Six of the seven teams in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League all had a shot at the league crown heading into the final week of play. But the key was, the Firebirds had to lose—and they didn't.

Fremont closed out the league season with wins over Wilcox and Homestead to clinch the De Anza Division championship with an 8-4 record, holding just a slim lead over the rest of the pack ... but a lead nonetheless.

The Firebirds secured the title with a 63-41 victory over winless Homestead on the final night of the regular season. Fremont had beaten Wilcox 54-44 in a key game earlier in the week.

Wilcox, Palo Alto, Gunn and Milpitas tied for second with matching 7-5 marks. And they were all hoping that Homestead could pull off the upset of the year last Friday. Again, though, Fremont had other ideas.

The Firebirds jumped out to a 32-16 halftime lead and never looked back as they rolled past the Mustangs.

Senior guard Jesse Enchill led all scorers in the game with 28 points for the Firebirds. He had a pair of three-point buckets among his 12 field goals, and he added two points at the free-throw line.

David Ostrow and Ronald Jackson led the Mustangs with eight points apiece. William Tsai added six, and Jason Lew hit five, including a three. Mihn Park and Alex Mrozack hit four apiece, and Mark McLaughlin, Josh Cottrell and Chris LaPierre added two each.

The Mustangs finished the league season 0-12.

Fremont improved to 17-10 for the year with the win. The Firebirds had clinched no worse than a title tie with the 54-44 win over Wilcox earlier in the week. Fremont battled back from a 23-20 halftime deficit to outscore the Chargers 15-7 in the third quarter and 19-14 in the fourth to win by 10.

Enchill topped the Firebirds with 18 points. Harris had a three among his 14 points, and Russell finished in double figures with 12 points, including a three.

Homestead lost 61-42 to Milpitas the same night. McLaughlin tossed in 18 points, including a three, to lead the Mustangs. Lew had eight points, Ostrow six, Park and Mrozack four apiece and Tsai two.

Fremont will open the Central Coast Division I playoffs at home this week. The Firebirds, the number five in the division, will entertain number 12 seed Watsonville (16-11) on Feb. 26, 7 p.m. The winner will advance to the tourney quarterfinals on March 1, 1 p.m., at Santa Clara High School.


Girls basketball

In SCVAL girls basketball action, Homestead won twice last week to finish in a first-place tie with Lynbrook in the El Camino Division.

The Mustangs handled Santa Clara 58-34, then wrapped up the regular season with a lopsided 53-37 win over Fremont. Lynbrook, meanwhile, beat Mountain View 54-45 and Wilcox 54-45. The two clubs finished with matching 11-1 league records to share first place. Their only losses came against each other.

The Mustangs opened play last week with the 24-point win over Santa Clara. Homestead outscored the Bruins in every quarter, including a 17-4 run in the second period that turned a close 6-4 game into a runaway.

Junior guard Jenelle Kitasoe was the big scorer for the Mustangs with 25 points, including 15 points at the free-throw line. Junior forward Mandy Wald supported with 13 points, and sophomore Melissa Manuel tossed in 10. Rounding out the Homestead scorers were Joanna Harris, four; Elyse Maru and Shelly Baxter, two apiece; and Kelly DeSilva and Sandra Ho, one each.

The Mustangs wrapped up league play with the 53-37 win over Fremont. Homestead outscored the Firebirds in each of the first three quarters, including a 20-9 outburst in the third that iced the victory.

Kitasoe topped the Mustangs again with 19 points, including a three-pointer, and Wald supported with 15, including a three. Maru added nine, Harris four and Manuel, Baxter and Sandra Kiel two each.

Fremont was led by Natalie Arias, who had a pair of threes among her five field goals on the way to a 13-point night. Erin Sturm chipped in with eight points, and Diana Sanchez had six.

The Firebirds opened the week with a 40-37 win over Wilcox. Sturm was the Fremont scoring leader with 11 points, and Sanchez had a three among her four field goals to finish with nine.

Both Homestead and Fremont will now advance to the CCS playoffs.

The Firebirds (10-13 and the number 12 seed) will visit Oak Grove (11-7, number five seed) on Feb. 26, 7 p.m. The winner plays in the CCS Division I quarterfinals on March 1, 4:30 p.m., at Leland.

Homestead is on the road to open the CCS Division II playoffs. The Mustangs (19-6, number nine seed) will visit North Salinas (17-8, number eight seed) on Feb. 26, 7 p.m. The winner moves into the quarters on March 1, 4:30 p.m., at Mt. Pleasant.


Wrestling

Fremont's Daniel Atondo is one of eight SCVAL wrestlers who will advance to the state wrestling tournament set for March 7­8 at the University of the Pacific in Stockton.

Atondo finished second at 160 pounds to lead the Firebirds to a fifth-place finish in the team standings at the CCS finals last weekend at Independence High School. The top three placers in each weight class advance to state.

Fremont's Josh Desherlia just missed a state berth when he lost a 1-0 heartbreaker to league rival Justin Carskadon of Wilcox in the third-place match at 145 pounds. Desherlia had beaten Carskadon a week earlier at the league tournament.

Finishing fifth for the Firebirds were Joseph Seo at 125 pounds and Bayardo Sanchez at 152. Ernesto Ancona was sixth at 215.

Atondo won four straight matches, two by fall, to reach the finals at 160 pounds. He opened with a technical fall at 4:58 against Daniel Cousino of Willow Glen, then pinned Albert Hoffman of Monterey in 31 seconds and Justin Adney of Soquel in 1:26. A 9-0 win over Tolo Wusu of Palo Alto pushed him into the finals, but he lost 5-2 to Sam Temko of Half Moon Bay.

Desherlia started the day with a tight 2-0 win over Matt Henderson of Live Oak and beat Steven Aros of St. Francis 11-2 before losing 10-6 to Ricky Torculas of North Monterey County. He came back to beat Andrew Power of Bellarmine 9-2, Pablo Soto of Lincoln and Maurice Budaio of Watsonville 12-10 before losing 1-0 to Carskadon in the match for the state berth.


Soccer

The Fremont boys soccer team ran headfirst into the number one seeded team in the CCS Division I soccer playoffs last week, and the Firebirds were blanked 4-0 by Overfelt.

The Royals, 20-1-1 for the year, advanced to the semifinals with a 3-1 win over Watsonville last Saturday. Fremont finished the year 13-3-3.

The Homestead girls lost a 3-2 overtime heartbreaker to Leland in the first round of the CCS Division I soccer playoffs. The Mustangs actually lost in a shootout after playing to a 2-2 tie in regulation and through a scoreless overtime.