Defense leads Pioneer to win over Leland in Battle of Den rivalry game
SAN JOSE An old-time defensive dogfight broke out Friday night in front of a near-capacity crowd at Pioneer High School as the Mustangs made a first-quarter touchdown and a couple of field goals stand up in a - win over archrival Leland in the latest installment of the Battle of the Den The win evened the series between the two Almaden Valley schools according to MaxPreps at - Playing this encounter with Leland it doesn t matter what the records are Pioneer coach Eric Perry stated The kids all know each other and they play so hard against each other It s nice to be on the winning side of it Poll winner Readers pick Leland at Pioneer challenge for us to cover Pioneer's Braeden Ries passes the ball against Leland during the second half at Pioneer High School in San Jose Calif on Friday Sept Pioneer won - Thien-An Truong for Bay Area News Group On Pioneer s first possession of the competition Braeden Ries connected with Connor Christensen on a -yard touchdown pass That was it as far as spanning the goal line was concerned in this contest Nathan Bearrows kicked a -yard field goal in the final minute of the first quarter to make it - and the number stayed that way until was left in the tournament when Bearrows added a -yard field goal In between was a lot of good defensive play by both teams majority notably by Pioneer Pioneer's Bryce Coats middle looks on during the first half against Leland at Pioneer High School in San Jose Calif on Friday Sept Thien-An Truong for Bay Area News Group Junior defensive end Matthew Wheeler broke loose for three sacks Doing it against Leland made it more special It s such an intense battle Wheeler revealed It s a big rival event everyone s here The crowd is going crazy It feels really nice to get those sacks and hear the stands calling my name Leland which won the Central Coast Section Division V championship a year ago was hit hard by graduation and is trying to make a transition with new personnel and a new head coach Anthony Herrera who replaces Kelly King Jr now at Piedmont Hills Leland's Philip Arsintescu tosses the ball to Leland's David Ahlgren against Pioneer during the second half at Pioneer High School in San Jose Calif on Friday Sept Pioneer won - Thien-An Truong for Bay Area News Group Offense failed tonight I failed tonight at not putting these guys in better position to win and execute offensively Herrera declared We go back to the drawing board on the morrow with our lift and film session and start preparing for Lincoln Pioneer running back Colton Bermillo was the top offensive member on the evening as he rushed for yards on carries Ries completed of passes for yards Defense did a great job Herrera announced We lost the penalty battle and the turnover battle which is why we lost the challenge We re a young squad we re going to learn from this Related Articles Why Campolindo was hardly satisfied with its domination over Northgate Woodside keeps good times clock rolling with second straight shutout blanking host Mountain View Los Gatos rolls past Liberty behind second-quarter surge captures first win of season Big Bone tournament Kyan Phillips has night to remember as Lincoln routs San Jose High school football Friday s Week scores Saturday s schedule Leland quarterback Philip Arsintescu was of for yards Sam McFarland carried times for yards The Pioneer defense came up with two fumble recoveries and an interception by Christensen Bearrow in addition to his two field goals was a big factor in Pioneer winning the field position meeting in the second half with punts of and yards the latter one a coffin corner beauty going out of bounds at the Middle linebacker JJ Garcia had tackles for loss on two successive plays on one Leland possession Putting all hats on the ball Garcia announced in an explanation as to why the defense was so thriving on this particular occasion Going all out in practice during the week and executing on Friday Pioneer celebrates after defeating Leland at Pioneer High School in San Jose Calif on Friday Sept Pioneer won - Thien-An Truong for Bay Area News Group Pioneer head coach Eric Perry reacts after defeating Leland at Pioneer High School in San Jose Calif on Friday Sept Pioneer won - Thien-An Truong for Bay Area News Group Pioneer head coach Eric Perry celebrates with his band after defeating Leland at Pioneer High School in San Jose Calif on Friday Sept Pioneer won - Thien-An Truong for Bay Area News Group Pioneer's Jonathan Silveira is tackled by Leland's Dylan Repetto during the second half at Pioneer High School in San Jose Calif on Friday Sept Pioneer won - Thien-An Truong for Bay Area News Group Pioneer's Braeden Ries hands the ball to Pioneer's Adam Larson against Leland during the second half at Pioneer High School in San Jose Calif on Friday Sept Pioneer won - Thien-An Truong for Bay Area News Group Leland's Cole Canter runs the ball against Pioneer's Juan Jose Garcia during the first half at Pioneer High School in San Jose Calif on Friday Sept Thien-An Truong for Bay Area News Group Leland's Philip Arsintescu looks to pass the ball against Pioneer during the second half at Pioneer High School in San Jose Calif on Friday Sept Pioneer won - Thien-An Truong for Bay Area News Group
