SAN JOSE –Westmont won for the seventh time in eight games this season, holding off upset-minded Leland 10-0 on Friday night.
Nolan Berry’s 1-yard scoring run on third and goal capped a 70-yard drive with five minutes left in the game, giving Westmont (7-1, 5-0) the breathing room it needed to finish off the victory and stay unbeaten in Blossom Valley Athletic League Santa Teresa Division play. Leland fell to 0-8, 0-5.
“Any time that you’re playing a team on the road, and you’re a playing a traditional power like Leland that has a tradition of winning, and also a great reputation of playing really tough football … they came at us,” Westmont coach Mark Kaanapu said. “They did some things to us defensively that made it really difficult for us to move the football, and you could just see it in the score.”
On the other side, Leland coach Mike Ward was encouraged by his team’s play.
“We were fantastic,” he said. “You see an L in the paper tomorrow morning, but you see 10-0 against a team that was averaging over 30 points a game, had beaten everybody they’d seen in conference, and some of them pretty handily,” Ward said. “But that coach that I respect a lot said that we play everybody tough. We really do, and we don’t lay down.
“That just shows the heart and the character of these kids, and the future is very bright. Our JV is 6-2. Our varsity won’t lay down to anybody, and all but six kids are coming back next year, so you can’t do anything but look up. I want to get these seniors a win, I want to get two wins this year, and we’ve got two more chances, including Homecoming, which is big for the student body.”
