No, the Pioneer senior had a pretty tired right leg ... because of six first-half kickoffs!

Hsieh's boots followed a half dozen Pioneer touchdowns in the first half as the Mustangs scored on each of their first six possessions en route to a lopsided 49-19 victory over the Falcons.

It was a game that was over by intermission. Pioneer opened up a 42-0 lead by the half, and coasted through the final two periods to the win.

"The whole offense was pretty good today," coach Mark Krail said after the game. It was something of an understatement, considering that the first unit drove for touchdowns each time it had the football.

But don't sell the defense short. The Mustangs gave up just two first downs in the half and virtually shut out the Falcons before the second unit took over on the first series of the second half.

"I was really proud of the defense," Krail said. "They just did an outstanding job today."

Leading that defensive squad were Hsieh, C.J. Miller, Jon Silva, Steven Lopes and Jerry Barnes. Miller led the Mustangs with six tackles before retiring at the half, and Hsieh, Silva, Lopes and Barnes were in on four tackles each.

Hsieh spent most of the first half in the Saratoga backfield harassing the platooning Falcon quarterbacks.

"We knew they didn't have a tight end and he was going to be on a tackle," Krail said of Hsieh, whose quickness was too much for any offensive lineman.

Saratoga ended the first half with 32 yards of total offense--just one yard of that on the ground.

The Pioneer offense, meanwhile, was unstoppable. The Mustangs had 222 yards on the ground and 29 through the air before the break, and senior running back Shaun Souza accounted for most of it.

Souza ran 12 times for 165 yards and two touchdowns and caught a pass for 11 yards. Of that, 148 rushing yards and the pass reception came in the first half.

Leading the offense to 347 total yards for the game was junior quarterback Chris Foley, who Krail praised for his leadership and unselfish approach to the game.

"He did a great job," Krail said of Foley. "Last year he was thrown into the fire. This year he has a command of what we're trying to do. He does a great job for us."

Foley hooked up on 3 of 4 passes for 22 yards, completing aerials to Souza, J.J. Goulden and Scott Lowry.

Goulden did more than just catch a pass for the Mustangs, though. He had punt returns of 24, 50 and 51 yards in the first half--all three setting up Pioneer touchdowns.

The Mustangs moved in for a score quickly in the game, moving 64 yards on nine plays after the opening kickoff. An 18-yard pass from Foley to Goulden and a 12-yard run by Silva keyed the drive that Nick D'Antonio capped with a 2-yard plunge into the end zone. Kyle Burchfiel kicked the first of his seven extra points, and the Mustangs were on top 7-0 with 8:34 left in the first period.

It seemed that the Falcons might battle right back when the completed a pass for 16 yards and a first down on third first play. But D'Antonio, Miller and Silva came up with defensive stops and Hsieh forced the Saratoga QB into an errant pass to force the Falcons into a punting situation.

Punt rolled dead at the Pioneer 22, and the Mustangs started to move. Souza ran for 25 yards and Dan Landucci hit the line for two. D'Antonio broke into the clear on the next play but after gaining five yards fumbled the ball up the field. Junior center Eric Sanchez scooped up in the ball on a bounce in stride and raced 43 yards to realize a lineman's dream--a touchdown.

Hsieh stepped up by batting down a pass and sacking the quarterback, and Saratoga had to punt the ball away again. This time Goulden's 24-yard return took the Mustangs to the Falcons 41.

The offensive line of tackles Jason Wetzel and Tyler Chase, guards Chris Brookmeyer and Russell Marrone and center Sanchez led Pioneer down the field. An 11-yard pass from Foley to Souza and a 15-yard run by Barnes set up Souza's 5-yard touchdown dash.

It was three plays and a punt again for the Falcons, then Pioneer started to move again. Four plays after the punt, Souza broke one 60 yards for paydirt, and it was 28-0 with 10:20 left in the half.

Once more the Falcons were out on three plays and a punt, but this punt went right back at Saratoga. Goulden hauled in the boot at his own 41 and, following a key block by Lopes, raced 50 yards to the Saratoga 9-yard line. After a penalty moved the ball up, Lopes scored on a 4-yard run.

The Mustangs weren't finished yet, though. A 51-yard punt return by Goulden gave Pioneer great field position at the Saratoga 30. A 23-yard run by Souza ate up most of that yardage and Barnes capped the short drive with a 1-yard TD run to make it 42-0.

Saratoga scored against the Pioneer second team to open the third quarter, but the Mustangs answered right back. A 17-yard run by Souza and a 14-yard dash by Landucci keyed a drive that Barnes capped with a 3-yard touchdown run over the right side.

The Falcons would score two more, but it was way too little, far too late.

Souza led the ground attack with his 165 yards and Landucci supported with 46 yards on seven carries. Silva added 40 yards on six tries, Barnes had 35 yards on seven totes, Lopes ran four times for 19 yards and Nico Pagan picked up 12 yards on three tries.

Jesse Herrera finished the day with three tackles and Lowry had an interception to go with three stops.

Ken Dorset, D'Antonio, Mike Makris and Jared Silva also figured among the tackling leaders and Pagan, Pierre Woods, Peter Bruni, Dan Alvord, Chris Reed, Vince Garza and Jose Hernandez were also in on stops.

Pioneer is idle this week but will open play in the Mt. Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League at home against Independence on Oct. 1, 1:30 p.m.