Mighty Palma squeaks past St. Francis, 17-13, in title game Mighty Palma squeaks past St. Francis, 17-13, in title game (December 12, 2003)

Last minute plays seal Lancers' fate

By Samay Gheewala

Throughout this year's season, St. Francis has faced most of the historic heavyweights of the local football scene, and come out victorious nearly every time.

On Saturday night, St. Francis met Tri-County champion and third-seed Palma in the Division I CCS finals. With two minutes left in the game, it seemed as if the Lancers would be able to stay ahead of Palma to earn its 15th CCS title.

Before the season began, St. Francis coach Mike Mitchell said his goal for the season was to win the Division I championship, but unfortunately for St. Francis, the Chieftains had other plans in mind. Palma came roaring back in the final minutes to steal the game back from the Lancers, completing a 75-yard pass and scoring with about a minute left in the game. The team from Salinas then killed off St. Francis' remaining chances with an interception a few plays later.

Palma, like St. Francis, had pounded its way through tough opposition en route to the final match. And at first, it seemed as if Palma had the inside edge, as the team went up 10-0 over St. Francis.

The Lancers' main rushing option, senior Will Taufoou was held in check by a ferocious Palma defensive line, as Taufoou managed only 11 yards all game. However, the defensive focus on Taufoou left St. Francis quarterback Kyle Spraker relatively free. Spraker was able to lead the Lancers in a strong drive late in the fourth quarter that resulted in a St. Francis field goal as time expired.

The Lancers had come out strong in the third quarter, as Spraker and the Lancer offense made several big plays to tie the game at 10-10 on a 4-yard touchdown run by Justin Sieber. After Sieber's touchdown, both defenses clamped down until 2:19 in the fourth quarter, when Ryan Lee kicked in his second field goal of the night, giving the Lancers the lead with only a few minutes remaining.

Then, the Chieftains moved with lightning quickness, setting up for the 75-yard bomb from quarterback Chad Bozzo to Tommy Marquez. It was followed by a 5-yard touchdown dive by Bozzo to take the lead and the game.

St. Francis volleyball takes State

For the fourth straight year and eighth time overall, St. Francis was victorious in the California State Division III Volleyball tournament, defeating Santa Margarita High, the Southern California champion and the last team to defeat the Lancers in state competition, in three games.

St. Francis, which did not drop a game through the entire tournament, powered past Santa Margarita early on. The Lancers went up 20-8 in the second game before the Eagles regrouped and began to fight back. Still, led by USC-bound seniors Jessica Gysin and Diane Copenhagen, St. Francis was able to hold on and stay strong throughout the match.

Gysin led the team both offensively and defensively, with 15 kills and 17 digs, and Copenhagen picked up 13 kills and 6 blocks as well.

Gysin was named the tournament MVP, while Copenhagen and setter Ashley Dutro, who will play for UC Santa Barbara, both were named to the All-Tournament team. Dutro also earned the Sportsmanship award for her selfless and overall good play.

Mountain View hoopsters score high

Mountain View's girls' basketball team shone at an early preseason tournaments, taking third out of eight teams at the Kings Academy tournament, held Dec. 4-6.

The Spartans, led by Peyton Paulick with 14 points, pounded Prospect 50-25 to start things off. But Mountain View then found itself on the losing side in a 56-31 game against Woodside, the eventual champion, in the semifinal game.

Facing off against host Kings Academy in the third-place game, Mountain View regained its earlier form, with strong play across the board. Paulick put up 11 points, followed by Lisa Klatt and Lauren Esteban, who notched 10 points each.

CYSA team seeks players

The MVLA CyberRays, a CYSA Girls under-12 Class 3 team is looking for several fast, skilled and dedicated players.

The team is trained by Simon Weiss, a former player for the University of North Carolina. He is dedicated to the technical training of each player and seeing the girls play a possession style of game.

For more information, contact Alberto Martin at 996-0505 or by e-mail at almartin@stanford.edu.

E-mail Samay Gheewala at sports@mv-voice.com

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