Category: Sports

By Sagar Tomar

Both Varsity and JV Boys’ Basketball teams have started off the season strong, with both the Varsity and JV Boys league games all resulting in victories. Opponents such as Silver Creek, James Lick and Yerba Buena were all beaten with a margin of 20 points or more.

“I believe that we’ve been building up good team chemistry and everyone works equally hard to win games,” says team leader JoQuel Walker on their four game win streak.

“It is our coach who makes us work hard everyday in practice, that’s why we are so successful,” explains Forward Jimmy Botelho.

As of now, the team looks looking like it will be able to make CCS (Central Coast Section) and put up a good fight against other teams. Many players are confident moving on into the late season. Strong players like Forwards Demarri Floyd and Goose Persin have helped the team win major games on the road such as their game against Independence High.

Forward Jared Nguyen is the only player currently out with a foot injury. He is a vital part of the team and many of his teammates want to see him play.

The JV team is also doing well and have started off with a 3-0 league record and an overall 6-1 record. They scored an overwhelming victory 66-23 against Mt. Pleasant in one of their games.

Players such as forward Isaac Teferi give credit to their practice sessions and team play for their outstanding record.

Coach Simos has been a great asset to the team. He has prepared them throughout the season to have good work ethic so they can thrive later on in the season into CCS. The team hopes that they can win the CCS championships against other strong teams such as Bellarmine and Palo Alto High School, who are both undefeated as well. Currently, they are seeded seventh in the CCS standings just behind Los Gatos High School.

By Hannahjane Arellano

Piedmont Hills Girls’ Basketball are making pointers on its season’s performance. While the season has been good, there is always room for improvement. The Varsity team explained how they had a rough preseason because the team was not winning games, but with hard work and dedication the girls were able to pull through.

“We’ve had a hard preseason but now that League is here, things started to clear up and our performance has been so much better,” exclaims senior Point Guard Nikki Llobrera.

The players are focused on winning more games and building a stronger team. In order for them to stay focused throughout the season, they all had to work together as one.

The girls trained persistently to make sure they put all their effort on the court. JV and Varsity both dedicated their time to achieve the power to win a tactical game. Since they lost a couple of games in the beginning of their season, they are making up for it now.

Varsity Girls’ most recent game was on Tues., Jan. 17 against Overfelt High School. The Lady Pirates won the game with a score of 62-37. Varsity girl’s record is 4-3 so far, three being league games. Junior Varsity girl’s record is 3-1. Their most recent game was on Fri., Jan. 20 against Independence High School with a score of 37-34.

“What inspires us to do our best is when everyone is having fun and when we work as a team to play the game,” expresses senior Center Analyn Nguyen.

Before each game, the girls hype each other up and keep their energy at an all time high. Additionally, each coach encourages them to get along with everyone. Although they can be pretty strict on their practices, it helps the players stay confident with themselves so there aren’t any offsets on the court.

Each player hopes to win more games throughout their season. All of them work and strive together as a team to dominate on the court. Working together and having the same goal helps improve the girls’ performance.

“A ‘team’ to me means that no matter what is happening outside, everyone has each other’s back on the court or field because we all have the same goal and you have to work together to achieve it,” declares sophomore Pointguard Zuri Nguy.

By Emilie Chau and Rianna Gallardo

For the first time in Piedmont Hills High School history, the wrestling team made it into the A-League.

The A-League is comprised of the top eight teams out of the 24 high schools in BVAL (Blossom Valley Athletic League). In order to make it into the A-League, a team has to be extremely well-rounded.

“We are trying to prove to the rest of the A-League that we belong there just as much as they do,” expresses senior captain James Grier.

The team is improving thanks to the hard work of captains Isaiah Gonzalez and James Grier.

“I work my hardest at practice and motivate myself to do my best,” reveals senior Dean Urbanski.

However, the season was not met without any complications.

“My biggest obstacle this year has been my injuries. I have dislocated my shoulder, but I have learned to drill as hard, because sometimes I cannot take it easy,” laughs Gonzalez.

Unlike many other sports, the wrestling team plays independently during competitions. Wrestling also comes with difficulties many other sports do not have such as requiring players to lose eight pounds in one day.

“In many different sports you typically take the loss as a team, maybe blame it on another team mate, bad pass or a foul. In wrestling it is all on you,” states Gonzalez.

Currently, the team is actively preparing for CCS (Central Coast Section) which will start Feb. 25.

“During CCS week most of us tend to do extra running and double practices,” explains Gonzalez.

“Our hardest dual meet was most likely Leigh,” confesses Grier.

The team currently has a record of 2-0.

By Syed Rahim

After making a historic comeback in the second half, the New England Patriots rose from the ashes to defeat the Atlanta Falcons with a final score of 34-28.

The Falcons dominated the Patriots in the first half, ending the second quarter with a score of 21-3. It looked to be any easy win for Atlanta, and fans started to get ready to celebrate.

But as the clock ran down in the fourth quarter, the Patriots slowly began its comeback. Outscoring the Falcons by 19 points, a tremendously difficult catch by New England Wide Receiver Julian Edelman allowed the Patriots to tie the score with 28-28.

Edelman’s catch will likely go down in history as one of the greatest Super Bowl catches of all time. As he collided with three other players just as the ball bounced off the leg of Falcons Cornerback Robert Alford, Edelman grabbed it in the fraction of a second when it was in the air.

It was probably like 70% luck, 30% skill,” commented Edelman later in an interview on the Tonight Show.

The final result of the Super Bowl 51 left Falcons fans distraught and disappointed. Had they clinched the win, this would have been their first Super Bowl title in franchise history.

“Because of my dislike for Tom Brady, I was really happy that the Falcons were ahead by 21 points at the end of the third quarter,” said senior Matthew Hoang. “Although I dislike Tom Brady, I could not deny his clutch ability.”

Patriots fans were thrilled by the outcome of the match. This Super Bowl became the fifth title for the Patriots franchise, officially tying them with the San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys for most Super Bowls won.

“I was very sad when I saw the score, and they only had three points. When they came back, I was super happy,” exclaimed junior Matthew Martinez. “When they finally won, it was just a dream come true for me.”

The game was a battle between the league’s greatest offense and the league’s greatest defense. While The Falcons’ offense tied the Los Angeles Rams for 7th most points scored in a season in league history, the Patriots’ defense allowed fewer point than any other team.

This game is considered the biggest comeback in NFL history during a Super Bowl trailing at 25 points, while the previous record holder was at 10 points. What makes this game particularly unique is the fact that it went overtime.

With the win last Sunday, Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick only added to his own already impressive résumé. Already the coach with the most wins in NFL history, Belichick became the first ever head coach to win five championships.

New England Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady cemented his legendary status with his fifth Super Bowl victory. Tom Brady was the center of 2015’s “DeflateGate” controversy in which the Patriots were accused of deliberately underinflating footballs to gain an advantage over its opponents. Brady’s punishment, a four-game suspension, barred him from playing the first four games of the season.

Though the Falcons were not able to secure the win Sunday, the 2016 marked a turning point for the franchise. For the first time in four years, the Falcons achieved a winning record.With Quarterback Matt Ryan Wide Receiver Julio Jones setting new franchise records, the future for the Falcons franchise is bright.

The Patriots’ Super Bowl win secured its place in history as one of the greatest franchises. For Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, it means being considered by some as the greatest coach-player duo of all time. For the Atlanta Falcons players, it means hanging up their helmets, going home Sunday and waiting for redemption next year.

By Emilie Chau

On Tuesday, Piedmont Hills High School Girls’ Soccer team went against Westmont High School and won 3-0.

“The girls played well. It wasn’t our best game but we played well enough to get the win and we won three nothing,” reveals Coach Steve Sellers. “It created the opportunity where everyone got game time yesterday which was one of our goals,”

The team’s goal for this year is to make it into CCS (Central Coast Section) and to strengthen the bond among the girls which will improve their overall performance.

“We want to make it to CCS so we can have a longer season and bring a title back home!” exclaims Varsity Goalkeeper Ashleigh Alexander.

The team has a few ideas on how to enhance their teamwork and come together as a team to advance their skills.

“During practice we focus on improving ourselves and communicating with each other,” comments Alexander. “We let each other know where we are on the field and if there is a person pressuring you to get the ball.”

“We are going to have to work really hard during games and work with one another,” adds Varsity Forward Mareli Macias on how they are trying to accomplish their goals.

The team’s hard work is evident in their accomplishments throughout the season and the growing friendship among the teammates.

“I think they have truly come together as a team,” says Mr. Sellers. “They have a lot of respect for each other and enjoy playing together. You can see it on the field; we are connecting more as a group and they are playing well.”

In order to strengthen the girls’ bond, the team held some team bonding activities.  One activity included a dinner at the coach’s house.

“We all gathered at our coach’s house and had a team dinner,” explains Macias.  “It was very fun to get to know the girls and become closer with them. We’ve all gotten so close and because of that, our team is stronger.”

“Sometimes we go out to eat or we go over to Coach Freddy’s house and watch a movie,” states Alexander.

So far, the season has been going well.

“We have been a little inconsistent at times but we are in a position where we have a great opportunity to make CCS,” elaborates Mr. Sellers. “You have to be in the top three (to qualify for CCS) and right now we are in that position.”

Varsity usually practices 3:30 pm to 5 pm on Mondays, 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm on Wednesdays and 7 pm to 8:30 pm on Thursdays.

“We usually do ball work to get our touches in, dynamic stretching and sprints,” expands Alexander.

Girls’ Soccer’s senior night will be held next Friday, Feb. 17. Their next game will be today at 5:30 pm against Ann Sobrato High School.

By Angel Palomino

PHHS Boys’ Varsity Soccer team lost against San Jose Varsity Soccer team 5-1 last Monday at San Jose High Academy. Piedmont scored a goal in the first half; as the game started to drizzle, San Jose scored two in the first half and three in the second half . The current League season record for the Boys Varsity is one wins, eight losses and two ties.

“It’s our early game. We start off really slow, and then we play catch up for the rest of the game,” remarks Varsity Forward Jonathan Avalos.  Usually, the team does not score early on, and is playing defense for the first half.

The Boys’ Varsity team is currently in C-Division, and they are hoping to move up the league by the end of the season.

“Being on the team its just mental mistakes, and its different as in C-Division its normally two good teams and the other team falls off in skill, but this season there is four, and its just small mistakes we have,” clarifies Varsity Coach Manny Esayas.

The players practice and do warms-up. A common exercise they do is run around the football field a few times.  They also practice their blocking and shooting skills afterwards.

“Tactical base drills, we based it (practice) on previous games, correct the little mistakes and move forward,” explains Coach Esayas.

“We have to get better, and we need to get better motivation. We have people that don’t try as much,” states Goalie Nathan Avalos.

With Coach Esayas leading the team for his second year, he has developed a unique bond with the team.

“(The coach is) good, really fitness oriented, likes running and tries to motivate us to play,” remarks J. Avalos.

“We are alright, but we can do better,” explains Varsity Right Back Christian Landaverde.
Varsity latest game was yesterday at Piedmont Hills High School, at 5:30pm against Del Mar on the football field.

PHHS Boys’ JV Soccer team lost 4-1 to San Jose last Thursday at San Jose High Academy.
Their League season record currently is three wins, six losses and one tie.

The JV team is also in C-Division as well.

For their practices they do sprints, stretch, shoot, pass, and do separate exercises modified game to game.

“We are good overall, lately its been frustrating, so many of our players are injured,” elaborates Coach John Ventura.

Coach Ventura started coaching this year.

“We were down 2-0 in the first half against Santa Teresa, and then we came back and ended 3-2 in the second half after listening to his (Coach) speech,” explains Right Defense Tony Medeiros on Coach Ventura’s motivating skills.

“Our team morale is good, just we had a lot of our teammates moved up to Varsity,” clarify Coach Ventura.

On the team relationship “We are both good and bad with each other, during the games whenever someone isn’t doing their job we argue,” remarks JV Captain Juan Reyes.
Their latest game was yesterday against Del Mar at 3:15 pm at the football field.

By Phuong Nguyen

The PHHS Wrestling team gets ready to tackle the upcoming season by building up physical strength and maintaining a healthy diet.

“We try (to) get physically stronger so that during the season, we can maintain our strength rather than build (it) up,” said Co-Captain James Grier.

Three or four times a week, practices usually consist of one hour of drills, a half hour of technique and the final 30 minutes of live wrestling.

“Practices are really tough right now because Coach (Max Gonzalez) is trying to condition all of us so we don’t get tired during our matches. But it should get easier (as we practice more),” admitted varsity wrestler Jordan Palamino.

In addition to those practices, Co-Captain Isaiah Gonzalez receives private training to prepare for the upcoming season.

“(For me), I do private lessons at a local gym called Smash Gym,” revealed Gonzalez. “The coach that teaches me is actually the father of one (of) our wrestlers (who was a) four-time state finalist.”

Gonzalez and Grier feel that the practices are going well but there is always room for improvement.

The team finished its last season off with a record of 6-1. Its only loss was on Feb. 10, 2015 with a score of 37-33 against Sobrato High. Gonzalez hopes that his team members will maintain their record in the league after placing first in Beeli for BVAL (Blossom Valley Athletic League).

“Last year (was) a good season but I got a concussion after league finals so I wasn’t able to wrestle in CCS,” recalled Palamino. “My goal is to wrestle (at the weight class of) 115 by the end of the season and beat as many people ahead of me in the CCS rankings as I can.”

“I’m looking forward to (the) league finals and CCS because I’m hoping that I can outdo what I did last year,” said Grier.

The wrestling team’s first dual meet of this year’s season will be on Jan. 4, 2017 against Pioneer High School.

 

By Sophia Xiao

Last month, Boys’ Soccer kicked off with an exciting start to the season. While still in preseason, the team competed in the Christmas cup, a local tournament with a current score of 1-1-1. The team also played their first game that counted towards league this Monday with Saratoga High. The next league game is a home game this Wednesday against Independence High.
“These past 3-4 weeks, we (have had) preseason, so something Varsity’s doing new this year is the Christmas tournament,” explained sophomore Benjamin Calderon.
“We’re doing pretty well (in the Christmas Cup),” said Varsity member Rajguru Purewal. “The team is more structured. Overall, the team’s cooperation is doing a lot better this year.”
Varsity lost their final Christmas Cup game last Saturday with a score of 5-3.
With the regular season starting soon, the team had high hopes for themselves this year.

“I think the main goal for us would be to get out of C division, and for us to be winning the league,” said Varsity member Oscar Rodriguez.

In order to achieve their goals, they decided to focus their energy on gameplay.

“We’re not doing as much conditioning as we did last year, because we were really tired last year. We weren’t really playing with the ball that much. We weren’t practicing our strategies enough, so that may have led to how we performed last season,” elaborated Rodriguez.

Another thing the team worked on throughout practices was building chemistry with each other.

When asked about the importance of teamwork, Calderon replied, “Definitely, particularly in this sport. If you don’t talk a lot, you don’t communicate to your team, you could just end up kicking the ball around and never doing anything with it.”

The teamwork aspect of the game was also what many players loved about the sport.

“I’ve been playing it forever, and it’s fun,” recounted sophomore Saranjit Singh. “The coach really pushes you. (I like) just being out there on the field with my team.”

 

By Alyssa Gutierrez

 

Piedmont Hills Boys’ Varsity and JV Basketball teams swished into play this winter after Varsity became CCS (Central Coast Section) champions for the first time in the school’s history during their 2015-2016 season with a record of 21-7 overall and 10-4 in the league.  JV finished with a record of 5-6 overall and 2-4 in league, and the Freshman team finished with 12-1 overall.

Varsity players are eager to get back to CCS and take the title once again.

“It feels pretty good coming off a win from CCS last year; we’re just trying to repeat that this year.  It was the first time in the school’s history, so we’ve been working hard trying to reach that goal,” explained Senior Point Guard Goose Persin.  “I’m most excited for the games just to play, be in front of everyone and try to do what we do.”

The players are hard at work going through vigorous training in-season and during the off-season to try and improve their skills.  “We do a lot of conditioning like weight training and running.  We also scrimmage against other schools and go to different tournaments” smiled Senior Center Albert Mendoza. “This year, we went to Vegas over the summer.  We stayed for 3 days, and we got to know each other better.” The players who went to Vegas participated in a basketball tournament.

Varsity is also starting in a new league after moving up a division.

“(I’m excited) to see how our new league plays out.  I think it’s going to be really fun.  I’m hoping we have a lot more school participation, because it’s fun to come out and support your school team,” says Varsity Coach Mr. Peter Simos.

JV is looking to improve their skills.

“The only challenge we faced last year was chemistry amongst ourselves but we were able to fix that,” stated sophomore Point Guard Jorryn Amador.  “Some of us got pulled up for Varsity conditionings, so those who were pulled up have to bring that varsity tone back down to JV.”

The Freshman team is fresh out of middle school and hungry to play on a new and bigger stage.

“Middle school was not as serious as a high school team is.  We travel, have buses do fundraisers, and we also have to balance our grades with it,” said freshman Point Guard Kameron Navalta.

“It’s really important that they understand the commitment that we run at Piedmont Hills,” added Coach Simos to the freshmen who want to try out for the team.  “The program runs about 45 weeks a year and if they want to do it, it’s a commitment to not just being a good basketball player, but also being a good person.”

Varsity kicks off their season with an away game at Palma High School in Salinas on Wed., Nov. 30.   JV and Freshmen begin with a home game against Seaside High School next Tuesday.

 

By Trevor Glassey

Girls Soccer has kicked off the preseason strong currently holding a record of 2-1 for Varsity, and 2-1 for the JV team during its own preseason.  Coach Fred(dy) Espinoza hopes that the team can keep pushing and rank highly in CCS.

“We’ve shown a lot of promise in terms of progression,” explains Coach Freddy.

After losing nine Varsity players to graduation, the team needed to recruit the best players it could find to Varsity.  This need led to an unusual six freshmen on the Varsity team.

“Getting into Varsity wasn’t that hard,” says freshman Varsity Forward Emily Ramirez, “but I guess a lot of girls didn’t want to sign up.”

Despite that, the team performed quite well and has improved rapidly, with most of the improvement now needed on team chemistry according to Coach Steve Sellers.  However, team cohesion seemed to be building just fine.  According to Varsity player senior Cindy Reyes, the team already feels like it has connected like a family.  Hopefully, this cohesion truly come together and complete the team chemistry during their next game against San Benito.

Meanwhile, JV has also been doing well.  With the same preseason record against the same schools as Varsity, they look poised to also place highly in their league. JV Coach Joey Jaramillo has been proud of their performance, especially their 1-0 loss against Presentation High School on Thurs., Dec. 4.

“Presentation is an excellent team, so to lose to them just 1-0 is a victory in itself,” asserts Coach Joey.

According to Coach Joey, the JV team has excellent discipline on ball possession and a good sense of tactics.  He believes if they get better at touching the ball, they could place third or second in their league.