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Photograph by Skye Dunlap

Homestead's Jason Woods raced for 165 yards, including a 74-yard touchdown run, to lead the Mustangs to a 19-0 win over Fremont last Friday night.

Woods, Mustangs run to win

Homestead beats Fremont 19-0

By Dick Sparrer

Jason Woods of Homestead ranks among the best running backs in the Santa Clara Valley this fall.

And if the Fremont Firebirds didn't know that before Friday night, they certainly do now.

Woods, who had topped the 1,000-yard mark for the year a week earlier in a loss to Palo Alto, raced for 165 yards and a touchdown to lead the Mustangs to a 19-0 win over the Firebirds last Friday under the lights at Diesner Field.

The win left the Mustangs with a 2-3 record in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League and gives them a shot at a .500 season in division play with a win over Saratoga this week.

Homestead will take on Saratoga on Nov. 14, 7:30 p.m., at Los Gatos. The Falcons are also 2-3 in division play heading into the game.

The clubs are battling for fourth place in the division standings behind Los Gatos (5-0), Wilcox (4-1) and Palo Alto (4-1). The winner of the Homestead-Saratoga game will end up fourth in the division, with Monta Vista (1-5) and Fremont (0-5) trailing the field.

The Mustangs, 3-6 for the year, broke open a scoreless tie when Woods raced 74 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. That 6-0 cushion stood up as Homestead's halftime lead.

Senior running back Chris Brooker blasted over from the 1 for a touchdown in the third period and scored again from the 3 in the fourth quarter to close out the Homestead scoring. Darren Anthony kicked the extra point after Brooker's second TD.

Brooker and Matt Kinney led the defensive effort for the Mustangs, who shut out the Firebirds.

The 165-yard night for Woods upped his season rushing total to 1,186 yards on 162 carries. He's averaging 7.3 yards per carry and 131.8 yards per game for the Mustangs this fall. He has also scored 12 touchdowns.

Fremont, now 4-5 for the year, will close out the year against powerful Wilcox on Nov. 14, 7:30 p.m., at Diesner Field.

Wilcox has already qualified for a berth in the Central Coast Section playoffs, but the Chargers need Palo Alto to beat Los Gatos on Friday, then they have to beat the Firebirds, if they hope to get a share of the division championship.

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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, November 12, 1997.
©1997 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.