Three Gilroy Browns squads win first-round battles.
GILROY – All three Gilroy Browns playoff teams advanced to the second round of the Pop Warner post-season with Saturday’s hard-fought first-round victories.
The Junior Pee Wees faced off with the East Bay West Wranglers in Oakland and outlasted their opponents in an 18-12 double-overtime victory. Early in the first quarter, running back Richie Sotelo scampered for a 55-yard touchdown. But the Wranglers soon answered back with six points as the teams went into the half tied up.
Following a scoreless second half, the Browns found themselves heading into overtime. In Pop Warner, each team gets four downs from the 10-yard line to score – including the opportunity for the extra points. The Wranglers won the toss and scored on the fourth down but missed the extra point. The Browns answered on their third down – knotting the score, 12 -12. In double overtime, the Browns’ defense held the Wranglers back from scoring and then the offense scored a touchdown on their third attempt with Sotelo pushing through.
The Pee Wees challenged the East Bay West Warriors and crushed them, 32-13. Coach Manuel Muro said “the team is really pumped up for the playoffs” and it showed with the Browns scoring two touchdowns via Ryan Costa and another TD via Nick Gutierrez for a 19-13 half-time lead.
In the third quarter, Steven Martinez threw a touchdown pass to Costa – who also scored the extra point. The final touchdown in the fourth quarter was rushed in by Jake Maslanka. Sammy May recovered the Wranglers’ fumble to seal the victory.
The Junior Midgets went up against the East County Eagles on Gilroy’s home turf – winning a tight 24-20 decision. Two touchdowns were scored by the unrelentless Frankie Tomasetti – who compiled more than 100 yards rushing. The other two TDs were landed by Dominic Pirizolli and Jo Jo Gutierrez.
