Willow Glen Resident
Sports
Rams run polo record to 10-0 in league
By Mike Barnhart
With the Blossom Valley Athletic League water polo championships lurking just after Halloween, the outstanding play of the Willow Glen boys team continues to scream out that the Rams are worthy of the Santa Teresa Division's only berth into the Central Coast Section playoffs.
In fact, as the Rams put the finishing touches on an unbeaten run through their Santa Teresa schedule and followed that with a first-place showing at Lincoln's Halloween Classic, Oct. 27-28, their play was downright scary.
Top scorers Sam Brandt and Charlie Kane combined for 14 goals as Willow Glen won its last two division games prior to the BVAL Tournament, Nov. 2-4 at Independence. The Rams earned the top seed in the Santa Teresa playoffs by going 10-0 during the regular season's double round-robin format. They must keep up their outstanding play in the league tourney in order to be included in the 24-team event field. The CCS playoffs run Nov. 7-18.
Meanwhile, the Willow Glen girls--paced by top scorer Stacey Furtado--will take part in the Mt. Hamilton Division playoffs. With the extremely talented Leland and Pioneer squads likely to grab the top two spots into the CCS tourney, the Rams will battle Live Oak, Piedmont Hills and Santa Teresa for the division's final berth.
For Willow Glen's boys, Independence and Silver Creek were its most recent division conquests. Brandt and Kane both tallied four goals in a 15-7 decision against the 76ers on Oct. 24. Reese Rotsaert, Geoffrey Dubridge and Josh Dombro scored two apiece, and Nathan Woo added one.
Two days later, the Rams closed out division play with an 11-5 win over Silver Creek. Brandt pumped in four goals, Rotsaert drilled three and Kane had two. Dombro and Dustin Shean chipped in with one each.
Willow Glen improved its overall record to 15-1 with three more wins at the Lincoln tourney. The Rams captured the Gold Division by dumping Santa Teresa 12-8, Harker 16-8 and host Lincoln 14-1.
Garces' gets six sixes
Sobrato learned on Oct. 28 what Andrew Hill, Yerba Buena, Overfelt and James Lick discovered in previous weeks: You can't stop what you can't catch. The results were six touchdowns for senior running back Marcos Garces and a 40-6 Willow Glen triumph, delighting a large homecoming and Senior Day crowd.
The Bulldogs were nipping at Garces' heels all afternoon, but the 5-foot-10, 186-pounder refused to be collared. He broke loose on several occasions, racking up 176 yards on 16 carries and reaching the end zone for all six Willow Glen touchdowns.
Offensive tackles Greg Garrity and Jose Gutierrez, guards Mike Roseland and Jose Soliz, center Isaiah Torres, tight end Charlie Findeisen controlled the line of scrimmage for Willow Glen, and fullback Anthony Doan made several key blocks. The day's work increased Garces' seasonal rushing total to 1,289 yards on 120 carries and upped his touchdown count to 24.
Nose guard Uriel Basilio, tackle Justin Fuller, linebackers Roseland and Grant Morrow and end Findeisen spearheaded the Rams' defensive unit, which yielded only a first-quarter touchdown. Defensive backs Eliseo Anaya, Sam Canchola and Mike Gibilisco kept the clamps on Sobrato's outside receivers.
Five of Garces' TDs occurred in the first half, when the Rams built a 33-6 lead. On the Rams' second play from scrimmage, he used blocks from fellow seniors Doan, Roseland and Garrity and raced 75 yards around right end for a lead his team would never lose. Later, he scored on romps of 7, 15, 2 and 5 yards, as well as a 15-yard pass from quarterback Juan Baron just before intermission.
After catching the swing pass in the right flat, Garces sprinted toward the goal line. He banged off of one defender at the 5 and another at the 3, then dove for the score, his outstretched arm barely getting the ball inside the pylon. Garces' effort on that play typifies the grit and determination that coach Andy Penwarden's Rams have displayed all season while building a 7-1 overall record.
Whether 2006 in the West Valley circuit truly is the Year of the Ram will be determined over the next two weeks, as Willow Glen (5-0) finishes its schedule at San Jose (2-3, 4-3) on Nov. 3, 7:30 p.m., and at Prospect (4-1, 5-3) on Nov. 9, 2:45 p.m.
Panthers net win
Presentation concluded its regular season schedule with a three-game win over Sacred Heart Cathedral. The Panthers, 5-2 in West Catholic Athletic League matches and 26-8 overall, played host to St. Ignatius in the first round of the WCAL playoffs on Oct. 31. The championship match is set for Nov. 2.
Meanwhile, Willow Glen closes out BVAL Santa Teresa Division play at Santa Teresa. The Rams entered the week with a record of 5-7 in division and 8-9 overall, following losses to Lincoln and Silver Creek last week.
Cross country finals
After running at the BVAL Championships Oct. 30 at Crystal Springs Reservoir in Belmont, Willow Glen's boys and girls cross country teams will compete at the CCS meet on Nov. 11 at Toro County Park in Salinas.
