The non-league win did not come easily. The Trojans had only 20 players in uniform, but they stayed in the game right to the end.

Homestead's defense, however, made several big plays and offensively the Mustangs clicked in the air to combine for enough horsepower to seal the win.

Homestead got airborne and on the scoreboard on its very first series. Starting at its own 22-yard line, the Mustangs used four running plays to reach midfield. From there, quarterback Gareth Pack found tight end Ricky Gross behind the Trojan defense and hit him with a perfect pass. Gross outran a legion of Trojans to the end zone for his first touchdown of the season, giving Homestead a 6-0 lead.

The teams traded possessions until midway into the penalty-ridden second period. A series of Homestead violations left the Mustangs in a first-and-long, second-and-longer, then third-and-forget-about-it and, finally, a fourth down punting situation.

The Trojans took over on their own 29 and moved down the field, thanks largely to Mustang penalties, including among others a pass interference call in a third-and-16 situation. All that and a few yards the Trojans earned on their own got Milpitas close enough to score. The successful extra point gave Milpitas a temporary 7-6 lead.

Homestead's defense redeemed itself later when it helped regain the lead for good just before the first half ended. The Trojans, facing a third and long at their own 29, tossed an outlet pass to their halfback. While making the tackle, Tim Kimball punched the ball loose and safety Craig Moberg recovered it at the Trojan 32-yard line.

Five plays later—and 30 seconds before the half ended, Pack lofted a 17-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Matt Sheppard, giving him his second TD of the season and Homestead a 12-7 lead.

While there was no scoring in the second half, the Mustangs mounted a clock-eating, TD-teasing drive to open the second half. Starting at their own 28-yard line, the Mustangs rode nine running plays, helped by a Milpitas penalty, over a 5:38 stretch to reach the Trojan 3-yard line. A fumble, however, foiled the drive at the 2.

Meanwhile, any attempts by Milpitas to approach the Homestead end zone were stopped by four key sacks and another fumble recovery to kill Trojan drives.

Fullback Robert Rincana led the offense with 81 yards rushing on 17 carries, followed by Moberg with 71 yards on 12 carries and Frank Hernandes with 20 yards on six carries. In addition to the 50- and 17-yard pass completions, Pack completed a 15-yard pass to Kimball.

The well-balanced Mustang defensive attack was led by Matt Diehl, who had five tackles and a sack; Kimball, with five tackles and a fumble recovery; James Kruckenberg, with four tackles and a sack; Brandon Morales, Kevin Martinez and Moberg, each with four tackles; and Ricana, with two tackles. Marc Robinson and Greg Jackson also had two tackles each and a sack, giving them both a team-leading six sacks for the season.

It was Homestead's fifth straight victory after starting the year 1-3. The Mustangs were 6-3-1 overall and 4-1-1 for second place in the league behind Mountain View (5-1).