As the score indicated, Del Mar put forth a solid defensive effort to keep the Rams' offense in check.

"It was a total team effort defensively for us," said Del Mar head coach Eric Buran, whose club is now 1-1-1. "They were bigger than us but our kids showed a lot of heart. The defense gave the offense good ball position all night long."

Good field position came early for the Dons, after Willow Glen's first possession. The Dons held the Rams deep in Willow Glen territory to force a punt. Del Mar took over near midfield.

It looked like the Dons had cashed in on the opportunity when, on the first play, quarterback John Daniels drifted back to pass and nimbly scrambled past a bevy of Rams rushing in. He scampered wide left down the sideline, outrunning defenders into the end zone. But the Dons were flagged for holding and the touchdown was called back.

The window of opportunity closed on the Dons as they stalled at the 24-yard line when the Rams came through with some good defense of their own. Defensive back Marques Hill knocked away a pass in the end zone and safety Tyler Smith went high to bat down another Daniels effort on fourth down, giving the Rams the ball.

Willow Glen's offense began to click on the quick hitting dives of Robert Oxsen up the middle. Rams' center Matt Arevalo and guards Nate Torrez and Jose Valle blasted open holes that Oxsen rumbled through for chunks of yardage. Oxsen was the leading rusher for the Rams and pounded his way for 95 yards on 16 attempts. The Rams moved the ball steadily down the field in an 11-play drive but it eventually sputtered and stalled when the Del Mar defense stiffened and held at its own 34-yard line, forcing the Rams to turn the ball over on downs.

Del Mar struck quickly when Daniels hit Emmanuel Sellu with a bullet down the middle on the second play. Sellu gathered in the pass and raced 46 yards to the Willow Glen 31-yard line. It was all Sellu as he lugged the pigskin three straight times and scampered into the end zone on 20-yard jaunt to complete the five-play, 66-yard drive. Sellu ended the night pounding out 100 yards on 20 carriers and the one score. Torrez broke through to block the PAT attempt by Joe Blank and at 8:20 left in the second quarter Del Mar was on top 6-0.

Smith and Oxsen led the Rams on another extended drive, grinding out 10 plays only to have things stall once more in Del Mar territory late in the second quarter. The Dons had visions of tacking on more points before the half but Tim Cremer thwarted that effort, dropping Daniels for a sack and killing any momentum the Dons had generated. The half came to close with Del Mar hanging onto a slim 6-0 lead.

The Rams came out ready to fight back as the second half got under way but soon discovered they were their own worst enemy. Several key mistakes such as penalties and a fumble gave Del Mar opportunities it took advantage of.

"Making mistakes in our offense and leaving yourself with second and long and third and long is tough to overcome," Willow Glen coach Andy Penwarden explained. "We put our defense in the hole with a short field all night and eventually Del Mar was going to pop one. They have some playmakers that can hurt you."

Late in the third quarter Kenekachi Ibe fell on a fumble, setting up a first and goal for Del Mar at the Willow Glen 9-yard line. After two penalties, the Dons were pushed back to the 24 and looking at a third and goal when they got new life on a pass interference call on the Rams. Four plays later Daniels rolled around right end and slipped into the end zone for the score. Blank was good on the PAT and Del Mar extended its lead to 13-0 with 56 seconds left in the quarter.

Del Mar's final score came early in the fourth quarter and was aided once again when Willow Glen was flagged for another pass interference call. Two hard-nosed blasts up the middle far nine and eight yards by Sellu put the ball on the 1-yard line. Mike Huynh plunged in for the score. The Rams' Lac Nguyen got a hand on the attempted PAT to knock it down and the scoreboard showed Del Mar with a 19-0 bulge.

Willow Glen had to go to its aerial attack and Smith and his receivers just could not find the range. Smith completed 5 of 20 attempts for 37 yards. Oxsen pulled down three for 18 yards and Hill snagged two for 19 yards.

Even though they found themselves in difficult situations throughout the second half, the Rams' defense stepped up and kept firing away at the Dons. Jason Gibilisco, Eugene Martinez and Cameron Bigger led the charge.

Willow Glen's ground game was rounded out with Smith picking up 17 yards on eight carriers.

Sellu's efforts were supported by Huynh's 17 yards on five blasts up the middle. Travis Okamoto added five yards on one carry. Del Mar did not need much of a passing attack so Daniels only put the ball in the air nine times, completing two for 49 yards. One was the big play to Sellu and the other was a three-yarder to Ibe.

"Our guys started to believe in themselves tonight," said Buran. "And it feels good to get that first win."

The Dons open league play this week in a Blossom Valley Athletic League West Valley Division contest when they host Overfelt on Oct. 2 at 1:30 p.m.

"It's the first league game and the season starts all over again now," the coach said.

Willow Glen gets its first taste of Santa Teresa Division action after moving up from the West Valley Division where it competed in 2003. The Rams will get a real test right out of the chute when they travel to meet Santa Teresa on Oct. 1 at 7:30 p.m. at Oak Grove. The Saints are in their first season in the Santa Teresa Division after dropping down from the tough Mt. Hamilton Division where they have competed in recent years.