Durgin helps Fremont sack Matadors

Firebirds start fast, win big over Mats

By Dick Sparrer

Delainy Durgin threw for a touchdown and ran for another in Fremont's lopsided 40-7 victory over Monta Vista last Saturday afternoon.

But the play of the day for the Fremont quarterback came when the Firebirds didn't even have the football--at least, not when the play started.

It came on the first play of the second quarter, with the Firebirds already up 21-0 against the Matadors. And it came at the expense of Durgin's counterpart, Monta Vista quarterback Jon Garfield.

Durgin came charging in off Fremont's right corner to blindside Garfield for what initially appeared to be just a very impressive sack. But Durgin hit Garfield so hard he forced a fumble. And who was there to recover the loose ball? Well, it was Durgin.

"I saw the fullback block down and I came off the edge," Durgin said after the game. "I saw the quarterback's back, and I hit him. Then I rolled over, and the ball was right there."

Durgin recovered the fumble to start the Firebirds on their way to their fourth touchdown in as many possessions, and Fremont was well on its way to the impressive victory.

The win helped the 'Birds improve to 3-1 in the El Camino Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League and kept their title hopes alive, at least for a few hours.

When Mountain View (3-0) crushed Cupertino (3-1) 27-3 Saturday night, Fremont's shot at the division crown was dealt a severe blow. The Firebirds needed the Pioneers to knock off the Spartans to give Fremont a shot at forcing a three-way tie for the division title.

The Firebirds lost to Mountain View earlier in the year and will play Cupertino in the final game of the league season. Now Fremont has to hope for Lynbrook (0-3), Homestead (2-2) or Monta Vista (1-2) to upset the Spartans in the final three weeks of the campaign to give the Firebirds an opening for a title tie.

Fremont will take a break from league play this week when the 'Birds visit Wilcox of the De Anza Division on Oct. 26, 7:30 p.m., in a non-league game.

Monta Vista will try to get back on the winning track this week. The Matadors, 2-5 for the year, will return to Fremont to face Homestead on Oct. 26, 6:15 p.m.

Turnovers costly

The Mats will no doubt be looking for a better showing in their second trip to Fremont than they had in their first.

"Turnovers killed them, I think," Durgin said.

That's something of an understatement. Monta Vista lost five fumbles and had two passes intercepted and returned four touchdowns.

Ironically, the game started with a fumble on the opening kick off that was recovered by Drew Rogers of Monta Vista at the Fremont 45.

But just two plays later, Durgin got the Firebirds going when he covered a Monta Vista bobble at the 44.

A 16-yard pass from Durgin to Javier Eredia and a couple of key runs for first downs by Eredia and Donnell Forks helped move the Firebirds down the field, then Durgin faked a handoff and swept around the right side for 23 yards and a touchdown.

It wouldn't be long before Fremont would score again. Monta Vista fumbled the ensuing kick off, and Laroman Green recovered for Fremont at the Mats' 31. Three plays later, Durgin hit a wide-open Gilbert Aragon for 30 yards and a second score.

A third Monta Vista fumble set up Fremont again. Mike Mattman recovered a bobbled pitch at the Monta Vista 36.

Donyell Johnson carried twice for nine yards, Durgin tossed to Michael Marr for six yards and to Jessie Enchill for 10, and Eredia ran twice for nine yards to the Monta Vista 2. Forks then followed Esteban Carbajal and Nick Arnold over the right side for the touchdown. Eredia kicked his third extra point, and the Firebirds were up 21-0 with 12 seconds left in the first quarter.

On the first play of the second quarter Durgin came through with sack that forced a fumble to set up Fremont's fourth touchdown. A 22-yard run by Johnson and a 13-yard pass from Marcos Valdivias set up the score. Johnson took an option pitch four yards for the touchdown, getting a big block from Valdivias on the Monta Vista safety.

Monta Vista had run only five offensive plays to that point in the game, and it wouldn't get much better. The Matadors went three and out after the kick off.

But two big defensive stops by Sherman Wang helped the MV defense stop Fremont, and the Firebirds punted for the first and only time in the game.

Picks for TDs

Two plays later, though, Chris Maston intercepted a pass that bounced off a Monta Vista receiver and raced 38 yards for a touchdown. Eredia's kick made it 34-0 at the half.

It was more of the same when the second half began. A couple of plays after the kick off, Enchill picked off a Monta Vista pass and rambled 59 yards up the sideline for a final Fremont touchdown.

It wasn't until their next possession that the Matadors managed a first down, their first of the day coming almost four minutes into the third period.

Monta Vista ultimately avoided the shutout with a TD drive on its final possession of the day.

Fremont finished the day with 269 yards of total offense, most of that coming in the first half, when the Firebirds gained 194 yards on 33 plays while holding the Matadors to just a yard on 11 plays.

Johnson led the ground attack with 77 yards on 11 carries, and Demarr Mills supported with 28 yards on eight tries late in the game. Leonard Wells ran three times for 15 yards. Leading the charge up front offensively along with Carbajal and Arnold were Matthew Banbury, Mike Ball and Kevin Wilder.

Durgin ran twice for 30 yards and also completed 5 of 8 passes for 65 yards. Valdivias had the one completion for 13 yards.

Eredia had two catches for 29 yards, and Aragon, Enchill, Green and Marr snagged a pass each.

Mattman and Eredia were in on six tackles apiece to lead the Fremont defensive attack. Aragon had three tackles, and Durgin, Mario Gonzalez, Maston, Mills, Tom Stover, Vu Pham, Marr and Forks were in on two each. Kenneth Mills, Wells, Ball, David Rivas and John Huynh were also in on tackles.

Mustangs win big

Steven Nichols and Brian McGee scored two touchdowns apiece to lead Homestead to a rousing 32-6 win over Lynbrook last Friday.

The clubs were locked in a tight battle through a quarter with each team scoring a touchdown.

The Mustangs scored first when junior quarterback tossed a 63-yard TD toss to Nichols. Brian Maihack kicked the extra point that would give the Mustangs a lead they would never lose.

But Lynbrook came fighting back. Brandon Bencomo scored on an 8-yard touchdown run, but the kick to tie the game missed its mark.

Maihack extended Homestead's lead before the half when he scored on a 6-yard run and kicked the extra point to put the Mustangs up 14-6 at intermission.

McGee took off on a 42-yard TD scamper in the third quarter to up Homestead's lead to 20-6.

The Mustangs put the game away with two unanswered touchdowns in the fourth. McGee went 22 yards for a score and Nichols broke a 59-yard touchdown run to give Homestead the 32-6 victory.

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