The Sunnyvale Sun

Sports

Fremont shocks Monta Vista, 24-21

By BRAD WALL

The Fremont Firebirds were facing their biggest challenge of the season--clinging to a 9-7 lead late in the second quarter, backed up against their 4-yard-line, and the powerful Monta Vista knocking on the door.

It appeared as if the Matadors were about to take control of a game they were supposed to win. But Kenney Pope and the Firebirds had other ideas.

After capping an 11-play, 61-yard drive with a 7-yard touchdown run with 2:10 left in the first quarter, Pope was just getting warmed up.

With 1:03 left in the first half, Pope stepped in front of the pass intended for Matadors star Marcus Woo at the 1-yard-line and streaked down the sideline for a 99-yard touchdown, giving the Firebirds a 17-7 lead en route to an improbable 24-21 victory in their homecoming game.

"What coach always told me during practice is (to) key on (Woo) and that they always do that little crossing route," said Pope. "I just read that and read the quarterback and took it to the house."

While Pope was a one man wrecking crew for the Firebirds, scoring all three of their touchdowns, including two defensive scores, the rest of the Firebirds defense also made huge plays.

The Matadors were finally able to get their ground attack rolling in the third quarter. After fumbling the ball away on the first play of the third quarter, the Matadors defense came up big and intercepted a pass from Kevin Woods at their 10-yard-line.

Thanks in large part to a 53-yard run by Kota Kojima, the Matadors went on a six-play, 90-yard drive in just 2:30 capped by a 22-yard touchdown run by Kojima which cut the deficit to 17-14.

The Firebirds fumbled away the opening snap of the fourth quarter at the 50-yard-line and the Matadors quickly converted, marching down the field in 12 plays, closing out the drive with a 2-yard touchdown plunge by Woo.

Trailing 21-17, the Firebirds were forced into a quick three-and-out and were forced to punt the ball back to the Matadors.

The Matadors received the ball with 5:17 left and methodically marched down the field to the Firebirds 30-yard-line, taking over three minutes off the clock.

Although Pope didn't have big numbers on offense (three carries for 10 yards and one touchdown), he made a huge impact on defense.

In addition to helping limit Woo to just 26 yards and one touchdown on eight carries, and swatting away several passes, Pope made the biggest play of the season for the Firebirds.

Facing a second-and-five at the Firebirds 30 and with 2:16 left in the game, Kojima was swarmed in the backfield by a gang of Firebird defenders, the ball bounced out of his hands and into the hands of Pope.

Pope raced down the middle of the field for a 65-yard touchdown as the homecoming crowd erupted in cheers.

In a flash, the Matadors had to switch gears from killing the clock to trying to salvage a victory.

Fortunately for the Matadors, they have one of the biggest playmakers in the El Camino Division in Woo. On the ensuing kick-off, Woo broke tackles, cut back, stutter stepped and sprinted down the field for a 51-yard return.

Set up at the Firebirds 46-yard-line, the Matadors appeared poised to at least steal a tie.

Once more, though, the Firebirds defense rose to the occasion.

With just 1:37 left at the Fremont 35, the Matadors tried to set up a screen pass, but defensive lineman Michael Lolling intercepted and rumbled down the field 36 yards to clinch the huge upset victory for the Firebirds.

"This win is pretty big because these guys are a good team," said Pope. "This brings us back to the top of the league; now we're 2-2 and we have a chance. All we have to do is keep winning and maybe we'll win league this year."

Matadors head coach Jeff Mueller dismissed any possibility his team looked past the Firebirds.

"We told everybody that this was a team to be contended with," said Mueller. "The coaching staff at Fremont did a great job with them, getting them ready to play, and we weren't ready to play."

While he didn't have the best numbers at quarterback, Daunte Mills turned in one of the guttiest performances of the evening as he played most of the game at corner with a bum ankle.

"[Mills] hangs in there and competes, and I love him for it," said Firebirds head coach Ron DeMonner.

Also, Gene Davis, Angel Valencia, Juan Escamilla and the rest of the Firebirds defense came up huge as they harassed Matadors quarterback Alex Atkins, forcing him to throw three interceptions.

Atkins went 13 for 31 for 238 yards with three interceptions and a 25-yard touchdown pass to Trevor Sambyal, which gave the Matadors a 7-6 lead in the second quarter.

Kojima, who like Mills played most of the game banged up, led the way for the Matadors on the ground with 129 yards on 13 carries and one touchdown, while Billy Guardino was the receiving star with five catches for 130 yards.

Kicker Harrison Waid made his only field goal attempt, nailing a 35-yarder in the second quarter to retake the lead for the Firebirds.

Mills and Woods rotated at quarterback and combined to go 6 for 10 for 70 yards and one interception.

Both R.J. Rivera and Patrick Washington ran hard throughout the game. Rivera had 10 carries for 50 yards and Washington had 10 carries for 40 yards.

"That's the best part of it," said DeMonner of what the win means to his players. "Those other guys, since the day they were born, were told to expect to win; we have to get to that point where we expect to win, and we did. We played fabulous."

The Firebirds (3-5, 2-2) still have a chance at making the postseason and will look to continue their winning ways as they travel to Cupertino to take on the Pioneers on Nov. 3 at 7:30 p.m. The Matadors (6-2, 3-2)

will look to rebound as they travel to Wilcox to take on the Chargers on Nov. 3 at 7:30 p.m.

Fremont was coming off of a 54-28 triumph over Gunn.

"R.J. Rivera was fantastic on both sides of the ball," Demonner praised the 5-foot-10, 180-pound senior.

Rivera was the game's top ground gainer, packing the ball 13 times from his fullback position for 119 yards and three touchdowns. He also caught three passes for 54 yards and often made key blocks that gave other backs running room. On defense, he was involved with six tackles from his inside linebacker post.

Rivera's first two touchdowns, romps of 23 and two yards, helped the Firebirds extend a 21-6, first-quarter lead to 33-14 by halftime. Mills, Washington and Pope all bolted for short scoring runs during the first period. Trestan Savoy, who added a 32-yard scoring scamper in the fourth quarter, finished with 62 yards on just four carries. Pope picked up 57 yards and two scores on just three carries. Mills ran the ball 12 times for 41 and completed all six of his pass attempts for 98 yards.

Woods was effective in relief of Mills, connecting on three of four passes for 40 yards. Jon Karabats caught three balls for 46 yards and Pope grabbed two throws for 27. Waid was successful on six PAT kicks.

Fremont finished with 436 yards of total offense, 298 rushing and 138 passing. Gunn gained 406, including 286 through the air.

Donny Mena paced the defense with eight tackles, while Valencia had seven and Sonny Perez and Rivera picked up six. Joe Julian supported with five stops from his defensive back position, while Gustavo Magana, Patrick Murphy, Jimmy Staats, Washington and Mills chipped in with four tackles each.

Pope's pass interception and fumble recoveries by Washington and Nick Peterson were big plays for the Firebirds' defense.

Mike Barnhart contributed to this story.