And Pioneer had its running game going in the first round of the Central Coast Section Division IV playoffs.

With Andrew Schulz and Jeremy Landucci each rushing for more than 100 yards, the Mustangs were able to run up 369 yards on the ground last Saturday in a rousing 42-19 win over Gonzales in the CCS playoff opener.

The Mustangs, 9-2 for the year, will try to make it two straight in the playoffs when they take on Pacific Grove on Nov. 28, 7 p.m., at San Jose's PAL Stadium. The Breakers, 8-2 following a 24-8 win over Menlo last weekend, were the champions of the Mission Trails Athletic League.

"It will be a good test for us," said Pioneer coach Mark Krail, looking ahead to Friday night's game. "We played them two years ago in the [CCS] finals and lost. It will be fun playing those guys."

Pioneer had plenty of fun last weekend in the opening round of the playoffs against Gonzales when the Mustangs put forth an impressive offensive display.

"They were clicking today," said Krail of his offense. "Offensively, I don't know if we had a better game this year."

Sinan Dumlugol and Koblis supported the efforts of Schulz and Landucci, both with bone-jarring blocks and by combining for nearly 100 additional yards on the ground.

Koblis didn't throw much, but when he did he was effective. The junior quarterback hit on 5 of 6 passes for 71 yards, going to Eric Myatt three times for 52 yards and to Schulz twice for 19.

"We've had those three good backs all year," said Krail, referring to Schulz, Landucci and Dumlugol. "It's hard for teams to key on one guy."

And as for Koblis?

"He's pretty athletic," said the coach. "And he's got that linebacker mentality."

Not only did Koblis pass and run for a combined 95 yards, including an impressive 14-yard scramble to set up a third-quarter touchdown, he also stuck his nose in for a key block on a 15-yard run by Landucci that set up another touchdown.

Pioneer scored on its first seven possessions on the way to the runaway win. The Mustangs only punted once in the game, and that came in the fourth quarter after the reserves had taken over.

The Mustangs scored the first time they touched the football, driving the length of the field on nine running plays. Landucci, who had a 54-yard run on the drive, capped the march with a 2-yard touchdown run. Ernesto Torales kicked the first of his seven extra points.

Gonzales ran three plays and a punt, then the Mustangs were at it again. Schulz took an inside reverse and busted it 34 yards for a touchdown to make it 14-0 in the first quarter.

Gonzales scored to cut the Pioneer lead to 14-7, but the Mustangs answered right back. Schulz returned the kick-off 31 yards to the Pioneer 36-yard line to get things started. Dumlugol had a 9-yard run and Landucci picked up the big block from Koblis on a 15-yard run down. Landucci finished things off with a 6-yard TD run.

The Spartans managed a couple of first downs, but Jose Lopez forced a fumble that Tino Hardy recovered for Pioneer, and the Mustangs were in business at their own 43-yard line.

Schulz followed a crushing block by Dumlugol to go 17 yards, snagged a pass from Koblis for 11 more and ran for 19 yards to set up a 3-yard touchdown dash by Koblis.

Leading that awesome ground game up front for the Mustangs were tackles Armando Apolinar and Jeff Terry, guards Steve Matos and Jory Wilson, center Pat Walsh and tight end Rolando Gomez.

The Spartans fought back with a score, but once more Pioneer answered right back.

Koblis hit Myatt with an inside screen, and the senior wide receiver followed a Schulz block to go 32 yards. The 14-yard scramble by Koblis set up a 12-yard touchdown run by Schulz to up Pioneer's lead to 35-13 with 22 seconds left in the half.

Schulz ran 19 yards for a touchdown to open the third, and that marked the end of the day for most of the Pioneer starters.

Gonzales would score one more, but the Mustangs had more than enough for the 42-19 win.

Junior linebacker Collin McCarthy was the defensive leader for the Mustangs in the win, getting in on 12 tackles—including one for a big loss in the first half.

Hardy had six tackles to go with his fumble recovery, and he batted away a pass. Paul Bocanegra and Dumlugol were also in on six tackles apiece.

Tron Hardy, Ray Marcil, James Bailey and C.J. Miller were in on four tackles each for Pioneer, and Alex Pagan, Robbie Steinberg and Lopez finished with three each. Morgan Simmons and Apolinar each sacked the Gonzales quarterback and Bryson Teixeira recovered a fumble.

Teixeira, Justin Kaufmann, Danny Ventura, Andy Ziegler, Richard Guerrero and Anthony Alise were also in on tackles. Brandon Clark knocked down a Gonzales pass.