By DICK SPARRER
Homestead is among the football title favorites in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League this fall.
And Aragon, meanwhile, is amont the favorites in the South Division of the Peninsula Athletic League.
So when the Mustangs and Dons got together to open the season in a nonleague game last Friday, everyone expected a battle.
They got what they expected.
Aragon had to score a touchdown in the final seconds to pull out a thrilling 21-20 win over the Mustangs on Friday afternoon.
The thrilling Aragon victory was a heartbreaker for Homestead. The Mustangs led 20-13 inside the final minute of play, but the Dons scored a touchdown and added the 2-point conversion to pull out the victory.
Still, it was a stalwart effort for the Mustangs, who trailed 13-0 at intermission.
Homestead fought back with three touchdowns to move in front, only to lose it in the final minute.
Senior running back David Delgado and senior quarterback Ben Amiwero sparked the Homestead comeback.
Delgado blasted over from the four for a touchdown to get the Mustangs on the scoreboard in the third period, then he went in from the three early in the fourth to cut the Aragon lead to 13-12.
Amiwero snuck in from the one for a fourth-period TD that put the Mustangs on top. The quarterback tossed to Jason Woods for the 2-point conversion, and Homestead held a comfortable 20-13 lead.
As it turns out, it wasn't all that comfortable. Aragon came through with the late touchdown to pull out the victory.
Homestead will be back on the field looking for its first win of the young season on Sept. 20, when the Mustangs host Seaside in a 7:15 p.m. game at Fremont's Diesner Field. The Spartans dropped a 6-3 decision to Andrew Hill to open the season.
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, September 18, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.