Former Grossmont High standout
Khalid Waters rushed for 143 yards vs. Concordia
in Week 1. (MLC courtesy photo) MORE HERE
For the third time this season, MLC held a lead against
a Top 25 foe. But this latest time, a 21-6 halftime lead
disappeared in a 38-27 setback to 5th-rated Morningside
College. The loss dropped the Warriors to 5-3 overall
– they are 0-3 against ranked teams, yet a perfect
5-0 against all others.
Grossmont High grad KHALID WATERS is the top ball-carrier
for Midland Lutheran. Through 8 contests, Waters, a
member of the 2007 All-East County team, owns 559 rushing
yards this season.
On defense, Steele Canyon High alum BRANDEN BROWN ranks
second on the Warriors in interceptions and third in
total tackles.
Midland also features former Grossmont High standouts
MICHAEL GRAHAM and JEFF WATERS.
The 5-foot-9, 180-pound sophomore also leads
the Dakota Athletic Conference in all purpose
running with 1,042 yards (173.7 ypg) and scoring
with 42 points (7 TD). Dale was selected to the
2008 All-DAC team.
The Hardrockers (3-3, 2-3 DAC) pride themselves
as “the only university in the nation where
starting salaries average more than total costs.”
The 2007 Grossmont South League Offensive Player
of the Year, Dale was also selected to the 2007
All-East County Football Team.
The triumph raised the Tigers' record to 4-0, with
JEREMY YOUNG, a senior standout out of El Cajon Valley
High, at center stage.
Young put together another stellar night receiving
with 151 yards on 12 catches. Young also added three
rushes for 39 yards, including a 10-yard touchdown run.
He totaled 240 yards of all-purpose yardage on the night.
In his last two games, Young, the NCAA Division II
Player of the Week, has reeled in 24 passes for 412
yards.
Young leads the 11-team GSC circuit with 32 receptions
for 417 and ranks third in all-purpose yards with 749
yards (187.2 ypg).
For the second consecutive week, Ouachita Baptist (4-0,
3-0) defeated a top-25 Gulf South Conference opponent
after a 24-14 victory over former top-25 member Valdosta
(Ga.) State in week three. The victory extends the current
winning streak to nine games to set a new school record
that stretches back to the final five games of 2008.
The Tigers’ victory over Delta State (Miss.)
snapped the 25-game Gulf States Conference winning streak
that the Statesmen compiled in the last 3.5 years of
GSC play.
The University City crowd was raucous to say the least,
holding up placards bearing Snyder’s face and continually
hollering at him. Although he was angry, Snyder kept
his emotions hidden.
Now the Cardinal defensive leader, Snyder, a 6-foot-4,
240-pounder, has a fumble recovery and made 21 tackles
– 15 solo – in the three games. Stanford (2-1)
claims victories over Washington State (39-13) and San
Jose State (42-17), losing only to Wake Forest (24-17).
A candidate for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Chuck Bednarik
Award, Butkus Award, and a Lombardi Award Candidate,
Snyder will lead the Cardinal into Saturday’s (Sept.
26) host encounter against Washington, which is coming
off a 16-13 upset of USC a week ago.
The leader of a talented group of linebackers, the
fifth-year senior has started 34 of 36 games over the
last three seasons. He will transition from "sam"
to "mike" linebacker this season. He is one
of the players who sets the tone for the Stanford defense
with his physical presence and leadership skills.
From 2006: Video of Jeremy Young
setting a Grossmont College record
with 100-yard kickoff return HERE.
A former El Cajon Valley High standout, Young earned
his first-ever honor, leading the OBU offense in a 24-14
home upset of No. 16 Valdosta (Ga.) State. The senior
caught 13 passes for 261 yards and a 20.1 per catch
average along with touchdowns catches of 60 and 56 yards.
He didn’t stop there, also returning three punts
for 32 yards and three kickoffs for 46, upping his all-purpose
yardage to 339.
Young set the school record for receiving yards in
a game which also placed him sixth on the all-time GSC
list. His receptions and yards were also the most by
any GSC player this season.
With the victory, Ouachita improves to 3-0 on the season
and 2-0 in Gulf South Conference play. The Tigers are
riding a current winning streak of eight games dating
back to last season. It is the longest win streak by
OBU since 1968.
The victory was OBU’s first in 10 meetings against
Valdosta State since Ouachita joined the Gulf South
Conference in 2000. It also was the first victory over
a top-25 opponent since the 2003 season, when the Tigers
defeated Southeastern Oklahoma State and Central Arkansas.
Poinsettia Bowl extends contract with sponsor Local company to continue support of community enhancement
event
Courtesy, Poinsettia Bowl committee
SAN DIEGO (9-15-09) — San Diego County Credit Union
has extended its title sponsorship of the San Diego
County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl, 2009 Bowl President
Barbara Warden announced today. The extension is for
sponsorship through the 2010 contest, with options for
2011 and 2012. Financial terms were not disclosed. San
Diego County Credit Union served as title sponsor since
the game’s inception in 2005.
“The entire San Diego community owes San Diego
County Credit Union a great deal of thanks for their
name-in-title partnership,” said Warden. “Their
investment makes it possible for the game to annually
attract thousands of fans to the region and produce
millions of dollars for the San Diego economy.”
We are excited to extend our title sponsorship of the
Poinsettia Bowl,” said Irene Oberbauer, President
& CEO of San Diego County Credit Union. “We
are committed to the success of this great event and
proud to continue the partnership with this game’s
beneficiary, the Make-A-Wish Foundation of San Diego.”
In what was widely recognized as one of the premier
bowl match ups last season, the 2008 San Diego County
Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl saw the 11th-ranked TCU
Horned Frogs upset the 9th-ranked and previously undefeated
Boise State Broncos 17-16 in front of 34,628 fans at
San Diego’s Qualcomm Stadium. The game garnered
a 3.74 television rating on ESPN, the highest ever for
a pre-Christmas bowl game on the all-sports network.
The San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl was
established in 2005 and is produced by the non-profit
San Diego Bowl Game Association. The mission of the
Association is to generate tourism, exposure, economic
benefit and civic pride for San Diego and its citizens
by producing the nation’s most exciting bowl games
and festivals of events. The San Diego Bowl Game Association
also produces the annual Pacific Life Holiday Bowl.
In 2008 the two games combined to produce $52.3 million
for the regional economy.
The 2009 San Diego County Credit Union will be played
at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, December 23rd at Qualcomm Stadium.
The game will pit the second selection from the Mountain
West Conference against a Pacific-10 or Western Athletic
Conference opponent.
For ticket and event information, call the San Diego
County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl ticket office at
(619) 285-5039 or visit www.PoinsettiaBowl.com.
El Capitan High graduate TOMMIE DRAHIEM (6-4,
285) is slated to start at left tackle, while
his highly-touted El Capitan teammate RYAN LINDLEY
handles the quarterbacking chores.
The Aztecs, who open the season at UCLA on Saturday
(Sept. 5) at 4:45 PDT in Pasadena’s Rose
Bowl, also welcome two East County transfers to
their lineup.
JACOB TAUANUU, a product of Helix High and Grossmont
College, was a defensive stalwart at Alabama-Birmingham
last season as a sophomore. The 6-2, 240-pound
defensive end played in all 12 games for the Barons,
racking up 48 tackles, including two sacks.
Grossmont College transfer LARRY PARKER should
make an impact in the Aztecs secondary after leaving
St. Augustine to spend his freshman year with
the Griffins. Parker was recruited by Houston,
BYU and Michigan as well as the Aztecs.
A 5-foot-9, 170-pound sophomore wide receiver,
Fiege saw limited playing time for the Western
Athletic Conference Bulldogs as a freshman. The
versatile Fiege mustered 1,424 all-purpose yards,
collecting 10 touchdowns while earning 2007 All-East
County offense and defense.
Fiege is one of three East County products –
which includes Helix quarterback TY CULVER and
Grossmont defensive back KEVIN WRIGHT – ticketed
to play for the Toreros.
Another East County touch is USD quarterbacks
coach TANNER ENGSTRAND, who begins his fifth season
on the Toreros coaching staff. He is a former
Grossmont, Grossmont College and SDSU quarterback.
CHIDOZIE EKWEOZOR, a redshirt freshman out of
Mount Miguel High, has earned his first collegiate
start for Villanova. He’ll be the Wildcats’
starting right offensive tackle, with four returning
veterans making up the remainder of the Wildcats’
offensive blocking wall.
“I guess you could say I’m kinda in
shock,” said the 6-foot-5, 305-pound Ekweozor.
“But I’ve been waiting a year to get
this chance.”
Monte Vista High product BRANYDN HARVEY will
begin his senior season as a starting receiver.
A year ago, Harvey ranked second in receiving
for Villanova with 43 receptions for 552 yards
and three TDs.
The Wildcats are ranked No. 5 in the Collegiate
Commissioner's Association Coaches Poll released
this week and are one of eight teams from the
Colonial Athletic Association listed in the top
25.
Villanova returns 15 starters and 31 letter winners
from last year's NCAA quarterfinal team that went
10-3 overall and 7-1 in CAA play. The Wildcats
have been picked along with defending national
champion Richmond to win the CAA in 2009.
ANOTHER MATADOR STUCK IN PAUSE MODE
DAVIS – Former Mount Miguel southpaw quarterback
JEFF FREEMAN has made a smooth transition converting
to a full time free safety at UC Davis. His biggest
problem has been injuries.
Freeman appeared in seven games as a reserve
in 2007 as a reserve, recording five tackles.
A year ago Freeman played in four games –
three starts – but missed the rest of the
season after suffering a broken arm against Northeastern
University of Boston.
“I guess you’d say I’m not very
lucky,” Freeman said.
Freeman was ticketed to be the Aggies starting
safety this season, but was knocked out of the
box when he suffered a torn meniscus early in
camp. If all things go his way, Freeman will return
to the UC Davis starting lineup when the Aggies
travel to Boise State on Oct. 3.
Lindley Named to Manning Award Watch List for Nation’s
Top QB Quarterback is one of just 38 players on the list and
one of only six sophomores
Courtesy, SDSU Media Relations
SAN DIEGO (8-18-09) – San Diego State sophomore
RYAN LINDLEY (El Capitan HS) has been named to the preseason
watch list for the Manning Award, presented to the nation’s
top collegiate quarterback. Lindley, who set school
and Mountain West Conference records last season for
passing yards by a freshman, is one of 38 quarterbacks
on the list and one of just six sophomores.
Lindley becomes the second Aztecs player to be named
to a national award watch list this season, joining
center Trask Iosefa (Rimington Trophy watch list). He
is one of three MWC quarterbacks on the Manning Award
Watch List along with TCU senior Andy Dalton and Brigham
Young senior Max Hall.
A native of Alpine, Lindley earned team offensive most
valuable player honors last season as a redshirt freshman.
He started 10 games, completing 242-of-427 passes for
a 56.7 completion percentage with 16 touchdowns and
2,653 yards. Lindley ended the season ranked 24th nationally
in passing average, including second among freshmen,
and 42nd in total offense (fourth among freshmen). He
also had the seventh-best passing efficiency among all
freshmen at 117.01. He also became just the second freshman
in school history to start a season-opening game for
the Aztecs, joining two-time All-American and the school’s
all-time career passing leader, Todd Santos.
Against Idaho last year, Lindley threw for a career-high
433 yards to become the 14th quarterback in school history
to record a 400-yard passing game. Lindley, who also
had four 300-yard passing days on the season, finished
his freshman campaign on a high note, completing 35-of-50
passes for 387 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions
in San Diego State ’s 42-21 victory over UNLV.
The Manning Award was created by the Allstate Sugar
Bowl in honor of the college football accomplishments
of Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning. Ten finalists will
be determined by a selected panel of national media
covering college football, as well as each of the Mannings.
That list will be released on Monday (Nov. 30). The
winner will be announced by the Allstate Sugar Bowl
on Jan. 14.
The first four winners of the Manning Award reads like
a Who's Who list at the quarterback position. USC's
Matt Leinart was the inaugural winner of the award in
2005, followed by Texas ' Vince Young in 2006. Both
went on to be top-10 NFL draft picks. In 2007, LSU's
JaMarcus Russell earned the award and was the NFL's
No. 1 draft pick. Boston College's Matt Ryan claimed
the award in 2008 and was drafted No. 3, quickly becoming
the starting quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons.
The 6-foot-3, 315-pound Sutton, formerly of West Hills
High, led an offensive line that helped SAU average
27.2 points and 380.7 yards of total offense per game
this season.
St. Ambrose won its third straight Mid-States Football
Association Midwest League title, and led the 2008 MWL
selections with five first-team players. Included was
wide receiver Michael Hayward, who was named the league's
Player of the Year.
The defending
NCAA Division III
champs end the
Bearcats' season
by handing WU
(11-1) its lone
setback of 2008.
Arlin Taylor led
WU: 11 tackles.
Former Steele Canyon High standouts
Arlin Taylor
(left), Luis Guerra and Scott Perlin now compete
for
undefeated Willamette University (10-0) in Oregon.
The Bearcats host Occidental in their playoff
opener. (Photos courtesy of Willamette media relations)
And the Bearcats, undefeated in the regular season
at 10-0, have a boatload of East County talent on their
roster, which also helped them capture the Northwest
Conference crown and gain a No. 6 national ranking.
Willamette is one position behind defending national
champion Wisc.-Whitewater.
Among the locals succeeding in southern Oregon include
a trio of Steele Canyon High products: sophomore guard
LUIS GUERRA, sophomore defensive back ARLIN TAYLOR,
and freshman running back SCOTT PERLIN,
Taylor, who plays at strong safety, was tabbed to the
All-NWC first team, along with five other Bearcats
defenders.
Taylor ranked fourth on the team during the regular
season with 45 total tackles. He earned 21 unassisted
tackles and was credited with 24 assists. He forced
two fumbles and recovered three fumbles for the Bearcats.
He also intercepted one pass and returned it 18 yards
for a touchdown against Cal Lutheran in a 31-17 win
on Sept. 13.
Taylor has not missed a game in his two seasons with
Willamette.
Guerra made the All-NWC team as an honorable mention
selection. His efforts have helped WU average 398.5
total yards per game, with at least 400 yards in six
games, including each of the last five games. Guerra
and the rest of the line also have allowed the Bearcats
to complete 58.4 percent of their passes this fall.
Perlin played in just two games in his first season,
yet did register a special teams tackle against Lewis
& Clark.
Cougars help Willamette into D-3 national rankings
Fresh off a 31-23 upset of rival Southern Oregon ,
the Bearcats are rated 25th in the nation according
to D3Football.com,
while picking up several votes to rank among the honorable
mention in the regular NCAA listings.
Willamette features a trio of Steele Canyon High products
in sophomore strong safety ARLIN TAYLOR, sophomore offensive
guard LUIS GUERRA, and freshman fullback SCOTT PERLIN.
Taylor finished fourth on the team in tackles against
Southern Oregon, as Willamette scored 14 unanswered
points in the fourth quarter to rally past the Raiders.
Meanwhile, Guerra starts on the right side of the Bearcats'
O-line, while Perlin is on special teams.
Willamette makes its final Southern California appearance
this week, meeting University of La Verne at 1 p.m.
Saturday (Sept. 27)..
Schiller, a 6-foot-6, 300-pound center, earned NSIC
North Division All-Conference honors as a member
of the University of Minnesota-Crookston (2-9).
As a Vaqueros senior, Schiller – one of the top
pass protectors in the Grossmont North League –
was named to the All-GNL first team and to the All-East
County second team in 2007.
Other East County players on the Golden Eagles roster
include: OL Dominic LaRussa (West Hills), WRs Anthony
Conti and Garrett Jarvis (El Capitan), and RB Ben Wilkins
(El Capitan).
Aztecs quarterback Ryan Lindley
(left);
Colorado State Rams at San Diego State Aztecs (Slideshow by Tori Mills)
The 5-foot-10, 190-pound junior leads the Tigers
(3-3) in all-purpose running (155.5 ypg) and tops
his team in kickoff returns (24.1 avg on 18 chances).
To boot, he’s Ouachita’s No. 2 receiver
(32-327 yards, two TDs). Young was a key member
of the El Cajon Valley squad that reached the
Division II section finals against Oceanside in
2005. He also helped the Griffins reach the SoCal
semifinals as a freshman a year later.
Dale leads the eight-team Dakota Athletic Conference
in all-purpose running (178.4 ypg) and in scoring
(76 points, 12 TDs, 4 PATs). A 5-foot-9, 165-pound
freshman, Dale also heads the Hardrockers (4-1)
in rushing (76-548, 10 TDs).
Dale earned DAC Player of the Week honors on
Sept. 22 against Dakota State.
Lindley established MWC and SDSU records for most passing
yards (433) and touchdowns (four) by a freshman in a
45-17 triumph over Idaho. He is the first frosh to capture
the award since 2006. His passing rating of 198.87 is
the high among all qualifying frosh, ranking 18th overall.
The Aztecs (1-3) travel to Fort Worth, Texas, to meet
TCU in their conference opener on Saturday. Kickoff
is at 3 p.m. PT.
Lindley not blamed for embarrassing Aztecs loss Pair of school frosh passing records not enough
to avoid last-second 29-26 failure to Cal Poly
Lindley, an all-state performer for El Capitan in 2006,
established a pair of school records for passing yardage
and touchdowns by an SDSU quarterback in his freshman
debut. However, Cal Poly bounced back on a 20-yard field
goal by Andrew Gardner on the game's final play to secure
another shocker over the Aztecs, 29-27, Saturday (Aug.
30) at Qualcomm Stadium.
The victory was the Mustangs' second over San Diego
State in three seasons.
Following a slow start in the first quarter, Lindley
settled in and tossed for records of 352 yards and three
touchdowns. He completed 27-of-45 passes.
"I think I was just rushing a little bit in the
first quarter," Lindley explained. "Probably
at the end of the first quarter I felt like the whole
offense was clicking. The (offensive) line was picking
up stuff very well all game. I think that everybody
just got in a groove. Then we kind of kicked it up.
We just need to go that extra yard, that extra inch
to get what we need in the next game."
Just think how well the former Vaqueros standout could've
done with some assistance from his teammates. Lindley
was intercepted twice, both times on tipped passes off
the hands of his receivers. The Aztecs also dropped
no less than a half-dozen passes.
Lindley, in his first collegiate appearance, refused
to point fingers.
"Any one play could've turned this thing around
and it obviously did for them unfortunately," said
Lindley. "There were a couple of good plays where
we would build momentum and build momentum, then all
of the sudden we slipped up. It happens, but I feel
extremely confident that we can turn it around next
week."
Cal Poly led throughout by taking advance of five San
Diego State turnovers. Meanwhile, the Aztecs defense
was burned for 480 total yards.
Lindley led the comeback with TD tosses to Brand Sullivan
(16 yards), Robert Wallace (30) and Vincent Brown (23),
then he directed a 77-yard scoring drive to finally
give the Aztecs the lead at 27-26 with 6:51 remaining
on a 5-yard TD rush by Sullivan. SDSU failed on a 2-point
conversion attempt to leave the door open for the Mustangs,
who capped a 9-play, 63-yard drive with Gardner's second
field goal of the contest at the gun.
“The silver lining in there was Ryan Lindley,"
said head coach CHUCK LONG. "He really threw the
ball well after a rough start. He really came on and
showed a lot."
Up next for San Diego State (0-1) is a nationally televised
contest at Notre Dame on Sept. 6. The Aztecs return
home to meet Idaho on Sept. 27.
Grossmont HS alum Khalid Waters
records his first collegiate TD on this 11-yard
run to give Midland Lutheran an early 7-0 lead. (Midland Lutheran courtesy photo) DOUBLE-CLICK TO ENLARGE
Midland Lutheran honored Larry
the Cable Guy
with his own team jersey, then the Warriors beat
Doane, 27-26, on a 2-point PAT with 1:06 left. (Midland Lutheran College courtesy photo)
Aided by the efforts of running back KHALID WATERS
(Grossmont HS) and safety BRANDON BROWN (Steele Canyon),
the Warriors are ranked 23rd nationally after nipping
Doane College (Neb.), 27-26, last Saturday. MLC scored
a touchdown with 1:06 to play, then completed a
2-point conversion for the dramatic victory at Memorial
Field.
Stand-up comedian Larry the Cable Guy was in attendance
to make sure the Warriors "Get'r Done." Waters
did by finishing the contest with 109 all-purpose yards,
scoring the game's opening touchdown on an 11-yard rush.
Meanwhile, Brown was the Warriors' second-leading tackler,
which included a shared quarterback sack.
For their efforts, both freshmen are expected to gain
their first starts of the season this Saturday, when
Midland Lutheran, which is celebrating its 125th anniversary,
travels to Sioux City, Iowa, to meet Briar Cliff University.
El Cap’s Conti has crisp debut for Golden Eagles Receiver joins four East County products at Minn.-Crookston
The lone bright spot for the team was provided by ANTHONY
(A.J.) CONTI of El Capitan High, who reeled in six passes
for 52 yards and kicked two conversions.
In addition to Conti, El Capitan grad JEFF SCHILLER
started at center and West Hills product DOMINIC LaRUSSA
started at left guard for the Golden Eagles. GARRETT
JARVIS, a wide receiver/tight end out of El Capitan,
and former Vaqueros running back BEN WILKINS are also
on scholarship to Minnesota–Crookston but did not
play in the opener.
Clinton Snyder on Bronko Nagurski watch list Award Honors College Football's Top Defensive Player
Clinton Snyder (Stanford photos)
Special to East County Sports.com
STANFORD (7-7-08) – Former Monte Vista High standout
and Stanford outside linebacker CLINTON
SNYDER has been included on the watch list for the
2008 Bronko Nagurski Award, which goes to the best defensive
player in college football. There are 88 candidates nationwide
nominated for the award, which is sponsored by the Charlotte
Touchdown Club.
The Football Writers Association of America All-America
Committee selects the Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner
from the association's 11-man All-America defensive
team in November. The watch list was developed by the
FWAA All-America committee with the help of schools
and conferences.
Snyder, who earned second team All-Pac-10 Conference
honors last season, ranks as Stanford's active career
leader in tackles (179), sacks (10.0), fumbles forced
(7) and is tied for first in fumbles recovered (3) and
tackles for loss (18). He ranked among the Pac-10 leaders
in virtually every defensive category in 2007, including
fumbles forced, tackles for loss, fumble recoveries,
sacks and tackles.
As a senior at Monte Vista, Snyder was the East
County Sports.com Defensive Player of the Year in
2004. He was also a first-team tight end in the East
County Sports.com selections.
The Bronko Nagurski Trophy has been presented since
1993 and is awarded in memory of the legendary Nagurski,
a former All-America lineman at Minnesota in 1927-29
who went on to star for the Chicago Bears in the 1930s.
Stanford linebacker
Clinton Snyder (Stanford Univ. photo)
In
Thursday's (Aug. 28) NCAA opener, former Monte
Vista standout CLINTON SNYDER, now a starting
linebacker for Stanford, helped lead the
Cardinal over visiting Oregon, 36-28,
placing Stanford as the early leader in the
Pacific 10.
"It's more than a landmark. It's a great step
for us that we need as a program to show people that
we're not the old Stanford," said Snyder, one of
three Cardinal defenders with 10 tackles. "I didn't
know how it would feel. We haven't done this in a long
time."
Under the leadership of former University of San Diego
head coach JIM HARBAUGH, the rebuilding process seemed
headed for a long, bumpy road following embarrassing
Pac-10 Conference losses to UCLA (45-17), Oregon (55-31)
and Arizona State (41-3) – all at home – earlier
in the season.
Perhaps playing on the road is the ticket for the Cardinal,
which snapped USC’s 35-game home winning streak.
Oh yeah, the last time the Trojans were toppled in the
Coliseum was at the hands of Stanford in 2001. That
was USC coach Pete Carroll’s first year as the
Trojans' head man.
"It's incredible. We came into this game with
only a win against a WAC team ( San Jose State ), and
we weren't performing like we knew we could," added
the 6-foot-4, 230-pound Snyder, Stanford’s top
returning tackler from a year ago. "This game,
we came out and ground it out, and performed the way
the Stanford Cardinal needs to perform in the future."
The youthful Cardinal committed mistake-after-mistake,
but switching to Tavita Pritchard at quarterback last
week against Arizona State seemed to be the catalyst,
as the offense took giants steps forward while Snyder
& Co. held the line on defense.
"All the little mistakes we were making in the
other games didn't happen," noted Snyder, a redshirt
sophomore. "We got some good breaks on defense
with all the turnovers. It's a game of turnovers. Whoever
wins the turnover battle usually wins the game."
Snyder, the 2004 East County Defensive Player of the
Year who set a Grossmont Conference record of 44 sacks,
went on to say:
"We got those turnovers on defense and helped
the offense out by giving the offense good field position,
and they made good adjustments. They moved the ball
down the field and scored some points for us, and we
came out on top."
Snyder, who made 61 tackles for losses during his Monte
Vista career, came through with several of those key
plays. He forced a fumble which led to a turnover, then
he registered one of three sacks on Trojans quarterback
J.D. Booty late in the 4th quarter which led to Stanford
getting the ball back for its game-winning drive.
The Cardinal offense rebounded with the game-winning
touchdown in the final 2:50. Included was a 4th-down
reception by Richard Sherman to the USC-9, then Pritchard
found Mark Bradford on the left-side of the endzone
with 49 seconds remaining for another 4th-down conversion.
"We said focus and finish, which is what we've
been saying all year,” Snyder said. “Focus
and finish is a big thing for us. That's what we stress,
finishing in the fourth quarter. We went out there and
got a good stop on defense."
USC, ranked No. 1 in one major poll and No. 2 in the
other, had one last chance, but Booty's bomb was intercepted
by Bo McNally.
"Just to see Bo catch that ball and slide down
there knowing that the game is over and we had won the
game is just great," said Snyder, who now has 117
tackles in five games this season. “It's awesome;
it's a dream. This is a great win for the program."
