Don't get too close to the Christopher girls soccer team or you might get burned.  The red hot Cougars maintained their perfect record with a 7-1 win over Soledad Wednesday at home. Christopher has now outscored its opponents 32-2 through six games.  Zidant Okere led the way with two goals and two assists in the game. Paulina Llamas scored her eighth goal of the season and also picked up an assist. Jamie Boutee, Jasmine Contreras and Summer Rodriguez each added a goal.  The Cougars have one game left before breaking for the holidays. They will play Pinewood at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at the Burlingame Tournament.  BOYS SOCCER Mustangs throttle Soquel If the game ended at halftime, Gilroy still would've beaten Soquel by a long shot. But the Mustangs went on to score seven second-half goals to beat Soquel 10-0 at home Thursday. Andres Jimenez picked up a hat trick in an assist in the game to lead Gilroy. Jimenez now has 13 goals this season. Emmanuel Cruz, Carlos Jimenez, Gaspar Figueroa, David Solorzano, Marc Rivera, Sean Kauffman and Tony Barredas each added a goal.  The Mustangs maintained their blemish-free record to improve to 5-0-1 on the season and will take on Mountain View in the 2013 Oak Grove Gold Cup Finals Saturday. Cougars fall to The King's Academy The King's Academy scored its lone goal in the first half, but that was all it took to top Christopher. The Cougars lost 1-0 at home Thursday to drop to 1-4-1 on the season.  Christopher will have a long break to heal up and regroup before returning to action at 1 p.m. Jan. 3 when it hosts Monta Vista — the team's last game before league play begins.  BOYS BASKETBALL Bob Hagen Tournament continues today The 34th Bob Hagen Memorial Tournament continues today at Gilroy High School.  Christopher will play Harbor after losing to Aptos Thursday. The Cougars will play at 5 p.m. today and win will propel them into the Consolation Championship game.  Gilroy, who beat Anzar 66-34 Thursday, will face Oakwood — who beat Live Oak in a 58-55 overtime thriller — at 6:30 p.m. today.  Anzar and Live Oak will play at 3:30 p.m., while Aptos will play Gunderson at 8 p.m.
The Christopher girls basketball team is on a roll. The Cougar won their third straight, a 46-30 win over Soledad Wednesday at home. Cydney Caradonna led her team once again, putting up 15 points in the game. Dejah Rajah Raoof and Ally Foster both scored eight.  Christopher (5-2) will play Eastside College Preparatory School at 4 p.m. Saturday at Presentation High.  Mustangs fall to Gunderson The Gilroy girls basketball team lost it's second straight game, falling 48-28 to Gunderson on the road Wednesday. The Mustangs (3-3) will have a long break before returning to action at 7 p.m. Jan. 3 to play at Carmel.  BOYS BASKETBALL Bob Hagen Tournament kicks off today The 34th Annual Gilroy High School Bob Hagen Memorial Boys Basketball Tournament tips off today at GHS.  Morgan Hill's Live Oak and Oakwood will open the tournament at 3:30 p.m., followed by Christopher vs. Aptos at 5 p.m. Gilroy will square off against Anzar at 6:30 p.m. and Day 1 will conclude with Gunderson playing Harbor at 8 p.m. Check back with us for stories and bracket updates as the tournament progresses.Â
Evan Shapiro continues to stay hot for Christopher. The senior led the Cougars boys basketball team in scoring for the second straight game, putting up 13 points in a 43-34 win over Lincoln in the Consolation Championship game of the Los Gatos Wildcat Shootout Friday. Three players — Josh Wheat, Adam Bravo and Miika Smith — put up eight points in the game while Chad Hartman had six. The win improves the Cougars to 3-1 on the season. Christopher will be back in action at 5 p.m. Thursday to take on Aptos in the Bob Hagen Memorial Tournament at Gilroy High School.  Mustangs fall in home opener If the Gilroy boys basketball team had to name one thing that hurt it Friday, it would be turnovers. The Mustangs had more than 15 turnovers in their 56-35 loss to Monterey in their home opener Friday.  Gilroy only went 2 for 5 from the line and was only able to hit one of its six 3-point attempts.  The Mustangs only trailed by one, 16-15, after the first quarter but were held to single digits for the remaining three while Monterey was able to put up 11, 18 and 11 points in the second, third and fourth, respectively.  Gilroy will look to rebound as it hosts the 34th Annual Bob Hagen Memorial Tournament, which kicks off at 6:30 p.m. Thursday vs. Anzar — a team it beat 64-34  on Dec. 10.  GIRLS BASKETBALL Cougars take third in Watsonville Tourney Cydney Caradonna put up a career-high 30 points for Christopher Saturday. The senior led the team to a 66-41 win over San Benito in the third place game of the Watsonville Tournament. Caradonna was named to the All Tournament Team for her performance through the three days.  Christopher held the Balers to just 15 points in the second half while putting up 40 points of its own. Dejah Raoof and Haley Romero complemented Caradonna with 10 points each.Â
After suffering a heartbreaking loss the day before, the Christopher boys basketball team wanted to be sure that didn't happen again. Four Cougars scored in double digits, helping their team to a 69-49 win over Del Mar Thursday at the Los Gatos Wildcat shootout. Christopher had lost by just one point, 70-69, in double overtime in the tournament opener and had to win to stay alive. Senior Evan Shapiro and junior Josh Wheat led the charge for CHS by both scoring 14 points in the game.  Senior Shane Suttles added 11 points, while junior Chad Hartman put up 10. Christopher (2-1) will continue play in the tournament at 5 p.m. today against Lincoln in Los Gatos for the Consolation Championship.  GIRLS BASKETBALL Christopher wins nailbitter  Talk about a close one. The Christopher girls basketball team fended off a 16-point fourth quarter burst from Pacific Collegiate to win 48-47in the opening round of the Watsonville Classic Thursday. The Cougars led 34-31 heading into the final quarter and were outscored by their opponents. Luckily for CHS, its lead was just enough to escape PC.  Christa Arroya hit four 3-pointers in the game and led the attack with 18 points. Dejah Raoof had 11 points — included two 3-pointers — and Cydney Caradonna scored 10.Â
GILROY — Brandon Boyd is the type of athlete that coaches dream of having. He’s hardworking, talented, modest and intelligent. He’s the kind of player who a team will rally around, but doesn’t think the team revolves around him. Week after week, he made him team, friends and family proud — especially his dad Brian Boyd, who got the rare opportunity to stand on the sidelines and soak it all in.
SAN JUAN BAUTISTA — With a double-digit lead at halftime, Gilroy coach Mitchell Pierce decided to call off the dogs. The thing was, however, that his bench was just as fercious as his starters.