March 9, 2007

Evergreen Sports

Mount Pleasant boys’ hoops team exits in first round of CCS Playoffs

Cardinals fall to No. 5 Milpitas 69-47 to end 2006-07 season

By Ali Abdollahi
Staff Writer

The Mount Pleasant boys’ basketball team ended its season with a tough 69-47 loss against Milpitas in the first round of the CCS playoffs on Feb. 21.

Mt. Pleasant’s John Sandante makes an acrobatic hustle play in the fourth quarter to save a loose ball that appeared destined to go out of bounds, leading to a layup for Ralph Zambrano during a season-ending 69-47 loss to Milpitas in the opening round of the CCS Playoffs.

The Cardinals dressed only eight players, and faced a significant height disadvantage against the Trojans.

None of Mount Pleasant’s eight healthy players stood taller than five-feet, 10-inches, while Milpitas had eight players over six feet tall. Height, however, is not a topic of discussion for the Cardinals, according to head coach Robert Warden.

“We don’t use height as an excuse,” said Warden. “We’re always undersized. From the first game to the last game, we’ve been the smaller team, so we don’t use that to excuse anything.”

Mount Pleasant kept the game close in the early going behind six first quarter points from sophomore Kevin Ibana, and finished the first period of play down only five points, at 16-11. But the Trojans opened the second quarter on an 11-1 scoring run, opening up a double-digit lead and asserting control over the contest.

Mount Pleasant junior Harry Flores scored all five of his first half points in the final minutes of the second quarter, including a key three-pointer that brought the Cardinals back within 12. Mount Pleasant went into the locker room still within striking distance, trailing 33-19.

Senior Ralph Zambrano scored the Cardinal’s first five points to open the third quarter to keep pace with the Trojans. Ibana’s layup moments later, off a feed from senior John Sandante, brought Mount Pleasant back within 11 points at 37-26. The Cardinals, however, never got any closer.

Milpitas’ frontcourt lineup of six-foot, four-inch Kevin Le and six-foot, two-inch Stephon Hopkins asserted themselves in the low post throughout the third quarter, aiding the Trojans to a 17-point lead by the end of the third quarter.

Mount Pleasant continued to play hard in a comeback that fell short, with junior Tony Lor contributing four points, and Flores knocking down another three-pointer. Sandante made an acrobatic hustle play in the fourth quarter to save a loose ball that appeared destined to go out of bounds. His saving pass led to a layup for Zambrano.

Despite the loss, Warden said the Cardinals refusal to quit was simply an extension of the approach they had used all season long, finishing with an overall record of 14-13.

“These guys always play hard, and they never quit,” Warden said. “I’m really proud of this bunch.”

CCS Playoff losses end season for Evergreen, Mt. Pleasant girls’ basketball teams

Cougars exit in quarterfinals with loss to Salinas; Cardinals drop first round loss to Piedmont Hills

By Diego Abeloos
Editor

The Evergreen Valley girls’ basketball team’s season came to an end with a 50-47 loss to No. 4 Salinas in the quarterfinal round of the CCS Division I Playoffs on Feb. 24.

The loss came on the heels of a 79-66 first round win over Monta Vista on Feb. 21 for the No. 5 seeded Cougars. Evergreen finished the 2006-07 season with an 18-10 overall record and an 8-6 record in Mt. Hamilton Division play, good for a third place tie with Piedmont Hills. Evergreen head coach Dan Johnson said the loss was a tough one to swallow, pointing to the fact that the game was the final one in the high school careers of the team’s six seniors in Alexa Marquez, Jennifer Ames, Valerie Ervin, Krista Frausto, Jessica Ibanez and Sherina Summers.

Evergreen senior Sherina Summers drives the lane during a 50-47 loss to Salinas in the quarterfinals of the CCS Division I Playoffs on Feb. 24. Photos by Dan Miranda

“Anytime you lose, it’s disappointing, but especially when it’s your last loss of the year,” Evergreen head coach Dan Johnson said after the loss. “We’re saying goodbye to six great seniors who won’t get to play anymore. This was a game we expected to win. I know that they were seeded fourth and we were seeded fifth, but we really thought that we could and should win this game.”

Things started out well for the Cougars, who grabbed a 20-17 lead late in the second quarter on a 10-0 scoring stretch. But the team’s momentum was stopped just before halftime, as Salinas bounced back with a 7-2 scoring run to end the first half, regaining the lead 24-22. Evergreen never managed to regain its second quarter advantage, despite getting tantalizingly close three times - within one point of a tie midway through the third quarter, as well as within two points of a tie twice in the second half. In short, said Johnson, his team couldn’t quite clear the final hurdle against Salinas.

“Every time we made a big run and got to the point where it was a couple of points (difference) or even, I was thinking ‘okay, this is our breakthrough, we’re going to take charge of the game now.’ And just about every time we did, they would make a big shot or we wouldn’t rebound, and that hurt us,” Johnson said. “We just couldn’t get over that hump all game.”

Johnson added that big game pressure might have played a factor in the loss for his team.

“We didn’t choose a good game to play one of our worst games,” Johnson said. “Sometimes the pressure of a big game gets to you a little bit, and I think that pressure got to us a bit tonight.”

Despite the season-ending loss, Johnson said he was proud of his team’s accomplishments not only this season – Evergreen’s first in the Mt. Hamilton Division – but over the program’s four-year span, which has seen the Cougars rise from West Valley Division hopefuls to legitimate Mt. Hamilton Division contenders.

“It’s hard because you’re really sad today with the loss, but the year itself was a good year,” Johnson said. “I think if you look at the accomplishments of this team, it’s pretty amazing that these girls have gone in four years from being in third place in C League (West Valley Division), to winning C League, to being tied for third in A League (Mt. Hamilton Division) in four short years. These girls have had a meteoric rise to the top. They have nothing to be ashamed of.”

Mt. Pleasant season ends with first round loss
The Mt. Pleasant girls’ basketball team’s season also came to an end in the CCS Division I Playoffs, as the 11th seeded Cardinals dropped a close 45-44 loss to No. 6 Piedmont Hills in the opening round of play on Feb. 21.

The opening round loss ended an otherwise successful run for the Cardinals under head coach Celina Juico, after posting an 8-6 record in the Santa Teresa Division, finishing up the regular season in third place. Juico said that while the loss was tough to take, the Cardinals came into the game without any grand expectations or pressures to win. The Cardinals fell behind early, trailing the Pirates by as much as 14 points in the first half, forcing the team to dig out of a hole the rest of the game, according to Juico.

Evergreen senior Krista Frausto goes in for a layup during the Cougars’ 50-47 loss to Salinas in the quarterfinals of the CCS Division I Playoffs on Feb. 24. Evergreen finished the season with an 18-10 overall record.

“We came into this game feeling like the pressure wasn’t on us to win. We’re the lower seeded team and they’re the higher seed,” Juico said. “We were just going to come out and play hard and make sure we gave 100 percent effort. …Having to claw your way back, at this level of basketball, is too hard. We did try to claw our way back, but being down so many points, it’s just really difficult to come back.”

The loss came on the heels of a successful finish to the 2006-07 regular season for the Cardinals, defeating Oak Grove, the Santa Teresa Division’s second place finisher, 40-37 in the regular season finale on Feb. 15. The win came after the Cardinals endured a modest two-game losing streak, dropping decisions to Branham and Prospect that seemed to put the Cardinals on the bubble for a potential seed in the playoffs.

“The girls really stepped it up for that Oak Grove game,” Juico said of the regular season finale. “We knew that it was going to be a big deal for our CCS seeding to win that game. Coming out of that game, we had a lot of momentum and the girls were really excited and really loving basketball.”

All told, Juico said her team grew by leaps and bounds, and proved its worth in league play, noting that the Cardinals took wins against key opponents throughout the season while also eyeing the prize at the end of regular season play – the playoffs.

“We definitely beat the teams we should have beaten,” Juico said of her team’s efforts in league play this season. “We played competitive against the tough teams, and we even should’ve won a couple more of those games. But all in all, this (the playoffs) is what you’re ultimately preparing for. I think the girls were mentally and physically prepared for this game, and I’m really proud of how they played and got to this point.”

Still, the loss meant the final game for the team’s six seniors in Krystle Baraceros, Sunshine Flores, Jasmine Coleto, Amanda Rivas, Sarah Dagnino and Vanessa De La Cruz.

“I definitely wanted a little more for out seniors, especially the ones who’ve been in the program all four years,” Juico said. “This really would’ve been a big thing for them.”

EVERGREEN SPORTS
SCHEDULES 3-10 to 3-23

Evergreen Valley High sports schedule
3/13 – Boys’ tennis at Leigh, 3:15 p.m.
3/13 – Badminton vs. Andrew Hill, 3:30 p.m.

3/14 – Baseball at Branham, 3:30 p.m.*

3/15 – Boys’ tennis vs. Santa Teresa, 3:15 p.m.
3/15 – Swimming at Del Mar, 3 p.m.
3/15 – Badminton vs. Independence, 3:30 p.m.

3/16 – Baseball vs. Branham, 3:30 p.m.*

3/20 – Badminton at Leland, 3:30 p.m.
3/20 – Softball at Mt. Pleasant, 3:30 p.m.*

3/21 – Baseball vs. Del Mar, 3:30 p.m.*

3/22 – Badminton at Santa Teresa, 3:30 p.m.
3/22 – Track at Independence, 3:30 p.m.
3/22 – Boys’ tennis at Independence, 3:15 p.m.
3/22 – Softball at Leigh, 3:30 p.m.*
3/22 – Swimming vs. Mt. Pleasant, 3 p.m.

3/23 – Baseball at Del Mar, 3:30 p.m.*

Mt. Pleasant High sports schedule
3/13 – Golf vs. Andrew Hill, 3 p.m.
3/13 – Boys’ tennis at Oak Grove, 3:15 p.m.

3/14 – Badminton vs. Yerba Buena, 3:30 p.m.
3/14 – Baseball vs. Prospect, 3:30 p.m.*

3/15 – Golf vs. Andrew Hill, 3 p.m.
3/15 – Swimming vs. Branham, 3 p.m.
3/15 – Boys’ tennis vs. Branham, 3:15 p.m.
3/15 – Track vs. Silver Creek, 3:30 p.m.

3/16 – Baseball at Prospect, 3:30 p.m.*

3/20 – Softball vs. Evergreen, 3:30 p.m.*
3/20 – Golf vs. Lincoln, 3 p.m.
3/20 – Boys’ tennis at Silver Creek, 3:15 p.m.
3/20 – Badminton vs. Willow Glen, 3:30 p.m.

3/21 – Baseball at Oak Grove, 3:30 p.m.*

3/22 – Softball at Westmont, 3:30 p.m.*
3/22 – Golf vs. Lincoln, 3:30 p.m.
3/22 – Swimming at Evergreen, 3 p.m.
3/22 – Track at Santa Teresa, 3:30 p.m.
3/22 – Badminton vs. Del Mar, 3:30 p.m.

3/23 – Baseball vs. Oak Grove, 3:30 p.m.*

Silver Creek High sports schedule
3/13 – Softball at Andrew Hill, 3:30 p.m.*
3/13 – Badminton at Oak Grove, 3:30 p.m.
3/13 – Boys’ tennis at Branham, 3:15 p.m.

3/14 – Baseball at Andrew Hill, 3:30 p.m.

3/15 – Swimming vs. Prospect, 3 p.m.
3/15 – Track at Mt. Pleasant, 3:30 p.m.
3/15 – Softball vs. Lincoln, 3:30 p.m.*
3/15 – Badminton vs. Andrew Hill, 3:30 p.m.

3/16 – Baseball vs. Yerba Buena, 3:30 p.m.

3/19 – Softball at Yerba Buena, 3:30 p.m.*

3/20 – Badminton vs. Independence, 3:30 p.m.
3/20 – Boys’ tennis vs. Mt. Pleasant, 3:15 p.m.

3/21 – Softball at Gunderson, 3:30 p.m.*
3/21 – Baseball at Gunderson, 3:30 p.m.

3/22 – Boys’ tennis at Pioneer, 3:15 p.m.
3/22– Swimming vs. Oak Grove, 3 p.m.
3/22 – Badminton at Leland, 3:30 p.m.

3/23 – Baseball vs. Overfelt, 3:30 p.m.
3/23 – Softball vs. Overfelt, 3:30 p.m.*

*JV or frosh/soph team plays at opposite site of varsity at the same time

For more information on local games, log on to the BVAL Web site at http://www.bval.org/

SPORTS BRIEFS

South Valley Pop Warner youth football and cheer signups
South Valley Pop Warner is holding signups for youth football and cheer. Participant ages 5-15 as of 7/31. Signups are from 12-3 p.m. at Round Table on Thornwood Avenue on March 17 and March 31. From more information, visit http://www.stpopwarner.org/ or call Bill Vines at (408) 808-1473.

Evergreen Valley College soccer to hold summer camps in June and August
Evergreen Valley College will be holding summer soccer camps for boys and girls ages 5 and 6, as well as ages 7-14 in June and August.

The Baby Hawks summer soccer camps, for ages 5 and 6, will take place on the following dates:

- Session I – June 18-21, 5:30-7 p.m. (girls only)
- Session II – Aug. 6-9, 9-10:30 a.m. (boys and girls)
- Session III – Aug. 6-9, 10:30 a.m.-noon (boys and girls)

In addition, the Advanced Hawks summer soccer camps, for ages 7-14, will take place on the following dates:

- Session I – June 18-21, 5:30-8:30 p.m. (girls only)
- Session II - Aug. 6-9, 9 a.m.-noon (boys and girls)

For more information about the camps, call Evergreen Valley Women’s Soccer head coach Felicia Perez at (408) 274-7900 ext. 6910 or email Felicia.Perez@evc.edu.

BVAL All-League honorees for winter

Evergreen boys’ basketball – Mt. Hamilton Division
Second Team - Khoi Nguyen

Silver Creek boys’ basketball – Santa Teresa Division
Freshman of the Year- Chisoke Nwuzi
First Team - Matt Everly
First Team - Billy Dick

Mt. Pleasant boys’ basketball – West Valley Division
Junior of the Year- Tony Lor
First Team - John Sandante
First Team - Ralph Zambrano
Second Team - Harry Flores

Evergreen girls’ basketball – Mt. Hamilton Division
Senior of the Year - Krista Frausto

Silver Creek girls’ basketball – Santa Teresa Division
Freshman of the Year - Tina Dang
First Team - Kathleen De La Cruz
Second Team - Monica Erezo

Mt. Pleasant girls’ basketball – Santa Teresa Division
Senior of the Year - Sarah Dagnino
First Team - Amanda Rivas

Evergreen boys’ soccer – West Valley Division
Senior of the Year - Bipan Atwal
Coach of the Year - Hernan Diaz
First Team - Diego Ochoa
First Team - Juan Ramirez
First Team - Sergio Romero
Second Team - JC Espinoza
Second Team - Jorge Gonzalez
Second Team - Alex Salgado

Silver Creek boys’ soccer – West Valley Division
Sophomore of the Year - Jaspal Bhoot
First Team - Jose Villanueva
Second Team - Victor Mendoza

Mt. Pleasant boys’ soccer – Santa Teresa Division
Senior of the Year - Freddy Cortez
First Team - Manual Avila
First Team - Jonathan Arellano
Second Team - Omar Valdez
Second Team - Dario Cruz

Evergreen girls’ soccer – Mt. Hamilton Division
First Team - Leah Larot
Second Team - Teresa Rancadore

Silver Creek girls’ soccer – West Valley Division
MVP - Bernadette Bettencourt
Junior of the Year - Jazmin Quiroz
Coach of the Year - Ruben Iniguez
First Team - Bernadette Bettencourt
Second Team - Rebecca Zelaya
Second Team - Daisy Mejia

Mt. Pleasant girls’ soccer – West Valley Division
Sophomore of the Year - Tara Goulart
First Team - Kayla Goulart
First Team - Nelly Corral
Second Team - Ana Valasquez
Second Team - Megan Weston

Everly, Dick lead season-long Silver Creek resurgence

Raiders finish league strong, drop 80-54 loss to Gilroy in CCS Playoffs

By Justin Petersen
Staff Writer

The return of Matt Everly helped Silver Creek surge to a third place tie in Santa Teresa Division boys’ basketball action this season.

Raider Coach Cliff Warren said that Everly, a senior, rejoined the team for the first time since his freshman year, after he and several teammates did not play as decided by their parents.

Silvercreek senior Matt Everly, shown here during a regular season game this year, led the team in scoring with 11.5 points per game this season. The 6-foot guard was in the Raiders’ top three in every major statistical category, and was selected as a First Team All-League performer this year. Photo by Dan Miranda

While the kids were eligible in the eyes of the school, sometimes the parents expect more than that, said Warren. “The parents didn’t think that the grades were what they ought to be,” he said.

Upon the seniors’ return, the Raiders (12-11, 9-5) lost five of their opening seven games, while the team adjusted to the new dynamics.

However, once Everly connected with freshman Chijoke Nwuzi and fellow senior Billy Dick, Silver Creek became a menacing assignment for opponents.

The Raiders’ starting lineup featured three players measuring greater than 6 feet, and four players averaged close to 10 points per game.

“We finally got to a point where we could beat pretty much any team in the league,” said Warren.

The league campaign was indeed a carousel. The Raiders beat league contenders Willow Glen and Leland, whom they
tied for third place, and everybody else on their schedule at least once, with the exception of 2006-2007 league champion Sobrato.

Yet, the team lost to a sub .500 club in Andrew Hill by a score of 60-40 on Jan. 21.

“We’d get so excited after beating somebody like Leland or Willow Glen that we lost to (Andrew) Hill,” said Warren.

All said, Silver Creek qualified for the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs, where it faced a highly touted Gilroy team in the opening round on Feb. 21.

The Raiders had depended on banging under the basket with 6-foot, 5-inch, 245-pound senior center Billy Dick, while Everly tallied up shots in a shooting and slashing fashion, as he did throughout the year.

However, three Gilroy players measuring 6-feet, 8-inches or greater meant that Warren would need a different approach.

Initially, it was tough to adjust. The Mustangs outscored the Raiders 26-10 in the first quarter.

Warren said that Silver Creek competed well, once they settled into the game plan.

Silver Creek actually held the game within a 10-point margin after the first quarter, but could not overcome it, losing 80-54.

“Gilroy blew us out the first quarter, but we only lost to them by six over the next three quarters,” said Warren. “I just had to convince the team that they could play with these guys. Most kids don’t play against 6-foot, 10-inch, (or) 6-foot, 11-inch opponents very often, but once we started using our strategy, we got close.”

Freshman Chijoke Nwuzi was perhaps least intimidated by Gilroy’s size. The 6-foot, 2-inch forward tallied eight points and held his own under the basket, blocking several shots on the night, according to Warren.

“Chijoke is an awesome talent,” said Warren. “After the Gilroy game, people were coming down out of the stands and telling him how good he is.”

Warren said that Nwuzi will likely be the Raiders’ top returning performer in upcoming years. He averaged eight points per contest this season.

Everly, meanwhile, led the team in scoring. He dumped in 252 total points, with an 11.5 average per night. The 6-foot guard was in the Raiders’ top three in every major statistical category, and was selected as a First Team All-League performer this year.

Dick contributed 10.6 points per game, amidst maintaining a 3.5 grade point average, according to Warren. Dick was also selected as a First Team All League performer.

Along with Nwuzi, juniors Juan Holz and Darren Sumida will return next season.

Holz was the Raiders’ fourth leading scorer with eight points per game. He was second-leading playmaker however, dishing out 62 assists this year.

Sumida, meanwhile, averaged five points per game.