The Willow Glen Resident Many reasons for Willow Glen victory By Dick Sparrer It was hard for Willow Glen football coach Bob Parker to pinpoint the exact reason for his club's 30-12 victory over Silver Creek last Saturday. It could have been David Macchi's passing--after all, he had 20 pass completions, three of which went for touchdowns. It could have been the running of Leon Thomas--he rambled for 125 yards and scored a touchdown. It could have been the receiving of Cory Hare--he caught six passes for Macchi, and two more thrown by Silver Creek. It could have been any one of those reasons, or might just have been because of them all together. Macchi was outstanding in the club's victory. The junior quarterback completed 20 of 34 passes for 222 yards and three TDs. "He could have been even better than that," Parker said of Macchi. "We had five drops." Hare pulled in six of the Macchi tosses for 91 yards and a couple of touchdowns. Nich Holt snagged five aerials for 65 yards and a TD, and Eddy Sanchez had five receptions for 34 yards. Will Rideau caught two passes. Thomas led the ground attack with 125 yards on 18 carries. "Like [offensive coordinator] Steve Hare said, it's nice to have a 100-yard back in your backfield," Parker said, "because it really opens up your passing game." Five of Thomas's 18 runs went for first downs, and he took off on a 40-yard touchdown run in the first period and broke up the scoreless tie. Macchi tossed 25 yards to Holt for a touchdown, then fired a 36-yard scoring toss to Hare just before the half. "Mental mistakes cost us," admitted Parker, and the Raiders scored twice in the third period to cut the lead to 19-12. But Macchi hit Hare for 25 yards and a score early in the fourth, then went to Sanchez for the two-point conversion. Willow Glen put the finishing touches on Silver Creek when Holt drilled a 22-yard field goal in the final quarter. Holt had blocked an SC field goal attempt earlier in the game. "And he made a couple of nice tackles coming up out of the secondary," Parker said of Holt. But it was Hare who was the defensive leader for the Rams. He led the club in tackles and also intercepted two passes. One of the interception returns went for an apparent 80-yard touchdown, but it was called back because of a penalty. "He tackles people on sweeps, and he stepped up on a screen pass to tackle a guy in their backfield," the coach added. The coach also praised the work of Brian Hyland at linebacker and Thomas at a corner. "And our O line did a pretty good job," he added. "Macchi had time to throw, and he didn't get sacked." Willow Glen did get a scare early in the game when star receiver John Fernandez went down with an apparent leg injury. "We threw a long pass to him, and as he was stumbling out of bounds, their guy stepped on his calf," Parker said. Fernandez sat out the rest of the game but is expected to return this week. The Rams will host longtime rival San Jose on Oct. 24, 1:30 p.m. But the Bulldogs don't pose a tremendous threat to Willow Glen. San Jose is 0-2 in the West Valley Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League, and 0-6 for the year. The 'Dogs lost 23-0 to Yerba Buena last week. It was YB's first win of the season. Willow Glen is now 2-1 in the Santa Teresa Division and 4-2 for the year. [ Back to Contents Page | Willow Glen Resident Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Willow Glen Resident, October 21, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.