November 3, 2006

Tough season continues for Westmont football with 36-12 loss to Saints

Warriors drop to 1-4 in league play and 1-7 overall with loss

By Diego Abeloos
Sports Editor

The Westmont football team continued its season of rebuilding on a down note with a 36-12 loss at Santa Teresa on Oct. 28.

Westmont running back D.J. Gregg loses his grip on the ball during a run in a 36-12 loss to the Saints on Oct. 28. Westmont’s running game was limited to just 42 yards on 15 carries throughout the day. Photos by Diego Abeloos

The loss dropped the Warriors to 1-4 in Santa Teresa Division play and 1-7 overall. Westmont head coach Tony Santos, whose team consists of mostly underclassmen, said he expected some growing pains this season. Still, Santos said he’s been disappointed in the lack of leadership on his squad throughout the year.

“I thought we’d have growing pains, but I was disappointed in the seniors that we do have, of their leadership for the team,” said Santos, who has 11 seniors on the roster. “Even if you have 10 seniors or 12, they still have to be the ones who are instrumental in motivating the players, keeping the locker room in check, getting people to practice on time and just kind of ushering and mentoring the younger kids.”

Special teams breakdowns contributed to the Saints’ scoring efforts, as Santa Teresa’s Brady Fischer returned a kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown with 10:32 left in the second quarter. Fischer’s touchdown came on the heels of a scoring drive by the Warriors, in which quarterback Cannon Bernarding connected with John Creager on a 52-yard touchdown pass with 10:47 to go to tie the game 6-6.

Near the end of the third quarter, it was Fischer again who helped spoil the day for Westmont’s special teams unit, returning a kickoff 70 yards, setting the Saints’ offense up on the Westmont 19. With 11:03 left in the fourth quarter, the Saints ended up scoring on a two-yard run from Alonzo Parks to bump their lead to 29-12. Like the first kickoff return that resulted in a touchdown, Fischer’s second big return on special teams came on the heels of Westmont’s second, and final, scoring drive of the game, with Bernarding completing a 77-yard, 13-play drive by finding Kevin Blakely in the back of the end zone for a four-yard touchdown pass that cut Santa Teresa’s lead to 22-12.

“I was really disappointed in our special teams, which has actually been a strength of ours this year,” said Santos.
Santos said his defense played well, despite spending ample time on the field. In the first half alone, Santa Teresa ran 36 plays offensively, compared to Westmont’s 17 plays.

“Offensively, we moved the ball well in the first half, but against Santa Teresa, you know they’re well-coached and a disciplined, hard-nosed football team, you can’t make mistakes,” Santos said. “The margin of error is slim.”

Santa Teresa running back Josh Uribe slips through a Westmont tackle during a 36-12 loss for the Warriors on Oct. 28.

Trailing Santa Teresa 16-6 at the half, Westmont stalled offensively on two straight offensive series in the third quarter before the Saints put some distance in the score. The Saints got on the board by calling a double reverse pass play, with Fischer tossing a 58-yard touchdown pass to tight end Stephen McIntyre with 6:25 left in the third for a 22-6 advantage.

In the fourth quarter, with Santa Teresa up 29-12, the Saints added one more score, as running back Josh Uribe scampered for a 44-yard touchdown run with 6:40 left for a 36-12 lead. The run came one play after the Saints were able to convert on a fourth-and-one situation on their own 43 with a 13-yard run from Tommy Avalos.

“You kind of do those things when you’re 1-7,” said Santos. “You make those kinds of mistakes.”

Still, not everything has been gloom and doom for the Warriors. Santos said he expects his young team to learn from their mistakes this season, providing for a more competitive team next year. Santos said he’s also been pleased with the steady progression of Bernarding, a sophomore who has started all season at quarterback. Bernarding tossed two touchdowns in the loss, completing 15 of 24 passes for 201 yards.

“He’s a great kid and he’s really learning the system,” Santos said of Bernarding. “What I’m really proud of is the last two games, he’s had five touchdown passes and no interceptions. You look at it as a coach in terms of what has he learned, and I think the first half of the season, he was learning a lot but he didn’t really execute the things that he learned in the classroom and at quarterback meetings. The last two weeks, he’s done phenomenally well.”

PAL football reigns at Campbell Community Center

Gregory Ruiz, who is number five on the Police Athletic League team The Storm intercepts a pass versus East Hills on Oct. 15 at Campbell Community Center. The Storm won 1 of 4 games 34-0, and East Hills won the rest of the games 38-0, 33-0 and 14-7.	Lawrence Moreno, number 18, on the PAL The Storm goes flying in a game versus East Hills on Oct. 15 at the Campbell Community Center. Storm won 1 of 4 games 34-0, and East Hills won the rest of the games 38-0, 33-0 and 14-7. Photos by Al Schnoor