 0-4 in the division and to 2-6 for the year.

Imai answered Mountain View's final touchdown with a 97-yard kick off return for a third-quarter score.

He came back in the fourth to pull in a 45-yard touchdown pass from Brandon Bencamo.

The Vikings will be back on the field gunning for their first league win this week when they take on Monta Vista on Nov. 2, 7 p.m., at Cupertino.

Sherriff's Report

Local Home Sales and Property Listings

Engagements & Weddings

Saratoga Sampler

San Jose Sports Hall of Fame

High school football

High school cross country