Of the seven interleague games played between the teams in SCVAL's two divisions, four wins went to the teams of the "weaker" El Camino Division and only three went to De Anza Division clubs.

Cupertino was one of the four El Camino teams to beat a De Anza team last week when the Pioneers rolled to a 33-19 non-league win over Saratoga.

"It felt good," said Cupertino coach Jay Braun. Going into that game, the Pioneers had just had one win in 24 games against the Falcons through the years.

"It was a very gratifying win for us, any way you look at it," added the coach. "It was a very emotional game for us."

Of the other four El Camino winners last weekend, Mountain View whipped Palo Alto 32-11, Fremont outlasted Santa Clara 27-21 and Homestead edged Wilcox 21-20. In other interleague games, Los Gatos crushed Monta Vista 49-0, Gunn blasted Lynbrook 56-21 and Milpitas pounded Los Altos 40-7.

The Pioneers will try to make it two straight against De Anza Division teams when they host Santa Clara on Oct. 5, 7:30 p.m. The Bruins are 0-3 this season.

"If we minimize our penalties, and don't turn the ball over, we'll be all right," said Braun.

Cupertino pushed its season record to 2-1 with the win over the Falcons.

The Pioneers opened up a 23-6 lead by the half and cruised from there to the win over Saratoga last Friday night at Cupertino.

Andrew Reese recovered a fumble to set up a first-quarter touchdown for the Pioneers. Thomas Hammond scored on a 7-yard run and Steve Dickinson kicked the extra point.

The Falcons came back to cut the lead to 7-6, but the Pioneers kept the pressure on. Gabe Zeballos booted a 28-yard field goal before Reese went to work again. This time the big senior picked off a pass and rambled 70 yards to set up an 8-yard touchdown run by Jonathan Price.

But Cupertino wasn't finished yet. The Pioneers had another touchdown before the half, with Hammond scoring from 15 yards out. Dickinson converted to make it 23-6 at the break.

The Falcons hung tough with a touchdown in the third quarter to trim the lead to 23-13, but Cupertino answered right back with a 17-yard field goal by Dickinson.

Jim Solchenberger took off on a 70-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter and Dickinson converted to put the Pioneers in control, 33-13.

Saratoga scored in the final seconds, but it was too little, too late for the Falcons.

David Poole led the ground attack for the Pioneers in the win, and quarterback Kareem Kahill was "productive," said Braun.

With big Ben Reynolds as fullback and Andrew Ravadge and Sean Crane anchoring the offensive line, Cupertino provided plenty of blocking for Hammond, Price and Solchenberger.


Mustangs win

Homestead's Josh Baquette didn't know it at the time, but when he blocked an extra point attempt in the third quarter against Wilcox last Friday night, it would turn out to be the play of the game.

The missed extra point turned out to be the difference when Homestead upset Wilcox 21-20 in a thriller in Santa Clara.

The Wilcox touchdown had snapped a 14-14 tie, and the Chargers moved out in front 20-14 only to have the kick for the extra point blocked by Baquette.

That's how it remained until the fourth quarter, when the Mustangs started to drive. Quarterback Craig Maynard ran for a first down then, on a crucial fourth down play, tossed a first-down pass to Garren Strong to take the Mustangs to the Wilcox 6-yard line.

Will Faules and Brian McGee both hit the line hard for short gains, setting up Maynard for a 1-yard run for the game-tying touchdown with just 50 seconds left to play.

Eric Dodge kicked the extra point to break the tie, but a penalty flag nullified the play and Dodge had to give it one more try. His second kick was true, and the Mustangs were clinging to a slim 21-20 lead.

Key defensive plays by Shawn Carey, Eddie Sumpter and Mike Madrigalli stopped the Chargers, and Wilcox was down to its final play. The Chargers went to the air, but Sumpter tipped the ball away from the receiver and the Mustangs had locked up the win.

The clubs matched touchdowns in the first and second quarters to go in at intermission locked in a 14-14 tie.

Maynard hooked up with Strong on a 65-yard touchdown pass in the first period, then went back to Strong with a 5-yard pass for another TD. Dodge converted after each score.

Ramont Thomas came through with a clutch 30-yard run, helping the Mustangs gain a field position that set up the second-quarter touchdown. A quarterback sack by Daniel Sizemore, Tyler Jordan and Thomas was another key play of the first half.

Faules had a big 20-yard run in the second half that helped put Homestead in a good field position, and McGee had a clutch 30-yard kickoff return.

Jeff Tucker and Anthony Morales were in on key defensive plays.

Homestead, now 2-1 in the young season, will open the El Camino Division season this week in a key game against Mountain View. The Mustangs will host the Spartans on Oct. 5, 7:30 p.m., at Fremont.


Silva leads Fremont

Three touchdown passes by junior quarterback Mike Silva sparked the Fremont Firebirds to an impressive 27-21 win over Santa Clara in a non-league game in Santa Clara on Saturday afternoon.

Silva's TD tosses helped the Firebirds battle from behind to take a 21-14 lead at the half and 27-14 lead in the final quarter.

Santa Clara scored in the first period to take a 7-0 lead, but Leonard Wells shot over from the 1-yard line to get the Firebirds on the scoreboard in the second. Everett Bells kicked the extra point.

Then Silva went to work. The junior passer hit Lance Lesui with a 28-yard touchdown pass, then went to Jesse Enchill with a 35-yard TD toss before the half.

Silva flipped a 32-yard touchdown pass to Chris Knopf in the fourth quarter to put Fremont up 27-14, and the Firebirds held on when the Bruins scored a touchdown and threatened to score another in the final seconds.

Fremont, 1-2 in the young season, will try to even its record at 2-2 this week. The Firebirds will open the El Camino Division season on Oct. 4, 7:30 p.m., against Los Altos at Diesner Field.


Homestead f-s falls

The Homestead frosh-soph football team dropped a 27-0 decision to Wilcox last Friday night.

Quarterback Craig Moberg led the Homestead offense with 48 yards on eight carries, and fullback Tim Kimball picked up 44 yards on 11 tries. Moberg tossed an 11-yard pass to Marty McWhirter

Matt Diehl was in on 10 tackles to lead the Mustangs defensively. Moberg, Ryan Lechner and Kimball were other top tacklers for Homestead. David Nguyen intercepted a Charger pass and Kimball recovered a fumble.


Cats whip Mats

It was a terrible mismatch over at Los Gatos High School, where the unbeaten Wildcats pounded Monta Vista 49-0.

The Cats led 21-0 after a quarter and 35-0 at the half on the road to the lopsided win.

Monta Vista will try to get back on the winning track this week in the Friday game against Lynbrook.