Sports
PREP FOOTBALL THIS WEEKEND
STANFORD ROUNDUP
Another big test in volleyball
Jefferson (2-0, 5-1) at Menlo (2-0, 5-1), Friday, 3 p.m. It will be a game with championship ramifications when the PAL Ocean Division’s two undefeated teams meet. Jefferson is a legitimate contender following a 42-12 romp over Woodside last week, while Menlo kept pace with a 34-0 win over San Mateo. The Knights, however, could be at a disadvantage because standout running back/ linebacker Beau Nichols has a broken bone in his right hand and could miss the game. Nichols suffered the injury late in last week’s win over San Mateo, a game that was over at halftime after Menlo QB Robert Wickers had thrown for five touchdowns and 215 yards by intermission. Wickers has completed 90 of 142 passes for 1,441 yards and 19 touchdowns this season. Menlo finished with 394 yards of total offense, enough to get the job done. Jordan Williams caught five passes for 156 yards and two TDs while Tim Benton had five catches for 113 yards and two scores.
No. 2 Cardinal hosts No. 5 Cal on Friday with first place at stake in the Pac-10 by Rick Eymer ollege volleyball doesn’t get much better than this: second-ranked Stanford against fifth-ranked California in a match to decide first place in the final game of the first half of the Pac-10 schedule. Call it the mid-terms, with the exam to start Friday night at 7 p.m. in Maples Pavilion. Stanford (7-1, 16-1) was ranked first in the country until UCLA upset the Cardinal in Los Angeles two weeks ago. The Bears (7-1, 17-1) have been good for a while now and have become a force on the national level. In a conference filled to the brim with outstanding teams that can claim national championship caliber talent, even this match stands out. California coach Rich Feller, a Palo Alto High grad, has elevated the program in Berkeley to new heights. The only things missing, really, are a conference title and a national championship. Either of those could happen any given year. Stanford coach John Dunning, who got his coaching start at Fremont High in Sunnyvale, has continued the tradition of excellence on The Farm. He is 278-46 at Stanford, leading all active coaches in the conference by winning percentage (.858). His Cardinal teams have won the past four Pac-10 titles; have been to six national championship matches and won twice. There are all kinds of All-American candidates on both sides of the court, and there’s some history. After a 29-year drought as the visiting team, the Bears broke the Cardinal rule with a four-set victory on Oct. 19, 2008. More recently, Cal is seeking revenge after suffering a five-set loss on The Farm in last year’s regular-season finale. The Bears went up, 2-0, before the Cardinal stormed back to secure the win and its fourth-consecutive Pac10 crown. Stanford holds a 62-8 all-time record over California, which is off to its best start in program history. Last season, the team’s split the season series, with each winning in five sets on its home court. The Cardinal is 15-4 against the Bears under Dunning. Stanford may have an edge in that it is both Breast Cancer Awareness Night and Homecoming/Alumni Night. Senior outside hitter Alix Klineman is well on her way to becoming the 10th four-time All-American in Stanford history. She’s led the Cardinal offensively in each of her first three seasons and this year she’s healthy. Klineman leads all active Pac-10
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Crystal Springs (3-1, 4-1) at Pinewood (4-0, 4-1), Friday, 3:30 p.m. Pinewood still has a shot at winning the Coastal Athletic League title following a 46-0 blasting of Cornerstone Christian last weekend. The Panthers, however, must win this one and upset unbeaten Anchorpoint Christian at Gilroy next week. Depite its record, Crystal Springs is averaging just 65 passing yards and 44 rushing yards per game, while scoring at a 36.8 clip. Pinewood is averaging 165.2 rushing and 19.4 passing while scoring 30 points a game. Dante Fraioli, who rushed for 117 yards on seven carries and scored five touchdowns overall last weekend, is Pinewood’s key offensive threat.
Gunn (0-2, 3-3) at Homestead (1-1, 5-1), Friday, 7:30 p.m. Richard C. Ersted/stanfordphoto.com
Senior Alix Klineman (10) will lead Stanford against visiting Cal on Friday after winning her third Pac-10 Player of the Week honor. players with 1,743 kills, ranks fourth with 1,008 digs, and is sixth with 74 aces and 247 blocks. Cal is led by junior outside hitter Tarah Murrey, third in the Pac-10 and fifth in the nation with 5.21 kills and 5.84 points per set. She also ranks seventh in the conference with a .361 hitting percentage. Senior setter/hitter Cassidy Lichtman led the team with 22 doubledoubles, including 10 triple doubles in 2009. This season, she has registered a double-double or better in 10 of the teamís 17 matches. She is fifth among active Pac-10 players in assists (2011), sixth in digs (907) and eighth in aces (68). Senior libero Gabi Ailes owns several top marks in the Stanford record book. She is the career digs leader (1,899), holds three of the top four places on the single season digs list and maintains the top three records for digs in a single match. Women’s soccer Stanford freshman Emily Oliver stepped in at goalkeeper at halftime of top-ranked Stanford’s fifth match of the season — Stanford’s home opener against Georgia — and has been a fixture at the position ever since. Oliver has started Stanfordís past 10 matches, is credited with three shutouts, has been a part of three others, and has a record of 11-0. Her goals-against average (0.42) leads the Pac-10 and is sixth in the country. Top-ranked Stanford (4-0, 13-0-2) travels to Arizona State for a Pac-10
match on Friday night. Men’s soccer The Cardinal (3-2, 7-6) pushed its record above .500 this season with victories over No. 13 UCLA and San Diego State this past weekend. Stanford now trails UCLA and California by a single game in the Pac-10 race after one trip through the double round-robin. The Pac-10 champion automatically qualifies for the NCAA tournament, but Stanford’s strong play of late (winners of seven of nine), also has put the Cardinal back in the thick of the at-large conversation. Women’s golf Stanford sophomore Sally Watson is representing Scotland at the World Amateur Team Championships, which are being held in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Men’s water polo No. 4 Stanford sits in a tie for third place in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, with a 2-1 conference record. The Cardinal earned its first road victory with an 8-6 victory over UC Santa Barbara and continues its stretch of four consecutive road games by taking on last-place Pepperdine in Malibu on Saturday. Women’s tennis The USTA/ITA Northwest Regional gets underway Friday at Stanford’s Taube Tennis Center and is scheduled through Tuesday. N
The Titans need to get back on the winning track after dropping a 3516 decision to visiting Saratoga in a SCVAL De Anza Division game last weekend. Gunn is facing four tough games in a row to end the season — Homestead, Milpitas (home), Wilcox (away) and Los Gatos (home). Coming away with a split in those four would make for a successful season in the tough division. In the loss to Saratoga, Gunn didn’t take advantage of its opportunities and fell behind 21-0 with four minutes to go in the third quarter. Josh Jackson returned a kickoff 93 yards for one Gunn score and Anthony Cannon threw 41 yards to Jackson for the other. Cannon finished with 16 completions for 219 yards.
M-A (1-1, 2-4) at SHP (1-1, 5-1), Saturday, 3 p.m. This is a must-win game for both teams to keep their possible PAL Bay Division title hopes alive. The Bears are coming off a 28-14 loss to Aragon while the Gators are coming off a big 42-20 triumph over King’s Academy in a game that saw SHP rush for 276 yards while giving up 251 on the ground. Colin Terndrup led SHP with a142 yards rushing on 21 carries. Terndrup’s three-yard TD run gave the Gators a 28-20 lead. SHP then tacked on two more scores. Sacred Heart fell behind 14-0 after one quarter before senior quarterback John Geary hooked up with Tyler McCool on an 11-yard scoring play. After SHP linebacker Matt Hardy picked off a pass with 28 seconds to play and returned it to the Knights’ 15, Geary and McCool connected again — this time for a 15-yard TD that gave the Gators the lead for good at 21-20.
Anderson Valley (3-2) at Priory (3-3), Saturday, 1 p.m. Both teams are coming off forfeits, Anderson Valley winning one while Priory was losing one. The visitors are averaging 45.4 points a game while the Panthers are scoring at 35.8 ppg. Both teams rely on their running game, with Anderson Valley averaging 192 yards and the Panthers 167. -- compiled by Keith Peters
Prep football (continued from page 33)
1963, a 9-0 campaign. Such a perfect finish would set the stage for an appearance in the Central Coast Section Open Division playoffs, where Paly has won before. Yet, the Vikings could establish another first by reaching the postseason and finishing the season with only one loss. The ultimate first, of course, would be sweeping through the postseason and then winning the state playoffs. But, it’s too soon to be discussing things like that. Palo Alto has to travel on Friday night to face host Milpitas (1-2, 3-2-1) in a fairly important SCVAL De Anza Division contest at 7:30 p.m.
Head-to-head matchups show that Palo Alto should have no problem with the Trojans, who have lost to Los Gatos (23-6) and Wilcox (3517) while the Vikings beat those teams by a combined 70-15. Milpitas is averaging just 91 yards rushing per game and 149.3 passing. Sammy Fanua, with 334, is the only Milpitas running back with more than 62 yards rushing this season. Palo Alto proved last weekend that it could stop an offense with a one-back attack. Los Gatos had Garret Zeiter, who had gained 453 yards in the two games prior to facing Paly. The Vikings limited him to just 70 yards on 19 carries. Los Gatos (2-1, 3-2-1) was held to just 164 total yards, 69 coming on rushing. Hansen said his defensive (continued on page 39)
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