Willow Glen Resident
Sports
Lights inspire Willow Glen in a 35-19 victory over Del Mar By Kevin Sparrer
Athletes get their motivation from many different places. Some are inspired by music, some by words, some even by socks they don't wash. But this year it seems that many football players in the San Jose Unified School District are taking their motivation from their new lights.
All six high schools in San Jose Unified have brand-new lights on their football fields, and it seems to be helping their stats. Most recently, it was Willow Glen that played its first game under the lights, and though the Rams had lost two straight to open the year, they hosted Del Mar on Sept. 26 and came away victorious 35-19.
"It's good for the kids and the community to win our first night game," said Willow Glen head coach Dan Brown.
It might have been the lights that motivated Willow Glen, but it was definitely senior quarterback Daniel Castillo that led the team. Castillo completed 6 of 11 passes for 103 yards and four touchdowns.
While Castillo did the tossing, it was senior Dane Gurley who did the majority of the catching. Gurley caught four passes from Castillo for 49 yards and two scores. He was also able to break a 41-yard run for a touchdown.
Along with Castillo and Gurley were junior James Feazell and senior Shareef Allman. Allman took the ball in hand 12 times for 127 yards, while Feazell ran it 14 times for 91.
Sophomore Matt Blea also helped the Rams with nine carries for 85 yards.
Both teams took to scoring early.
The Rams went 61 yards in only five plays to score on a pass from Castillo to senior Marcus Findeison for a 24-yard touchdown with 9:56 still left in the first quarter, and Glen Gurley kicked the ball through the uprights to take a 7-0 lead.
Del Mar struck back quickly, though. After Kevin Kapchuck returned the kickoff 78 yards to the Willow Glen 2-yard line, it took only one play for Michael Toso to punch the ball in. After Robert Bergschneider kicked the extra point, it was tied 7-7 less than three minutes into the game.
The Rams came back again, driving 60 more yards on three plays, thanks to a 50-yard run from Allman, which set up a 14-yard touchdown pass from Castillo to D. Gurley.
Brent Talley knocked it through the posts and Willow Glen went up 14-7 with 8:07 left in the first quarter.
After the first three scores of the game, both offenses went quiet. Though they were both able to move the ball, neither was able to score for the rest of the half.
It wasn't until the beginning of the third quarter that Del Mar made a strong push to get back in the game. The Dons drove 73 yards on 10 plays, with Kevin Dunn carrying the ball in from 14 yards out for the Del Mar score. But unluckily for Del Mar, and adding a big momentum boost for Willow Glen, senior Jesse Lanfranco blocked the extra point attempt to keep the Ram lead 14-13.
Willow Glen took over, scoring twice in the third quarter. The first drive came right after the Del Mar score. Willow Glen went 70 yards on 11 plays, finishing with Castillo connecting with D. Gurley on a 23-yard touchdown pass. Nathan Kadlecek kicked the extra point and Willow Glen led 21-13.
After the Rams defense stood strong, allowing only four Don plays, the Rams' attack renewed and they went 57 yards on four plays, ending with Castillo hitting Jonathan Ziegner on a 29-yard TD pass, thanks to a perfectly timed block by Lanfranco. Kadlecek kicked the extra point again, and with eight seconds left in the third quarter the Rams went up 28-13.
Willow Glen struck one more time in the beginning of the fourth quarter and went 84 yards on nine plays, ending with D. Gurley scrambling 41 yards for the score. Kadlecek knocked the ball through the uprights again, and the Rams were up 35-13.
Del Mar was able to score one more time on a 44-yard breakaway by Jordan Richardson, and after the two-point conversion attempt failed, Willow Glen still had the lead 35-19.
Leading the Dons attack was Michael Toso, who carried 20 times for 119 yards, most of which went right through the center of the line. Richardson completed six passes for 50 yards and ran the ball five times for 53. Kevin Dunn also took the ball in hand six times for 43 yards.
Willow Glen opens play in the West Valley Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League at San Jose on Oct. 3 at 7:30 p.m., while the Dons open Santa Teresa Division play on Oct. 3 at home against Independence at 7 p.m.