Parker, Rams are on a mission

Willow Glen High School out to snap its losing streak

By Dick Sparrer

There aren't many varsity returners on the football field at Willow Glen High School this fall.

But there are enough to remember that the Rams have now lost 16 straight varsity football games. And it's a streak that Bob Parker and his Willow Glen forces want to see snapped in a hurry.

"These kids are tired of losing," said Parker, who returns to the program he had built to a level of prominence in the Blossom Valley Athletic League in the 1990s. "There may be some hope here. I think we're going to be OK."

"We have decent athletes," he added, "and they sure want to win."

Parker retired as the Willow Glen football coach following the 1998 season when the Rams won the title in the Santa Teresa Division of the BVAL.

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Fall Football: Willow Glen High School's schedule of games.

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A year later, the Rams slipped to 3-7 for the season, and last year they were winless in 10 games, dropping into the West Valley Division.

So Parker came out of retirement this fall, and he vows to revitalize the football program at Willow Glen.

"This is going to be interesting," said Parker. "I think we've got them organized. I think we've got them motivated. Now we're just got to coach 'em up."

The Rams will try to break that 16-game losing skid when they take on Mountain View on Sept. 7, 7:30 p.m., in a nonleague game at San Jose PAL Stadium.

"They throw the ball OK, and run the ball really well," said Parker of the Spartans.

But he and his Rams are looking forward to the challenge, especially after a solid effort in a scrimmage against Overfelt last Friday night.

"We don't see that kind of quickness in practice, especially under the lights," said the coach. "But we really felt that we stopped the run. And when we finished the kids felt pretty good about themselves."

Leading the charge for the Rams this fall will be two-way lineman Chris Jones (6-foot-5, 280 pounds).

"He is so quick, so strong and so big," said Parker of Jones.

The big senior will play tackle in the offensive line, and Parker and assistant coach Mitch Bigger are considering anchoring Jones at nose guard in the defensive line so that he can "create havoc."

"We've never had a guy like him before," added Parker. "He's a great kid. He was a unanimous choice as team captain."

Running back Mike Jaramillo and wide receivers Mark Sarinana, Matt Morrow and Evan Ball are the only other seniors on the Willow Glen squad this fall.

"The varsity is all about juniors," admitted Parker. "Most of them are up from the frosh-soph team that went 5-5 in the Santa Teresa Division. It's a pretty feisty group."

Junior quarterback Justin Johnson will lead the offense.

"He throws the ball pretty well," said Parker of Johnson, who was the frosh-soph quarterback for the past two seasons.

Doug Dionne is another junior moving up to the varsity who figures to start as a wide receiver and a cornerback.

"He's smart," said Parker. "He seems to have a feel for what's going on out there."

Dionne, Sarinana, Morrow and junior Tony Owens will head up the receiving corps for the Rams.

Frank Sarinana is a junior running back expected to carry much of the load for the Rams, and Parker is hoping for Robert Campos to rebound after suffering a serious ankle injury last year. Steve Lopez is another junior who will play fullback for Willow Glen.

Parker called all three of the running backs "tough kids," and is counting on them to run the football behind Willow Glen's big offensive line.

Jones anchors that line that also includes junior Nate Oxsen (270 pounds) and Amir Faraj-Perry, tackle Steve Nakatsu (260 pounds) and center Joe Sparacino.

"We've got some big kids up there," said the coach.

Sparacino will see double duty, also starting at outside linebacker for the Rams.

"He's a really good athlete," said Parker of Sparacino. "He real active [at linebacker]."

Morrow, Ball, Owens, Jaramillo and Dionne will play in the defensive secondary for Willow Glen and Faraj-Perry and Lopez will join Sparacino as linebackers.

The Rams, who have "been a 4-3 team forever" on defense, are toying with the idea of running a 5-2 to allow Jones to play the nose.

"And that will take some pressure off the other guys," added Parker.

Willow Glen will play three of the teams the Rams lost to last year--Yerba Buena and Lincoln in league play, and Silver Creek in a nonleague game--and Parker figures his squad is up to the challenge.

"I think we're pretty solid," he said.

The favorite in the West Valley Division this fall is Lincoln, and Willow Glen will face the Lions in the 10th and final game of the regular season.

"That's what everybody's saying," said Parker when asked if he thought Lincoln was the team to beat. "They have a lot of guys returning, they had a lot of guys out for the team, and [head coach Kevin Collins] does a really good job over there."

But the 10th week of the season is a long way away, and right now Parker is concentrating on the three nonleague games against Mountain View, Fremont and Silver Creek.

"It's a perfect preseason for us," he said.

And he's hoping that before it's over and the league season begins, Willow Glen's losing streak will be over and a winning streak will have begun.

Frosh-Soph

With the return of Parker to the coaching lines, so returns the concept of one coaching staff running both the varsity and frosh-soph programs at Willow Glen.

"We have 24 sophomores out, and I think the frosh-soph team is going to be really good," said Parker. "Our frosh-soph is huge."

Sophomore quarterback Chris Hobbs, whose brother Bobby threw for over 2,000 yards last fall, will lead the club's offense.

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