Cupertino pounded Leland 33-0 under the lights at Cupertino High last weekend, opening up a 20-0 halftime lead and rolling from there to the lopsided victory.

The Pioneers lost a 7-0 heartbreaker to Independence in the first week of the season, but came storming back in the second week of the campaign.

Jonathan Price, a junior transfer from Homestead, scored four touchdowns to lead the Pioneers to the big win over the Chargers. Leland had opened the year a week earlier with a 30-7 win over Mt. Pleasant.

Price, who scored 28 touchdowns for the Homestead frosh-soph last season, picked up where he left off a year ago when he took off on a 73-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.

The junior back pulled in a 14-yard scoring toss from quarterback Karim Khalil, and the Pioneers were up 13-0 in a hurry.

A 32-yard touchdown dash by Price in the second quarter helped Cupertino take a 20-0 lead to the locker room at halftime.

Veteran running back Jim Solchenberger got in on the scoring act in the third period when he blasted over the goal line from three yards out. Solchenberger had rushed for 435 yards in three games last year before an injury ended his season.

Price capped the score with another 32-yard run in the fourth quarter, and the Pioneers had locked up a 33-0 victory.

Cupertino, 1-1 in the early season, will be back home this week to host Saratoga on Sept. 27 in a 7:30 p.m. game. The Falcons are also 1-1 this season, opening the year with a 41-21 win over Capuchino before losing 35-20 to Mountain View last Friday night.

The Pioneers will open the league season a week later when they play host to Santa Clara on Oct. 5 for a Santa Clara Valley Athletic League El Camino Division game.

In other local action last week, Monta Vista slipped to 1-1 for the year after a tough 29-6 non-league loss to Carlmont.

The Matadors face a tough test this week when they travel to Los Gatos on Sept. 27, 7:30 p.m., to face the powerful Wildcats. Gatos ran its current win streak to 28 games last Friday with an impressive 21-0 win over St. Francis.

The Mats will open El Camino play on Oct. 4 against Lynbrook at Cupertino.

Lynbrook, meanwhile, slipped to 0-2 last week after a 26-0 loss to Morro Bay. The Vikings will go after their first win of the year this week when they host Gunn on Sept. 28, 1:30 p.m.

Homestead lost a tight 20-16 non-league decision to Gunn last Friday. The Mustangs will try to get on the winning track this week when they visit Wilcox on Sept. 27, 7:30 p.m.

Homestead will open El Camino Division action on Oct. 5 when the Mustangs host Mountain View at Fremont's Diesner Field.

Fremont dropped to 0-2 for the year following a 14-9 loss to Willow Glen last Saturday afternoon at the Rams' field.

Willow Glen took a 14-0 lead with a couple of touchdown passes before the Firebirds came fighting back.

Chris Morris pulled in a 60-yard touchdown pass from Michael Silva in the third quarter to cut the lead to 14-7, then a safety made it 14-9 in the fourth.

But that's as close as Fremont could get, and the Firebirds suffered their second loss of the young season. Fremont had fallen 30-15 to Westmont a week earlier.

The Firebirds will travel to Santa Clara on Sept. 28, 1:30 p.m., for a non-league game before opening the El Camino season at home on Oct. 4.


Mustangs fall

Steph Ericsson knocked in a second-half goal off a Margaret Suito assist, but the Homestead girls field hockey team dropped a tough 3-1 non-league decision to Branham last week.

The squads battled to a scoreless tie in the first half before Ericsson got the Mustangs on the scoreboard. But the Bruins fought back with three goals to pull out the win.

Goalkeeper Elyse Maru recorded 10 saves to lead the defensive effort for Homestead.

The game marked the debut of first-year Homestead coach Dara Meinerth.