The Sunnyvale Sun

Sports

Mills starts Fremont on road to victory

By Mike Barnhart

'If first you don't succeed, then try and try again.'
Fremont senior Daunte Mills certainly can attest to the old maxim, following what happened at San Jose Academy in the first quarter last Friday night. So can juniors Jesse Guerrero and Pat Washington.

After San Jose scored first for a 7-0 lead, Mills' first effort on the ensuing kick return was not bad at all. But his runback to midfield was nullified by a Fremont penalty and San Jose elected to re-kick, forcing Mills to try again. And the 5-foot-9, 160-pounder sure did succeed.

After catching the next kick at his team's 10, Mills ran up the middle, broke to the left and raced to the end zone for a 90-yard touchdown. And, for the Firebirds, Mills' re-run was the start of something big--45 unanswered points and a big, 45-7 victory.

"Daunte has been sort of an unsung hero in all three games so far," Fremont coach Ron Demonner admitted. "He has been sterling on defense for us, so it was nice to see him get a big touchdown play."

Mills actually scored two more times for the Firebirds, once on a two-point conversion and later on a 17-yard run up the middle. Both scores came during a 22-point third quarter that put the game out of reach and secured the Firebirds' second win in three non-league outings.

Still one week away from El Camino play, the Firebirds will complete their pre-division schedule across town at The King's Academy on Friday, 7:30 p.m. The Knights improved their record to 3-0 by beating Lynbrook 28-20 last Saturday.

As for Guerrero and Washington, the game at San Jose was a huge turnaround from disappointing performances against Mountain View the week before.

"He really played poorly last week, and we talked about it," said Demonner, recalling the junior nose guard's mistakes during the 40-14 loss against the Spartans. "His effort was fine, but he just was not getting to the right spots. But, this week he really was a factor."

While Guerrero was a defensive leader with eight tackles, including two quarterback sacks, junior linebacker Robbie Weir and defensive back Yuta Ito also were doing "a really nice job" for the Firebirds, Demonner praised.

Washington rebounded from a sub-par rushing effort against Mountain View. After running for just 39 yards on 14 carries the previous week, the 5-foot-10, 190-pounder ran for 106 yards and a touchdown against the Bulldogs.

It was Washington's 12-yard scoring romp that put Fremont ahead in the second quarter. Junior Harrison Waid followed Washington's TD with the second of his four PAT kicks, upping the count to 14-7. Later in the period he kicked a 44-yard field goal, the longest of his career.

Fremont's big-play combination of quarterback Kevin Woods and receiver Kenny Pope kept the turnaround going in the third quarter, striking twice for touchdowns. The first one, a fly pattern up the left side, went for 62 yards. On the second one, Pope turned a quick-hitting, six-yard pass into a 33-yard score.

"Woods really has worked hard to improve his short game," Demonner said. "He always has had a knack for throwing the long ball, but was not good on the short stuff. Now, that's changing."

Mills' touchdown run capped the third-quarter scoring spree. The score came on a trap play, with center Weir and guards Nick Sayers and J.J. Briones making the key blocks.

The lone fourth-quarter score was a 36-yard run by sophomore Jordan Sever.

The 6-foot-3, 205-pounder, who was a starter a freshman on the varsity basketball team last winter, has been playing tight end and outside linebacker thus far. But, with the game out of reach in the final period, Demonner installed Sever at quarterback.

"He showed speed and determination on that play," Demonner observed. "He can throw the ball and he reminds me of Steve Bartkowski from many years ago. He has the same body build and he is nimble."

King's tops Vikes

Employing a no-huddle offense for much of the game with motion on almost every play, The King's Academy remained unbeaten with a 28-20 non-league victory over Lynbrook last Saturday night at Cupertino High.

Senior Spencer Nolet's 7-yard run around right end to the pylon midway through the fourth quarter proved to be the decisive score for the Knights. Senior Thadd Winton kicked his fourth extra point of the game for a 28-13 lead.

Lynbrook quarterback Greg Wallis directed a late scoring march, concluding with a 13-yard touchdown run by powerful senior fullback Scott Day in the final minute. It was Day's second touchdown of the game and eighth of the early season.

After senior Jim Baglanis' second PAT kick of the night, Lynbrook attempted an onside kick, hoping for one final possession. The Knights recovered cleanly, however, and ran out the clock, improving their record to 3-0.

Employing a no-huddle offense for much of the game with motion on almost every play, TKA's offensive scheme confused the Vikings occasionally. Two such occasions occurred in the second quarter, as TKA runners twice broke through defenders' grasps and rambled to paydirt for a 14-0 lead.

First, after a very short Lynbrook punt gave the Knights possession deep in Viking territory, senior Jacob Bliss bolted around right end for a 15-yard touchdown. Later, junior Ben Sussman barged through the middle for a 17-yard score.

Lynbrook climbed back into the game after recovering a muffed punt at the 22-yard line of TKA. A pair of penalties twice moved the ball half the distance to the goal, giving the Vikings a first down at the 6.

On third down from the 1, Day bulled through the center of the line for a touchdown. Baglanis converted the PAT kick, trimming the score to 14-7 late in the half.

The Knights rallied after the ensuing kick, trying to put one more score on the board before the intermission. Junior Sami Kittani, who gave the Vikings solid play in the defensive secondary all game, intercepted a deep pass as time expired.

Lynbrook had the ball first in the third quarter, but it was TKA that scored first in the period. Bliss appeared to be stopped for a short gain, but busted loose through the left side and sprinted 34 yards for his second touchdown of the game. Winton's kick stretched the Knights' lead to 21-7.

Lynbrook's offense kept chipping away in the third quarter, mixing a variety of passes from Wallis with hand-offs to Day. Wallis, a lean, 6-foot-2 senior who will play his third varsity baseball season this spring, delivered a home run ball to senior wide-out Yas Sakurai late in the third quarter.

From his team's 25, Sakurai ran a fly pattern up the left sideline, streaking past the cornerback and into the clear. Wallis' aerial hit the 5-foot-10 speedster and Sakurai, another baseball standout during springtime, ran away for a 75-yard touchdown.

The Knights crashed through Lynbrook's line to block Baglanis' PAT kick, holding the lead at 21-13.

TKA's fourth-quarter touchdown was set up by senior captain John Hutchison, who stopped a Viking run out of punt formation short of a first down. The Knights took possession at the 28, and Nolet scored five plays later.

Bliss finished with 108 yards in 16 carries for the Knights, and Sussman ran the ball 14 times for 76 yards.

Junior defensive end Travis Johnson paced the TKA defense with 12 tackles, including three quarterback sacks. Junior linebacker Matt Bosch had 10 tackles for the Knights. Junior defensive linemen Jared Bradley and Ted Trinko were strong in the middle for the Knights.

Mustangs open league

After three impressive non-league wins against teams from the Blossom Valley Athletic League, the time has come to see if coach Charlie Bostic's Mustangs can live up to the billing. Homestead's return to the El Camino Division kicks off Sept. 28, 7:30 p.m., when Monta Vista invades Diesner Field.