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Tough start for WG football team
By Dick Sparrer
It was a tough start for the Willow Glen football team. The Rams opened the year with a 34-0 loss to Mountain View last Friday night under the lights at PAL Stadium, but that wasn't the worst of it.
"We were down 27-0 with a minute to go in the first quarter," said Willow Glen coach Bob Parker.
The Rams were simply overmatched in the nonleague game that served as the season opener for each club.
"Mountain View was really, really good," Parker added . "They had some studs. They were physical, quick, experienced and well-coached. That's a tough combination to beat."
Willow Glen countered with an inexperienced crew made up of mostly juniors and sophomores.
"We had, at the most, three kids who had played varsity football before," Parker said.
"But the positive," he added, "is that after the first quarter they only beat us 7-0."
And the second half was a scoreless tie.
"I like the way the kids handled it," the coach said . "They were very disappointed, but very resolved to do something about it. And in the second half the kids played very hard."
Junior quarterback Justin Johnson completed 15 of 27 passes for 86 yards in the game, hitting Tony Owens five times and Matt Morrow with four passes.
"I thought [Johnson] played really well," Parker said . "He completed 15 passes even though he was under a lot of pressure."
"Offensively, we sputtered," the coach added. "But in the second half we moved the ball."
Parker also praised the effort of Doug Dionne in the defensive secondary.
"He just plays hard," Parker said of Dionne. "He was just flying to the ball."
Big 6-foot-5, 280-pounds senior Chris Jones also played well for the Rams in the defensive line.
"He pursued pretty well, and he had one big hit late in the second quarter," said Parker.
The lopsided loss was a disappointing way to start the season, but Parker said "everyone is optimistic. We need to battle back and bounce back."
The Rams will try to do just that Saturday when they visit Fremont for a 1:30 p.m. game. The Firebirds lost 28-14 to Westmont last Saturday night after leading 14-7 in the fourth quarter.
"Their quarterback is really quick," Parker said of Fremont. "We need to find a way to contain him in practice this week."
Frosh-soph wins
Chris Hobbs threw a touchdown pass and a pass for a two-point conversion in the fourth quarter to lift the Willow Glen frosh-soph football team to a 15-14 win over Mountain View last Friday night.
The Rams were down 14-0 in the first half and the Spartans were driving for the goalline when Justin Jeffrey picked off a pass and raced 90 yards for a touchdown. John Gibilisco kicked the extra point, and the Rams were down just 14-7 at intermission.
The clubs played a scoreless third quarter, but Willow Glen scored again in the fourth. Hobbs tossed a TD pass to Mario Montes, then went to Lalo Garces for two-point conversion to give the Rams the victory.
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
