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Rams fall to Piedmont Hills
By Dick Sparrer
It wasn't quite the way Willow Glen expected to end the 1999 football season.
The Rams were playing Piedmont Hills with a Central Coast Section playoff spot on the line. But not for the Rams... for the Pirates.
Willow Glen and Piedmont Hills started the year as the preseason title favorites in the Santa Teresa Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League, but when they met on the final night of the league season, Pioneer had already wrapped up the league crown, and only Piedmont had a shot at the playoffs.
Piedmont Hills clinched that spot by beating Willow Glen 43-7. The Pirates finished the regular season with a 7-3 record and a 4-2 mark to tie for second in the division. Piedmont put together enough points to nail an at-large berth in the playoffs.
Willow Glen, though, ended a disappointing year. The Rams were 3-7 overall and 1-5 in the division--not nearly what their expectations were in September.
Still, WG boss Sonny Flores was proud of his crew.
"We were hit with adversity," said the first-year coach, whose club was hit hard by injuries this fall. "But I was real proud of my guys. They played hard, and they were competing right down to the end."
That they were. The Rams trailed Piedmont 43-0 in the fourth quarter last Friday, but veteran senior quarterback David Macchi led his club on one final touchdown drive.
Macchi, a talented three-year starter for the Rams, hooked up with Will Rideau for 10 yards and a touchdown to close out the year with a score. Scott Wallberg kicked the extra point to make the final 43-7.
Macchi hooked up on 12 of 18 passes for 183 yards and the touchdown in his final game in a Rams uniform. Rideau hauled in four of those passes for 69 yards, and Al Rideau snagged three for 70 yards. Shane Lamar had four catches for 39 yards, and Kyran Warren also had a catch.
Warren led the ground attack with 56 yards on 10 carries, carrying most of the load with the hard-running Leon Thomas out with an injury.
"We were just so banged up," said Flores. "We were playing without Leon Thomas, and he's a big part of our ball control."
The Rams returned a number of starters to the offensive line for the Piedmont game, and Flores was pleased with the work of Seth Andrews, Ben D'Antonio, Erik Lupercio, Chris Jones and Fernando Betancourt up front.
The coach also praised the work of Andrews, Warren and D'Antonio defensively, along with Matt Durkin and Mike Strangis.
"[Durkin] stepped up and played a real good game at outside linebacker," said Flores.
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
