The Willow Glen Resident Photograph by Robert Scheer In the Hunt: Willow Glen's David Macchi races for a first down in last Saturday's tough 28-20 loss to Prospect. The Panthers all but clinched the division title with the win. Rams lose in 'must-win' Willow Glen wins frosh-soph title By Dick Sparrer Willow Glen knew it was a must-win. The Rams were hosting unbeaten Prospect on homecoming Saturday, and they knew they had to beat the Panthers if they had any hopes of claiming the championship in the Santa Teresa Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League. But the Rams knew didn't win. Willow Glen dropped a heartbreaking 28-20 decision to the Panthers, and now, after starting the season in such impressive fashion, the Rams must win this week to keep their Central Coast Section play-off hopes alive. Willow Glen will visit Santa Teresa on Nov. 14, 2:45 p.m., in the final regular season game of the season. The Rams are 4-1 in the division and 7-2 for the year, and the Saints 3-2 in league and 4-5 overall. Santa Teresa is coming off of a terrible 62-0 drubbing by Oak Grove in a non-league game last Saturday. Willow Glen is also coming off of a loss, and though much closer, probably much more disappointing than Santa Teresa's. The Rams and Panthers entered last weekend's game with matching 4-0 league records. But Prospect struck quickly to open up a 21-6 lead by halftime and a 28-6 cushion in the third period. "We just got off to a bad start," said Willow Glen head coach Bob Parker. "We absolutely dug a hole for ourselves." Still, the Rams did make a valiant effort to climb out of that hole. DeWitt Willis blasted over from the two for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to 28-12. Sophomore quarterback David Macchi found Cory Hare for 40 yards to set up a 10-yard TD toss to John Fernandez, then Miguel Campos pulled in a pass from Macchi for the two-point conversion to trim the lead to 28-20. The Rams kicked off deep, and the Panthers were flagged for clipping, leaving them with the football at their own 10. They were still there facing a third and 10 when the Rams jumped offsides twice to give Prospect a crucial first down. "We still forced them to punt," Parker said, "but we got the ball back with just 40 seconds left." The Rams moved down the field on a couple of passes, the second a toss to Fernandez that took them to the 35. But time ran out on Willow Glen. The Panther scored first in the game, but the Rams answered back when Cory Warren scooped up a fumble and raced 28 yards for a touchdown. Prospect scored the next three touchdowns, though, to grab the big lead. Macchi ended up completing 11 of 22 passes for 122 yards and one touchdown. Hare snagged three passes for 53 yards, and Fernandez had three catches for 43. Nich Holt, Campos and Nick Nelson also had receptions for the Rams. Hare intercepted a Prospect pass for the Rams and Nelson, David Dudley, Mike Von Reuden and Doug Murr each sacked the Prospect quarterback. The coach praised the work of Shaun Thompson, Dudley, Holt, Nelson and Von Reudent for solid defensive efforts in the game. Ram JVs win title The Willow Glen junior varsity, meanwhile, clinched no worse than a title tie with a high-scoring 50-36 win over Prospect last weekend. Leon Thomas ran for four touchdowns, and Ray Farias ran for three more to account for most of the Willow Glen scoring in the win. Sophomore quarterback Will Rideau tossed for one touchdown and threw for three two-point conversions to Vidal Cibrian in the win. Rideau also ran for a two-pointer. The win left the Rams 5-0 in the division with just the one game remaining at Santa Teresa. Willow Glen visits the Saints on Nov. 13, 3 p.m. Santa Teresa currently shares second place in the division with Piedmont Hills, both teams at 4-1. A win would give the Rams sole ownership of the league championship, but a loss could create a three-way tie for first between Willow Glen, Santa Teresa and Piedmont. Thomas starred for the Rams in the win over the Panthers. The big back returned a kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown, scored on a 25-yard sweep and broke a screen pass from Rideau 54 yards for a TD. Chris Cumbo and Kyran Warren also played well for the Rams in the important victory. Willow Glen was coming off of an impressive 16-13 win over Piedmont Hills. The Pirates were 7-0 for the year heading into the game. Piedmont led 13-0 at the half, but Thomas went 85 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter. Later in the half, Shane Lamar went 15 yards to set up a 35-yard TD toss from Rideau to Cibrian to cut the Piedmont lead to 13-12. Rideau hit tight end Greg Mansfield on a play-action pass for the two-point conversion, and the Rams took a 14-13 lead. The Bucs lifted a punt snap out of the end zone for a safety to make it 16-13, but they were driving late in the game in their bid for a comeback. Jeremy Downs foiled the drive, though, with a sack on the last play of the game. Parker singled out linebackers Farias, Warren and Seth Andrews for solid efforts, and added that Fernando Betancourt "anchored both of our lines." "The kids were so excited," said Parker after the win. [ Back to Contents Page | Willow Glen Resident Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Willow Glen Resident, November 12, 1997. ©1997 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.