But as it turns out, the Willow Glen Rams had to settle for a 13-13 with the Bruins in the Blossom Valley Athletic League West Valley Division game.

Branham scored with just 17 seconds to play to knot the game at 13-13, but the Bruins missed their attempted extra point kick. That left the clubs locked in a draw.

Willow Glen had scored earlier in the fourth quarter to take a 13-7 lead. The Rams attempted the extra point, but the kick was blocked. Branham was flagged for roughing the kicker, though.

The Rams got another shot at it 1 ¹/2 yards closer to the goal line, so they decided to fake it and go for two. The play failed, and the Rams were dropped for a loss. That play would end up proving costly in Willow Glen's bid for a victory.

"That opened the door a little bit," said Parker.

Branham went down for the game-tying score, and another victory slipped through Willow Glen's fingers.

"It feels like we should have seven wins already," admitted Parker, whose club is just 3-4-1 for the year and 2-2-1 in the league heading into the final game of the season this week against Mt. Pleasant. The Rams host the Cardinals on Nov. 15, 2:45 p.m.

Willow Glen had its chances against the Bruins, but one pass soared high and went through the hands of a receiver in the end zone, and another time the Rams stalled on a drive that took them inside the Branham 5-yard line.

"We had a shot in the end zone; then we have the ball at the three and don't score," added Parker. "But that's our season in a nutshell. All season long we've been there and just haven't made the plays."

Still, Parker's impressed with his club and pleased with the way his Rams have played this season.

"We're improving," he said. "We're doing a lot more things right."

"I'm having fun," he added. "I like these kids. This is a good team. We're two conversions away from playing for the championship."

Branham took the early lead last Friday on a pass interception that was returned for a touchdown in the first quarter. That 7-0 Branham lead stood up at intermission.

But Willow Glen tied it in the third period. Frank Sarinana, who led the Rams on the ground with 21 carries for 71 yards, had runs of 18 and 20 yards to set up his own 30-yard touchdown run. John Gibilisco kicked the extra point to tie the game.

"He had two great runs on that drive," said Parker of Sarinana.

Quarterback Justin Johnson, who hit on 6 of 9 passes for 65 yards, pitched key passes to Tony Owens for 16 yards and Doug Dionne for 12.

Dionne gave the Rams the lead in the fourth quarter when he returned a punt 55 yards for a touchdown.

"He just weaved his way through there," said Dionne.

But that just set the stage for Branham's game-tying TD in the final minute of play.

Middle linebacker George Ruiz had seven tackles to lead the defensive effort. Dionne, Thomas Ochoa and Ryan Radjabi had six tackles each, and Chris Hobbs finished with five.

Steve Lopez, who played most of the game at fullback and gained 32 yards on eight carries, also played well at linebacker, along with Amir Faraj-Perry and Jonathan Ybarra. Faraj-Perry served double-duty at center for the Rams.

Jason Garcia took over at strong safety for the Rams and picked off a pass in the game.

"He really gave us another tackler on the field," said Parker.

Senior Doug Mummey, who returned to action for the first time since suffering a dislocated elbow on the first kickoff of the season, also played well, along with Nick Barreto.

Robert Campos was in on five tackles and came through with a big play to stop a Branham run.

"It was third and four or five in their territory, and Robert stepped in and plugged the counter," said Parker.

"They really did nothing against us offensively," added the coach. "Our defense as a whole played really well."

There wasn't much offense in the game, though. The Rams ran for 103 yards but could only pass for 65.

"It was difficult to throw the ball" because of the conditions, said Parker. Alex Green caught a couple of Johnson passes for 23 yards, and Sarinana and Lalo Garces had a catch apiece.


Frosh-soph loss

The Willow Glen frosh-soph football team dropped a tight 7-0 nod to Branham a day earlier. Branham improved to 8-1 with the win, and Willow Glen slipped to 5-3 overall and 3-2 in league.

"Our kids did a good job defensively," said Parker. "The kids are playing hard."


Rams in CCS

The Willow Glen girls volleyball team split a pair of decisions last week but still won the Santa Teresa Division title.

The Rams will open play in the Central Coast Section Division III playoffs this week when they host Notre Dame­Belmont on Nov. 13, 7 p.m. Belmont comes in with a 21-14 season record, and the Rams are 24-9. The winner of the match advances to the quarterfinals on Nov. 16, 3 p.m., against No. 2 seed Los Altos (21-11) at Santa Clara High.

Willow Glen finished with a 12-2 record in league play following a split last week.

Jenny Estruth and Julia Garrotto nailed 12 kills apiece to lead the Rams to a 15-13, 15-2, 11-15, 15-6 win over Silver Creek to open play last week.

But the Rams lost 8-15, 15-11, 15-1, 15-4 to Santa Teresa in the final league match. Estruth had 14 kills in that one.