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Lions outlast Rams in season football opener
Lincoln Lions pull ahead over Willow Glen to claim 48-28 win in first season game
By Dick Sparrer
It was a long race to the finish line, and the Lincoln football team simply outran Willow Glen last Friday night when the two clubs collided at San Jose's PAL Stadium
The clubs were running shoulder-to-shoulder most the way, with Willow Glen answering each of Lincoln's first five scores. But the Lions managed to pull away down the final stretch to claim a 48-28 victory.
"This is a game we definitely let slip through out fingers," said Willow Glen coach Sonny Flores after the loss. "Unfortunately, we just got worn down."
Flores cited the fact that too many of the players on his small 25-man roster were going both ways, and the Rams just ran out of gas late in the contest.
"It was definitely going back-and-forth for a while, though," added the coach.
The Lions scored first, but the Rams answered with a 22-yard scoring toss from Bobby Hobbs to Gabe Candelaria.
Lincoln scored again before the end of the first period, but Willow Glen scored early in the second on a 70-yard TD toss from Hobbs to Scott Wallberg.
The Lions took a 21-12 lead in the second quarter before Wallberg responded with a booming 42-yard field goal.
Lincoln ended the half with a touchdown to move in front 28-15, then Willow Glen scored to open the second half to cut the lead to 28-22. Candelaria hauled in a 10-yard scoring pass from Hobbs, and Wallberg kicked the extra point.
That's when Lincoln started to pull away, though. The Lions scored a third-period TD, then scored again to open the fourth to take a commanding 41-22 lead.
Hobbs hit Candelaria for 63 yards and a touchdown in the fourth quarter, but this time it was Lincoln answering with a TD to make the final 48-28.
"We did a poor job of open field tackling," admitted Flores after the loss. "We've got to clean that up."
The Lions gave Willow Glen fits with their wing-T offense.
"It was kind of confusing [for our players]," said Flores. "And when you factor in the fatigue. Everyone but our quarterback is going both ways."
Still, Flores saw some bright spots in the Rams' first game of the season.
Hobbs completed 20-of-38 passes for 327 yards and four touchdowns.
"He played a great game for us," said Flores of his senior quarterback.
Candelaria hauled in eight of those passes for 133 yards, and he also led the ground attack with 14 carries for 105 yards.
"He's such a great athlete, and he's such a competitor," said Flores of Candelaria. "I just love his competitive fire."
Junior Mark Sarinara pulled in four passes for 39 yards in the game and Daniel Rice snagged three for 41 yards. Wallberg had two catches for 85 yards and Al Rideau, Evan Ball and Nick Rohwer each had a reception.
Mike Anello supported Candelaria's effort on the ground with six carries for 21 yards and Rohwer had four carries for 16 yards.
Despite going both ways, the players in the offensive line were solid for the Rams.
"I was real pleased with our guys up front," said Flores. "We just dominated the line of scrimmage offensively. They were opening up huge holes for Gabe. We did a really good job of running the ball on these guys."
The coach praised the work of tackles Kevin Clarke and Chris Jones along with senior guard Steve Klein.
"Those guys are just warriors," he said. "They played with a lot of heart."
Flores also cited the work of guard Steve Nakatsu and center George Torres.
The coach was especially pleased with the work of Jones, Clarke and Klein defensively, along with Wallberg, Candelaria and Rohwer.
An early setback for the Rams came when senior defensive end Jared Simms suffered a stinger and was forced to leave the game.
Willow Glen returns to the field this weekend to face Silver Creek. The Rams will visit the Raiders on Sept. 16, 1:30 p.m., looking for their first win. Creek is coming off of a 14-7 win over Andrew Hill.
"They look pretty darn good," said Flores of the Raiders. "We've got our hands full."
"They're pretty balanced," he added. "They like to run, but they'll throw a little bit.
"They're the favorites in their division," said Flores. "But we definitely have a chance to win this game."
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
