Willow Glen, with a strong defensive effort, defeated San Benito 37-20 Friday night.
Josh Landers got Willow Glen (2-1) rolling with a 2-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Matthew Toscano with nine minutes left in the first quarter. Almost immediately, San Benito (1-2) followed with a touchdown by running back Paris Edwards and not long after, Toscano scored a touchdown of his own.
The pattern continued into the second quarter, with another touchdown by Edwards, leaving the teams tied. With seven minutes left, Rams running back Tyler Howe caught a touchdown pass from Toscano.
After another touchdown by both teams, the Rams took control as San Benito was scuttled by turnovers and injuries.
"We had a couple of key kids on the team banged up, and that hurt us," San Benito coach Chris Cameron said. "I think we took a step forward on offense in terms of our physicality. We need to finish the drives."
Said Willow Glen coach Oscar Caballero: "San Benito is a very good team. We're very glad that we were able to play the way we were. I think our defense was able to make some huge stops. Obviously we got some turnovers on defense so that was huge for us. Offense did a great job controlling the clock and running the football."
Added Rams offensive lineman Jonathon Heinkel: "It was a very physical game. (San Benito) came out to win. But we came out harder than they did in the second half."
