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Willow Glen wins 42-19 over Mount Pleasant
By Dick Sparrer
The defense left all of the scoring to the offense through the first six weeks of the football season at Willow Glen.
But a few weeks back, it seems the defense decided it was time to get in on the fun.
So in the seventh and eighth games of the 2001 season, the defense chipped in with touchdowns for the Rams in wins over San Jose and Branham.
And last weekend they did it again.
This time the defense contributed two touchdowns in a lopsided 42-19 win over Mount Pleasant as the Rams pushed their record to 5-4 for the year and to 5-1 in the West Valley Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League.
"We're making some big plays," said Willow Glen coach Bob Parker. "We scored two more touchdowns on defense, and that's four in the last three games."
But it was clearly the offense that keyed the win over the Cardinals on Saturday.
Junior quarterback Justin Johnson hooked up on 15 of 22 passes for 198 yards and four touchdowns, including two each to senior receivers Mark Sarinana and Matt Morrow. Sarinana finished the day with four catches for 76 yards, and Morrow had four receptions for 62 yards.
Johnson got the Rams started with a 7-yard TD toss to Sarinana and a pass for a 2-point conversion to Morrow in the first quarter.
"Justin hit [Sarinana] right in stride," said Parker of the Rams' first touchdown. "It was a great start for us."
Johnson came back with a 30-yard scoring toss to Morrow, who made a nice grad on the sideline for the TD just before the end of the period.
The defense chipped in in the second quarter when cornerback Mike Blanda picked off a pass and raced 40 yards for a touchdown.
After the kick off, Mount Pleasant tried Blanda's side again, and he picked off another Cardinal toss.
Willow Glen made it 28-0 before intermission when linebacker Steve Lopez dropped into the flat to pick off a pass and race 37 yards for a touchdown. Johnson tossed to Doug Dionne for the 2-point conversion, and the Rams were up 28-7 at the half.
A 36-yard touchdown pass from Johnson to Sarinana and a 22-yard scoring toss from Johnson to Morrow closed out the scoring for Willow Glen. Frank Sarinana ran for a 2-point conversion after the final touchdown, and the Rams had a 42-7 lead in the third quarter.
"It was a wonderful victory," said Parker of the win.
The coach was especially pleased with the work of linebackers Lopez, Dionne and Ryan Radjabi.
"They did a great job," Parker said.
And he was also happy with the work of defensive ends Adrian Morales, Joe Sparacino and Richard Salas.
Dionne and Sparacino led the Rams with seven tackles apiece. Jason Grossman and Doug Mummey got in on five tackles each, and Morales and Radjabi were in on four apiece.
Sparacino, Morales and David Sabala-Klein were each in on couple of quarterback sacks, and Lopez had a sack and fumble recovery.
Blanda had the two interceptions and Tista Perri picked off one pass.
The Rams will try to clinch a winning season this week when they visit Lincoln on Nov. 10, 1:30 p.m. The Lions are 6-2 for the year and 4-1 in the division.
"We're looking forward to playing Lincoln," Parker said.
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
