Saratoga News

Photograph by Robert Scheer

Prospect's Lee Robinson (7) slaps the ball away from a Willow Glen receiver to help preserve a 28-20 Panther victory and all but clinch a league championship. Tim Haney (right) is stretched out in a bid for an interception.

Panthers are champions

Williams, Heling lead Prospect to big win over Rams

By Dick Sparrer

Prospect will play its biggest game of the 1997 football season this week.

And it comes just a week after the Panthers played their biggest game of the season.

Sound confusing? Not really. Because last week's battle with Willow Glen was Prospect's biggest of the year--then. Now the Panthers' biggest game is Friday afternoon at Andrew Hill.

The Panthers needed to beat Willow Glen to win the championship in the Santa Teresa Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League. And now that they're done that with a thrilling 28-20 victory, they need to beat Hill on Friday to claim sole ownership of that crown.

Prospect will take a 5-0 league record and 8-0-1 season mark to Hill for the 2:45 p.m. game on Friday. The Falcons are a dismal 0-4-1 in the division and 2-6-1 for the year.

So while Hill doesn't appear to be much of a match for Prospect on paper, the game is still a big one for the Panthers. But it's not even close to being as big a game as last Saturday's clash with Willow Glen turned out to be.

The clubs went into the game with matching 4-0 division records. The only mar on Willow Glen's otherwise perfect 7-1 record was a non-league loss to powerful Leland, and the only flaw in Prospect's 7-0-1 mark was a 21-21 tie against Pioneer in the preseason.

So the title was virtually on the line in the game, and Prospect rose to the occasion.

Senior wide receiver Matt Heling and senior quarterback Justin Williams entered the game as two of area's best at their positions, and they certainly lived up to their numbers.

Williams, who had completed 99 passes for 17 touchdowns and 1,619 yards to lead all passers in the valley with a 202.3-yards-per-game average, had his biggest game of the season, hitting on 19 of 37 passes for 234 yards and two TDs.

Naturally, seven of those passes and both touchdown tosses found the open hands of Heling.

Heling, who Prospect head coach Dave Johnson considers to be among the top receivers in the Central Coast Section, got the Panthers going when he hauled in a 10-yard scoring toss from Williams in the first period. Brandon Delgado kicked the extra point, and the Panthers were on top 7-0.

Willow Glen answered back by scooping up a fumble and racing in for a touchdown, but Prospect scored the next three touchdowns of the game.

Craig Malloy, an explosive runner for the Panthers, took off on a 22-yard touchdown run before the end of the first period, and Williams snuck over from the one in the second quarter. Delgado converted after each TD, and the Panthers had a seemingly comfortable 21-6 lead at intermission.

Prospect added to its lead in the third quarter when Heling pulled in a pass from Williams for five yards and a score, and Delgado's fourth kick made it 28-6.

But the Rams battled back with a couple of touchdowns and a two-point conversion in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to 28-20.

Willow Glen had one last chance with the football, but the Prospect defense held, and the Panthers clinched at least a tie for the Santa Teresa Division crown.

Malloy, Lee Robinson, Mike Suarez and senior tight end Tim Haney were other key players for the Panthers in the win, along with Rudy Suez and Jason Burton in the offensive line.

Falcons go for .500

Saratoga has a lot at stake when it closes out the regular season on Friday night at Los Gatos. It's tradition.

The Falcons have a winning tradition in football, and they have a chance to maintain it with a victory over Homestead on Friday night.

Saratoga heads into the game with a 2-3 record in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League and a 4-5 mark for the year. A year would help the Falcons avoid a losing season.

Homestead is also 2-3 in the division, so the clubs will be fighting for fourth place in the De Anza Division when they meet Friday at 7:30 p.m.

The Falcons are coming off of a 27-6 win over Monta Vista. Senior quarterback Michael Black, who ranks statistically among the top quarterbacks in the valley this fall, ran 63 yards for a touchdown and tossed 22 yards for senior tight end Cory Schwaderer for another to lead the Falcons to the win.

Paul Kim supported with a pair of short touchdown runs, and Eric Bickenbach kicked three extra points to round out the scoring.

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