The Rams opened the 2003 campaign with an impressive 19-12 victory over Fremont at the Firebirds' Diesner Field, and they did it with a mix of a solid offense and a stingy defense.

"It felt nice to get off to a positive start," said Andy Penwarden, who claimed his first win as the Willow Glen head coach with the victory. "That's nice for the seniors."

The Rams scored twice in the first half to take a 12-6 lead into the locker room at intermission, then moved right in for a touchdown to open the second half.

Fremont actually received the second-half kickoff, but the Willow Glen defense came through to put the Rams in scoring position in a hurry. The Firebirds had the ball near midfield when Lalo Garces picked off a Fremont option pitch in the backfield and raced to the 7 yard line before he was taken down.

A few plays later, Ricardo Munoz scored on a 3-yard run and John Gibilisco kicked the extra point to up the Willow Glen lead to 19-6.

The Firebirds came storming back to score, though, cutting the lead to 19-12. But that's when the Willow Glen defense really went to work.

"In the fourth quarter, we had two fourth-down stops—one of them on a fourth and a foot at our 40," said Penwarden. "We shut 'em down pretty good defensively."

"Rushing-wise, they have much of anything," added the coach. "If they had positive yards, I'd be surprised."

Fremont quarterback Mike Silva did cause the Rams a few problems through the air and with his scrambling ability. But Penwarden was pleased with the way his defensive ends Justin Ble and Nick Barreto handled Silva.

"Our ends did a great job of containing [Silva]," said Penwarden. "They did a great job of forcing him back inside."

The coach was pleased his club's defensive effort, especially late in the game, against what he considered a solid Fremont club.

"They're not bad—they have some talent," said Penwarden of Fremont. "But defensively we held them all through the fourth quarter."

It was a big play by Matt Arvalo that helped the Rams clinch the victory.

"He forced a fumble and recovered it," said Penwarden. "That pretty much sealed the game."

The coach praised the defensive work of Chris Hobbs, Garces and Ble in the win.

"[Hobbs] had quite a few knockout shots, and [Garces] was all over the field," said Penwarden. "[Ble] had four or five tackles for losses, and I mean big losses—five, six, 10 yards."

Tyler Smith was also singled out for his defensive performance in the win.

"And our big guys up front did a good job, too," said the coach, adding that Adrian Bettencourt recovered a fumble.

Hobbs was the offensive leader for the Rams, hitting on 8 of 22 passes for 219 yards and a touchdown. He hit Alex Green five times for 110 yards and completed a 60-yard scoring toss to Ble.

Hobbs snuck over for Willow Glen's first touchdown in the first quarter, then tossed to Ble for a second-quarter TD.

"He outjumped the guy and caught the ball, then ran the rest of the way," said Penwarden of Ble.

Garces led the ground attack for the Rams with seven carries for 42 yards.

Leading the charge up front for the Rams were tackles Vince Lopez and Avido Sainz, guards Arvalo and Andy Huynh and center John Renfro.

"They did a good job of pass protection," said the coach. "Our quarterback had time to throw."

The Rams will be back on the road for another Saturday night game this week. Willow Glen will take on Monta Vista on Sept. 20, 7:30 p.m., at Cupertino High School. The Matadors are coming off a 29-14 win over Yerba Buena.

"They passed for 366 yards," said Penwarden of the Mats. "Their quarterback is something else. He throws BBs all over the field, and he can move well within the pocket."

Pioneer wins

After opening the season with a thrilling 21-20 win over Leland, the Pioneer Mustangs made it two straight last weekend with a tight 21-18 victory over Menlo-Atherton.

Touchdowns by Sinan Dumlugol, Andrew Schulz and Jeremy Landucci sparked the Mustangs to the win under the hot Saturday sun.

Dumlugol scored on a 5-yard run and Schulz hauled in a 55-yard touchdown pass from Jarod Koblis to help the Mustangs jump out to a quick first-quarter lead. Ernesto Torrales converted after each of the touchdowns, and the Mustangs carried their lead into intermission.

Landucci, who topped the 100-yard rushing mark in the win, scored on a 17-yard run in the third quarter, and Pioneer was able to hold off a late Menlo-Atherton comeback.

A key to the win came after Menlo's first touchdown in the first quarter. Robbie Steinberg blocked the M-A extra point attempt, forcing the home team to attempt 2-point conversion after each of their last two scores.

The difference in the game turned out to be conversions. Torrales booted all three of his attempts, but Menlo-Atherton failed on each conversion attempt.

The Mustangs will open their home season this week when they host Santa Clara on Sept. 20, 1:30 p.m. The Bruins opened the year with an impressive 34-0 win over Santa Teresa last Saturday.