The Sun Sunnyvale's Newspaper Mustangs win, Firebirds fall in the fourth By Dick Sparrer Only one football team remains unbeaten in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League. And that's certainly good news for the Homestead Mustangs. The Mustangs edged Monta Vista 12-7 last Friday night, and with the win remained in title contention in the division--thanks in no small part to victories by Los Gatos and Milpitas. While the Mustangs were turning back the Matadors, the Cats were beating Saratoga and the Trojans were upsetting the Chargers, sticking the two clubs with their first losses of the league season. That leaves only Milpitas unbeaten in league play. The Trojans are 2-0 in De Anza Division action, with Wilcox, Saratoga and Homestead all 2-1 and Los Gatos still in the picture at 1-1. Homestead, after a dismal 0-3 start in the 1998 season, has rallied for wins over Palo Alto (7-0) and Monta Vista (12-7) in the first half of the league season. The Mustangs lost to Saratoga 35-6 a couple of weeks ago. But Homestead got a little help last Friday when Los Gatos blanked the Falcons 24-0, and the Mustangs helped themselves to a tight 12-7 win over Monta Vista. A fumble by the Matadors deep in their own territory set up Homestead for the game-winning touchdown. David Tucker, who rambled for 63 yards rushing on the night, blasted over from the 2 to take the Mustangs from a 7-6 deficit to the 12-7 win. The Matadors had taken the early lead in the game when John Lozano scored from 5 yards out and Levent Naizi kicked the extra point. Jesse Nichols scored for Homestead later in the period, but the two-point conversion attempt failed and the Mustangs trailed 7-6. That score stood until the final period when the fumble set up Tucker's game-winning touchdown run. Over in the El Camino Division of the SCVAL, Fremont lost a tough 24-21 decision to Cupertino when the Pioneers scored a fourth-quarter touchdown. David Elliott, Leo Saenz and Chaz Dixson all rushed for more than 100 yards for the Firebirds, but a 45-yard touchdown pass from Mike Runfola to Mitch Andrade in the final minutes lifted the Pioneers to the victory. Elliott covered 141 yards on the ground to lead the Firebirds. Saenz supported with 101 yards rushing and Dixson added 100. The loss left the Firebirds 0-3 in the division and 2-4 for the year. [ Back to Contents Page | Sunnyvale Sun Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, October 21, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.