Unfortunately, the Silver Creek Raiders had other ideas.

The Rams ran into a much larger team with much more depth. "They had the numbers and could bring in the second teamers that were fresh and not lose any talent or ability," said Willow Glen coach Andy Penwarden.

The result was a 33-14 Silver Creek victory over Willow Glen.

Even as the Rams anticipated their home opener, for some reason, "it was not a good week of preparation," said Penwarden, whose club slipped to 2-1 with the loss. That translated into "not much emotion" and "playing poorly," especially in the first half of the game.

Penwarden pointed out that Silver Creek, now 3-0 in the young season, "had an offensive line that was bigger than the Rams defensive line." The Raider linemen were able to open up holes, allowing their running backs to pile up good yardage (250 yards for the game) and score three touchdowns in the first half.

"We did not play like we are capable of playing" in the first half, said Penwarden. It resulted in the Rams looking at a 27-0 deficit at halftime.

The Rams came out in the second half and began to play like the team that had started the season with two quality wins.

"We stepped it up on defense and started making plays," said Penwarden. "Our players were much more aggressive." As a result, the Rams were able to hold the Raiders to only one score in the second half.

That aggressive play was led by defensive back Marcus Hill, who had two interceptions on the day and was instrumental in both of the Rams touchdowns.

After his first interception, Hill lined up at his wide receiver position on the ensuing touchdown drive. Quarterback Chris Hobbs hit him on a long sideline pass to keep the drive alive. Then Hobbs connected with Hill on another long pass as he went high in the back of the endzone and took the pass away from a defender to put the Rams were on the board.

After Hill's second interception near the 50-yard line, the Rams were able to mount a late scoring drive. The result was another touchdown as running back Lalo Garces punched it in from the 2-yard line.

"We were up against a very talented team," said Penwarden. But even though the Rams fell behind early, "we did not give up but hung in there and fought to the end."

"We were just average and you can't do that against an A level team and expect to win," concluded Penwarden.

The Rams must put this one behind them and get focussed on the task at hand as they face Mt. Pleasant in the Blossom Valley Athletic League West Valley Division league opener for both teams this week.

"This week is huge," said Penwarden. "In order for a West Valley Division team to go to the playoffs, it must win the league championship," added the coach. "I think the seniors understand that and won't take the game lightly."

The Ram seniors on the team should have a little extra incentive to help them reach the necessary level of intensity.

As sophomores on the junior varsity they played Mt. Pleasant for the junior varsity championship and ended up only being co-champions. They hope to go one better this time and take the first step towards their goal of a league championship.