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Mustangs fall in playoffs
By Dick Sparrer
The Cinderella season came to a close for the Pioneer football team a day after Thanksgiving.
The Mustangs, who had strung together nine victories that included six in the Santa Teresa Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League, saw their season come to a disappointing halt in the Central Coast Section Division IV semifinals against a bigger, faster San Lorenzo Valley team.
Pioneer fell behind 24-0 early in the second quarter and 31-8 by intermission before losing a 45-21 decision to the Cougars.
But the scrappy Mustangs refused to go down without a fight, largely because of the play of junior quarterback Tim Scheffer and seniors Mike Wiens, Sean Hallihan and Brian Davis.
Scheffer hooked up on 13 of 25 passes for 167 yards to lead the Pioneer offensive attack in the game.
Wiens powered for 40 yards on 13 carries to lead the ground attack, and he also caught seven passes for 80 yards.
Hallihan had just 13 yards on five carries, but two of his runs went for touchdowns. Davis caught three passes for 38 yards, but both he and Hallihan contributed some crushing blocks to help the Mustangs cut the SLV lead to 31-21 in the third period.
Wiens had scored from the 3 in the second quarter, and Scheffer tossed to senior tight end Travis Murdock for the two-point conversion, but SLV scored before the half to lead 31-8.
Matt Mallon recovered a fumble on the second half kickoff, and the Mustangs took over at the SLV 9. Three plays later, Hallihan bruised his way into the end zone.
Scheffer tossed 24 yards to Davis, nine yards to Murdock and eight yards to Wiens, and Jacob French ran for 13 yards to set up a Hallihan touchdown run from the 1. Kyle Terry's kick made it 31-21.
The Mustangs recovered an onside kick to keep the dream alive, but three plays later SLV returned a punt 70 yards for a touchdown to end all Pioneer hopes.
Senior tackles Sal Baglione and Kevin Sparrer and senior guard Landers Niven helped move the Pioneer offense down the field.
Murdock and Shane Esposito, two senior defensive ends, and Niven, a linebacker, led the defensive effort.
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
