Willow Glen Resident
Cover Story
Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Ramblin' Ram: Willow Glen's Marcos Garces ran for 155 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Rams to a 41-7 win over Prospect. With the win, Willow Glen clinched the West Valley Division championship and a berth in the CCS playoffs.
We're No.1
Rams win title, move on to CCS playoffs
By Dick Sparrer
Marcos Garces knew what was at stake.
So did Juan Baron, Anthony Doan, Cory Kingston, Mike Roseland and the rest of the Willow Glen Rams.
They knew they were playing for a division championship and a trip to the Central Coast Section playoffs when they traveled to Prospect on Thursday afternoon. And they played like a team determined not to let the dream slip away.
Willow Glen rolled to a 41-7 victory over the Panthers last week, and with the win secured the crown in the West Valley Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League. With that title comes an automatic berth in the CCS playoffs, a prize that wouldn't go to the second place finisher in the West Valley Division.
The Rams ran the West Valley table this fall, posting a 7-0 league record that possibly could be their ticket back into the Santa Teresa Division next season.
Willow Glen takes a 9-1 season mark into the CCS Small School Division playoffs this week, opening at Menlo School on Nov. 18, 1 p.m. Menlo is also 9-1 and the No. 2 seed in the division.
The win over Prospect on Thursday made that all possible. And what made the win possible was a brilliant defensive scheme by the Rams that limited the performance of Prospect sensation, Kendall Hendon.
"We wanted to stop No. 1," said Willow Glen head coach Andy Penwarden, referring to Hendon. "That was our goal all week. Our focus was to take No. 1 out of the game. We had two guys him all day."
They did a good job of it, too. Hendon caught just three balls for 49 yards, and the Rams limited the Panthers to just 136 yards of total offense.
"They double bracketed him so he couldn't get the ball," said Prospect head coach Carlos Boles after the game.
But the difference in the game was more than just Willow Glen's successful effort to stop Hendon--it was the constant pressure the Rams put on the Prospect offense that forced three interceptions, a fumble and four quarterback sacks.
"That's these kids," said Penwarden of his defense. "Up front, they run to the ball real well."
Kingston certainly did. The senior safety sacked Prospect quarterback Zach Stevenson three times. Charlie Findeisen had a sack and an interception, Roseland picked off a pass and forced a fumble that Greg Garrity recovered and Sam Canchola had an interception.
"Turnover, turnover, turnover," said Boles, lamenting Prospect's second half woes when the Panthers turned the ball over four times.
Of course, the Willow Glen offense deserves much of the credit for the win, too. The Rams rolled up 365 yards of total offense with Garces and Doan leading the way.
Garces raced for 155 yards on 22 carries and scored three touchdowns, and Doan ran 16 times for 81 yards and a touchdown. Baron also scored twice for the Rams. Mike Gibilisco supported with 48 yards on five carries and Marcus Turner added 35 yards on three tries.
Leading the offensive surge up front were tackles Jose Gutierrez and Justin Fuller, guards Roseland and Garrity and center Isiah Torres.
"Our line did a good job," said Penwarden after the win.
Baron threw only six passes in the game, completing two of them--an 18-yarder to Findeisen and an eight-yarder to Doan.
Stevenson hit on 6 of 16 passes for 92 yards for the Panthers. Not only was he plagued by sacks and a couple of interceptions, but he had four of his passes dropped by his receivers. John Weaver completed one pass in two tries and threw one pick.
Shane Miller had two catches for 50 yards for the Panthers and Natniel Taye caught two balls.
The game had all the makings of an offensive shootout in the early going. The Rams moved right down the field on their first possession, marking 66 yards on nine plays before Garces capped the drive with a 3-yard TD run over the right side. Jose Cervantes kicked the first of his five extra points.
After the clubs exchanged punts, the Panthers found themselves in great field position. Chris Johnson's booming 60-yard punt pinned the Rams back at their own 2-yard-line, and key defensive plays by Perett Fiaavae, Paul-Michael Davis and Randy Wilde forced Cervantes to punt from the back line of the end zone.
Hendon returned the punt nine yards to the Willow Glen 23, then the offensive line of tackles Edward Lewis and George Hicks, guards Uychau Pham and Randell Sandrich and center Chris Walter led the Panthers the rest of the way. Wilde capped the short drive with a 3-yard TD run and David Matusewicz kicked the extra point that tied it 7-7 with 1:11 left in the first period.
That's how it remained until Doan carried four times for 37 yards and Gibilisco ran 19 yards to set up a 1-yard TD sneak by Baron.
The first of Kingston's three QB sacks forced the Panthers to punt the ball away after the kick-off, and a couple of Garces runs for 21 yards set up a 6-yard TD dash by Baron with 23.4 seconds left in the half.
The Prospect offense sputtered in the second half. The Panthers went fumble, punt, interception, punt, interception, interception while the Rams were scoring three more times. Garces ran 26 yards for a touchdown and then scored on a 2-yard run, and Doan also had a 2-yard TD run.
Findeisen, Doan and Uriel Basilo were in on five tackles each to lead the Willow Glen defense. Kingston ended up with four stops and Garrity finished with three. Francisco Vargas, Ricky Hunyh, Justin Fuller, Roseland and Matt Reiton had two each and Eliseo Anaya, Canchola, Richard Martinez, Robert Allen and Gibilisco were also in on tackles.
