SAN JOSE - Every year, the city of Almaden all joins together to watch one game — the Battle of the Den, the rivalry game between Leland and Pioneer. Leland head coach Mike Ward knew the importance of the game to the Leland fans, and said before the game, “We’re going to make you proud.”
Ward held up on his promise, coaching Leland to a 21-7 win over the Mustangs — the Chargers' third straight win to open the season.
The highly-anticipated game opened with a defensive struggle between the two teams, trading possessions with little success on either end. However, Leland finally struck first blood near the end of the first quarter with a five-yard touchdown run by junior Kyle Anderson. In the second quarter, Leland was inside Pioneer’s 10-yard line, but Pioneer forced a fumble and recovered to prevent Leland from scoring inside the red zone.
However, the Leland offense was unfazed after the turnover and scored on their next drive with another five-yard touchdown run from Anderson. Being down 14-0, Pioneer knew they need to pick the pace up and resorted to a pass-heavy offense, but the Leland defense stood strong. Near the end of the first half, with Pioneer running the no-huddle offense with less than a minute left, Leland’s Justin Yu stripped the ball from Pioneer’s Enrique Sanchez, and senior Max McCash recovered the ball for Leland. The Chargers got close to the end zone, but the Pioneer defense stood strong and forced Leland to zero points due to the clock running out of time. The tough Pioneer defense kept the deficit at 14 points at the half.
The third quarter remained a defensive struggle, but in the final quarter of the game, Pioneer managed to drive down the field and score an eight-yard touchdown pass from senior Ryan Wallace to junior AJ Gittens. The throw and catch had to be perfect — and it was — on the slant route, as the Leland defender was draped all over Gittens, playing good coverage. This cut Leland’s lead to just seven points, making it a one-possession game.
The Pioneer defense knew it had to take advantage of the offense scoring their first touchdown, and the defensive group did their job, forcing Leland to a three-and-out on their ensuing possession. The Pioneer offense was gelling together quite nicely now, driving down the field to the Leland nine-yard line. On first and goal, Gittens ran the ball for eight yards to the Leland one-yard line. Pioneer seemed to be closing in on tying the game, but on the next two downs, wild snaps that flew over Wallace’s head led to sacks, and Pioneer ended up facing a 4th and 27, which they failed to convert. The Leland offense took over and sealed the game with Anderson’s final touchdown run of the day, this one going for seven yards, ultimately resulting in the 21-7 win for Leland.
Pioneer (1-2) had an equal balance between the run and the pass, with Wallace spreading the ball out to five different receivers, ending up with 98 passing yards and a touchdown. He also added 44 rushing yards on nine carries. The Mustangs’ bellcow of the night was senior Eddie Orozco, earning 58 rushing yards on 13 carries.
Pioneer did not consistently drive the ball down the field, and often had to rely on penalty yards, but when their offense had momentum in the fourth quarter, the group dominated. .
Pioneer head coach Eric Perry was proud of how his team played tonight and looks forward to building upon the team’s talent.
“I’m proud of my guys. I knew that Leland was playing good and solid football. What I’m happy with is that even though we were down fourteen, we came out and played a great second half. We came up on the short end of the scoreboard tonight, but I’m happy with where we were,” Perry said. “We just have to good care of the football in the first half. We have to score when we go down. Credit to Leland for stopping us, and congratulations to them. They got us, but we will come back.”
Leland (3-0) leaned heavily on the reliable Anderson for their offensive gameplan, and it worked. Anderson finished the game with 219 yards and three touchdowns on 32 carries. This is Anderson’s second-straight game with over 200 rushing yards and three-plus touchdowns, so it is setting up to be a great season for Anderson, who is trying to put up even bigger numbers than his breakout season last year, where he ran for over 1500 yards and 16 touchdowns as a sophomore. Quarterback Carson Yates looks to have set up chemistry with his brother Cannon Yates, as Yates was the only receiver who caught the football, hauling in three catches for 85 yards, serving as a reliable deep threat option for his brother to throw to.
Ward is enjoying the 3-0 start for his team, and is already looking forward to the team’s next games.
“This win is huge. It is something that we have been working on, and it was one of our season goals to win the Battle of the Den, and it was good to do it. Pioneer is a very well-coached team, and they fight hard. We just had to keep grinding — keep fighting. We had kids dropping out with injuries, but we just had to step up and play,” Ward said. “We have a bye week now — we have to get healthy. We have to focus on League and focus on Del Mar because they are going to be tough. They run a ton, so we just have to take what we have done here and continue to in league play. We have to — it is not a choice — because we have worked way too hard.”
Anderson, who scored three rushing touchdowns on the night, wanted to credit his offensive line for making the magic happen.
“My performance today is all on the offensive line. They do not get enough credit. Without them, this team is nothing, and without them, I am nothing. It is great to have them, and they came with their A-game,” Anderson said. “This win is great. We have been working for this for a long time. It is great to be out here and have the great competitiveness that both of these teams have. Props to Pioneer, they came out here and showed out. I am really proud of my team and we are going to enjoy this win.”
Both teams will head into their bye weeks after the hard-fought Battle of the Den.
After their bye week, Pioneer will host struggling Lincoln (0-2). Leland will also face a team off to a rocky start, going on the road to Del Mar (0-3).