The Willow Glen Resident Photograph by Scott Lechner Ram Block: Pioneer's Jacob French runs for a first down as the Ram defense attempts to take him down. Fernandez ready to run And he leads Rams past the Mustangs By Dick Sparrer John Fernandez's status was questionable. The Willow Glen wide receiver suffered a leg injury against Silver Creek, and sat out most of that game and all of last week's win over San Jose Academy. So Rams head coach Bob Parker wasn't sure if Fernandez would be ready for last Saturday's clash with Pioneer. But Fernandez was ready... boy, was he ready. The senior sensation hauled in six passes for 159 yards and four touchdowns to lead Willow Glen to a rousing 32-19 victory over the Mustangs in a renewal of a long-standing rivalry between the two San Jose high schools. But that victory marked more than a win over a rival. It also pushed the Rams right back into the title picture in the Santa Teresa Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League. Because Willow Glen's triumph, coupled with a 17-13 win by Piedmont Hills over Santa Teresa a night earlier, means the Rams will play the Pirates for no less than a share of the league title this week. Willow Glen, now 3-1 in the division and 6-2 for the year, will host Piedmont Hills (4-0, 6-2) on Nov. 7, 1:30 p.m. A win for the Pirates would help them lock up no worse than a tie for the division crown. But a Willow Glen victory would give the Rams at least a piece of the championship. Santa Teresa (4-1, 6-2) and Valley Christian (3-1, 5-2-1) remain in the title picture. But those two clubs still must play each other, and Valley wraps up the year against Piedmont Hills. So that leaves Willow Glen in the driver's seat--if the Rams can beat the Pirates on Saturday. Willow Glen ends the regular season against last place Prospect (0-4, 1-7). Willow Glen picked up an important victory last weekend against Pioneer. The Mustangs had given Santa Teresa a scare a week earlier, losing a 17-16 heartbreaker when a pass for a two-point conversion fell incomplete with just 29 seconds left in the game. Willow Glen's only league loss was at the hands of those Saints, but after they heard about Piedmont's win over Santa Teresa, the Rams weren't about to be upset by the Mustangs--David Macchi and his talented receiving corps saw to that. Macchi completed 19 of 20 passes for 319 yards and five touchdowns to lead the Rams to the lopsided win over the Mustangs. Fernandez pulled in six of the passes for 159 yards and four TDs, and Cory Hare caught seven passes for 81 yards and a touchdown. Pioneer's defense was just no match for the Willow Glen offense. The Rams scored four of the first five times they touched the football, and opened up a 26-7 lead by intermission. Macchi tossed a 50-yard touchdown pass to Fernandez just over two and a half minutes into the game. Hare picked off a pass to get the Rams the ball back, and they went to work again. Leon Thomas carried twice for 26 yards and Macchi tossed to Nich Holt for 14 yards and Hare for 16 before finding Fernandez for five yards and the TD. Peter Romano blocked the kick for the attempted point after the first score, and Grant Murdock forced a fumble on Willow Glen's try for a two-pointer after the second TD, so the Rams led just 12-0 when Pioneer came storming back. Sophomore Sean Sarsfield carried three times for 25 yards and hauled in a 32-yard pass from Greg Haskell to move the Mustangs down the field. Soph Kyle Terry scored on the first play of the second period when he went over the left side for a yard and a touchdown. Terry kicked the extra point, and the Mustangs were down just 12-7. But once again the Rams scored in a hurry. Brian Hyland ran back the Pioneer kickoff 24 yards to the Willow Glen 47. Macchi tossed to Hare for an apparent touchdown, but it was called back because of a holding call. Macchi went right back to the air, though, and hit Fernandez for 56 yards and a TD. Thomas picked off a Haskell pass on Pioneer's next possession, but for the first time in the game the Mustangs held, thanks to quarterback sacks by G. Murdock and Shane Esposito. But a third interception, this one by Eddy Sanchez, got the Rams going again. This time Macchi hit Hare for 17 yards and a score with five seconds left in the half, and Thomas ran for the two-point conversion. That's how things remained until the first play of the fourth quarter when Macchi hooked up with Fernandez for 33 yards and another touchdown to up Willow Glen's lead to 32-7. Pioneer fought back on Haskell touchdown passes of 22 yards to Brian Davis and 16 yards to Kevin Gray, but it was too little, too late for the Mustangs. Macchi was the difference in the game with his 19 pass completions. Holt had four catches for 60 yards, Mike Strangis snagged one for 10 yards, and Dave Estrella caught one for nine. Back-up quarterback Will Rideau hit John Ross for 21 yards late in the game. Thomas led the ground attack with eight carries for 50 yards. Sanchez carried twice for 20 yards, and Strangis had a run for 16. Hare starred defensively with 12 tackles and an interception, and Hyland had a QB sack among his 10 tackles. Holt was in on nine stops, and Sanchez, Seth Andrews and Kyran Warren were in on five each. Greg Barone had a sack among his four tackles, and Ruben Figueroa was also in on four tackles. Chris Cumbo, Jeremy Downs, Shane Lamar, Darin Mooney and Thomas were in on two tackles each. Fernando Betancourt, Rideau, Rudy Gonzales, Julio Cardenas and Greg Mansfield were also among the tacklers. [ Back to Contents Page | Willow Glen Resident Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Willow Glen Resident, November 4, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.