The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper
Photograph by George Sakkestad
Homestead's Waylyn Johnston takes down Saratoga quarterback Mike Black in the backfield in the Mustangs' 7-0 win over the Falcons.
Mustangs win to clinch 4th
Woods runs for game-winning TD
By Dick Sparrer
They knew what they had to do.
So the Homestead Mustangs went out and did it last Friday night, and because they did ,they salvaged a pretty solid 1997 season.
The Mustangs knew that they had to beat Saratoga to wind up with a .500 record and in fourth place in the tough De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League.
Homestead and Saratoga went into the game with matching 2-3 records. The winner would come out in fourth place, and the loser would finish fifth with a losing record.
The Mustangs weren't interested in fifth.
Senior running back Jason Woods took off on an 18-yard touchdown run in the third period to snap a scoreless tie and lead the Mustangs to a thrilling 7-0 win over the Falcons. Paul Papoulias kicked the extra point, and then Homestead left the rest to their defense.
Matt Kenney, Chris Brooker and the rest of the members of the Homestead defensive unit kept the Falcons out of the end zone, and the Mustangs were able to hold on for the important 7-0 victory.
The win left the Mustangs 3-3 in league play and 4-6 for the year.
Los Gatos ended up winning the division title with a 6-0 record. Wilcox was second at 5-1 and Palo Alto third at 4-2. All three clubs have advanced to the Central Coast Section playoffs.
Homestead didn't earn a postseason berth, but the Mustangs did finish fourth in the rugged division at 3-3, with Saratoga fifth (2-4), Monta Vista sixth (1-5) and Fremont seventh (0-6).
The Firebirds wrapped up the year by losing a 47-13 decision to Wilcox.
The Chargers opened up a 21-0 lead by the half, but Tully Banta-Cain got the Firebirds on the scoreboard in the third period when he busted loose on a 45-yard touchdown run.
Wilcox answered that score with four touchdowns in the third, though, and went on to claim the lopsided win.
Fremont was winless in league play after opening the year with four nonleague victories.
Girls' volleyball
Westmoor won't be playing for a CCS girls' volleyball title this fall.
Neither will Prospect.
Homestead and Monta Vista saw to that last week when they opened the CCS Division II playoffs with impressive victories over the two highly seeded volleyball teams.
The Mustangs hammered No. 4 seeded Westmoor in three straight games to open the playoffs with a victory, and Monta Vista easily handled Prospect in three to advance to the tournament semifinals.
Monta Vista will meet up with No. 2 seeded Presentation on Nov. 19, 8 p.m., at Santa Clara High School. The Matadors, No. 3 seed in the division, will take a 22-15 season record up against the Panthers (23-11).
The Mustangs, the No. 5 seed, will take their 15-17 season record up against top-seeded St. Francis (28-3) on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Santa Clara.
Donna Tripiano and Erin Norcia, both returning all-leaguers for the Mustangs, will lead the Mustangs up against the Lancers. Tripiano and Norcia are each coming off of outstanding performances in the win over Westmoor last week.
Ellen Byron also played well for the Mustangs in the first round victory.
Monta Vista eliminated Prospect from postseason play with a 15-9, 15-7, 15-7 win in the first round.
The winners of the two semifinal matches will advance to the CCS Division II championship match on Nov. 21, 8 p.m., at Santa Clara.
Water polo
It could have been better.
Lynbrook could be celebrating two championships in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League this week.
But you won't catch the Vikings complaining too loudly after nailing a first and a second in girls' and boys' water polo in the tough De Anza Division. After all, it's not often that two teams from the same school can play for league championships in the same sport.
The girls won it all, beating Menlo-Atherton 12-6 in the title game. But the Lynbrook boys dropped a tough 16-11 decision to Palo Alto in the title round to settle for second.
In the El Camino Division of the SCVAL, Saratoga opened with a tight 7-4 win over Mountain View. Cari Cowdrey and Megan Keezer pitched in three goals apiece for the Falcons, and Andrea Vu-Nguyen hit one.
In other El Camino Division tourney games, Homestead lost 14-5 to Mountain View ,and Cupertino lost a 4-3 heartbreaker to Los Altos.
In boys' water polo, Ross Morrill and Clifton Awuy pitched in three goals apiece, and Jason Gan added two, but the Vikings lost to Paly in the final. Jason Chavez, Ylan Iocobovici and Scott Anderson also scored goals for the Vikes.
Over in the El Camino Division of the SCVAL, Homestead beat Mountain View 14-8 to clinch third place in the season-ending tournament.
Hrsto Avgarski bombed five goals and Artur Studzinski drilled four to lead the Mustangs to the win over the Spartans. Daniel Bodeman and Dave Daines tossed in two goals apiece for Homestead.
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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, November 19, 1997.
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