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Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Going All the Way: Willow Glen guard Justin Johnson, surrounded by Saratoga players, tossed in 19 points for the Rams in a win over Leland.
Good start for Willow Glen soccer
Rams pin a team second in WG Duals
By Dick Sparrer
The Willow Glen boys soccer team finished last in the rugged Mount Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League last season.
Valley Christian, meanwhile, won the title in the Santa Teresa Division.
So when it came time for realignment last spring, the Rams and Warriors should have switched divisions for the coming year.
They didn't. By a unanimous 7-0 vote, the Rams maintained their place in the Mount Hamilton Division. And they proved last week that the division's coaches knew just what they were doing.
Willow Glen and Valley Christian met in a non-league game last week, and the Rams destroyed the Warriors 7-1.
It was one of two wins on the week for the Rams, who are now 3-2-2 in the preseason as they look ahead to their league opener this week. Willow Glen will host Leland Dec. 12 before visiting Prospect Dec. 14 for a couple of 3 p.m. Mount Hamilton Division games.
"We have a really strong team this year," said WG coach Sue Parisi. "If we don't finish in the top two or three in our league, I'll be surprised."
"We have a highly skilled team, and the attitude's great," she added. "We're having a lot of fun."
The Rams certainly had fun last week, blanking Gunn 2-0 and crushing Valley 7-1 before losing a 2-1 heartbreaker to Serra.
"That was a tough one," said Parisi of the loss to the Padres. "But it was a good game."
Serra took a 2-1 lead in the first half before the clubs played a scoreless second half.
"We had our opportunities [to score]," Parisi said. "We just didn't finish."
Sophomore John Gibilisco scored the lone goal for the Rams in the game.
Willow Glen pulled off an impressive 2-0 win over Gunn to the open the week. The Titans are the defending Central Coast Section Division II champions.
Senior Saul Villatoro knocked in a pair of goals off assists from senior Osby Gonzalez and junior Kyle Smith.
Goalkeeper Sal Palacio registered the shutout in the net, and junior sweeper Gilbert Lozoya was a defensive leader.
"He's all over the field," said Parisi of Lozoya. "He's doing a great job."
Lozoya was forced to leave the game with a cut to the head after he was kicked by a Gunn player. But he returned to the field with eight stitches in his head to play against Valley Christian later in the week.
Gonzalez pounded in three goals and Lozoya added two to lead the Rams to the win over the Warriors. Villatoro had a goal and three assists in the win, and freshman Ryan Villalpando had a goal and an assist. Palacio also managed an assist from his place in the goal.
Willow Glen had opened the year a week earlier with a win, a loss and two ties.
The Rams blanked Homestead 2-0 on goals by Villatoro and Gonzalez, and tied Yerba Buena 1-1 on a goal by Tadiyos Assefa. Willow Glen fought Lincoln to a scoreless tie, and lost 2-0 to Mount Pleasant.
Wrestling
Seniors James Arballo and Mike Jaramillo were perfect last Saturday, and it helped the Willow Glen wrestling clinch an impressive second-place finish in the 16-team Willow Glen Duals tournament.
The Rams went 3-0 in pool competition (beating Gunderson 72-0 for the first wrestling shutout in WG history, Homestead 52-20 and Monta Vista 58-26), then whipped powerhouse St. Francis 52-22 in the semifinals.
Willow Glen lost 46-24 to Cupertino in the championship match, but the defeat did little to tarnish what had been a sensational day at the dual-match tourney hosted by the Rams.
"It was a good way to start the year off," said WG coach Phil Luna. "We lost to Cupertino, but they're pretty loaded this year."
Arballo pinned all four of his opponents on his way to a 4-0 finish at 130 pounds for the Rams, and Jaramillo was 4-0 at 135 pounds. The two Rams each picked up a fifth win by forfeit.
Sophomore Sam Olivas was also 5-0 for the Rams, and he had some tough competition at 112 and 119.
"He had an outstanding tournament," said Luna of Olivas. "He probably had the toughest matches of the day. This kid had a lot of heart. He really dug down deep."
Olivas won four bouts at 112, then moved up to 119 for a win against Cupertino.
Rueben Rodriguez (125), Adrian Morales (171), Joel Drescher (189) and Amir Faraj-Perry (heavyweight) were each 4-1 for Willow Glen in the tournament, and Frank Sarinana (140), Mike Blanda (145) and Steve Lopez (152) each finished at 3-2.
A day earlier, freshman D.J. Faraj-Perry posted a 4-0 record to help the Willow Glen junior varsity to a 2-2 finish in the dual-match tourney. Ricardo Hernandez (140) and Eugene Martinez (135) were each 3-1 and Robert Oropeza (160) was 2-2.
The Willow Glen JVs had opened the season a week earlier at the Harbor Frosh-Soph Tournament, and Olivas led the local effort with a title at 112 pounds.
Hernandez was second at 140, D. Faraj-Perry (189) and Rodriguez (130) were each third, and Oropeza (160) and Hector Gonzales (heavyweight) were each fourth.
Boys Basketball
The Willow Glen boys basketball team won one of three games last week at the Los Gatos Wildcat Shootout, losing 58-32 to Pioneer in the consolation finals.
The Rams opened with a 47-33 loss to Saratoga, but came back to beat Leland 55-50. But Pioneer outscored the Rams in every period on the road to a 58-32 win on Saturday.
Junior center Keith Doleshel (6-foot-3) jammed 10 points to lead all WG scorers in the loss to the Mustangs. Junior guard Justin Johnson (6-foot) had a three-pointer among his seven points, and Nick Ward and Evan Ball each popped a three.
Johnson buried a pair of threes and finished with 19 points to lead the Rams to the 55-50 win over Leland in the second round of the tourney. Doleshel joined him in double digits with 12 points.
Steve Rebagliati supported with seven points, Andre Abeyta had six, Will Howsman hit five, Max Courd added four, and Kaelan Yoppini had two.
Howsman, a 6-foot-2 junior forward, topped the Rams with 10 points and Doleshel had nine in the loss to the Falcons. Abeyta, a 6-foot-4 junior forward, added eight points, and Johnson had five.
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
