Almaden Resident

Sports

Cats pull out tough win over Mustangs

By Dick Sparrer

The sigh was audible, and Butch Cattolico knew it. It came after Nick Kalpin crossed the goal line for the touchdown that gave Los Gatos a 13-0 lead over Pioneer with just 3:32 left to play in their Central Coast Section Medium School Division playoff opener.

It was a sigh of relief because Cattolico knew at that point that his Wildcats had the insurance they needed to clinch the hard-earned win over the Mustangs and blow into the CCS semifinals a week later.

Los Gatos would go on to nail a 19-0 victory over the Mustangs in a game that was marred by a frightening injury sustained by a Pioneer player that forced an early finish after Kalpin scored a second touchdown with 1:08 left to play.

The Cats were up 13-0 and facing a third and one at their own 46 when they handed the ball to Kalpin on a dive in hopes of picking up the first down. Kalpin ended up breaking the play 54 yards for a touchdown, but back at the line of scrimmage Pioneer senior linebacker Jordan Barnes was on the ground after suffering a blow at the point of attack.

Barnes was unconscious, so instead of playing out the final minute plus, officials and coaches agreed to suspend play and run the clock out while attending to the injured player. Barnes was placed on a backboard and taken from the field by ambulance. After a night in the hospital, though, he was released the next day.

It was a bizarre end to what had been a pretty strange night for the Wildcats, who had rolled up 232 yards while holding the Mustangs to just eight yards in the first half. But Gatos went in at the half leading just 7-0.

"In the first half we got off the ball well, and defensively we played well," said Cattolico. "But we had four fumbles and lost three of them."

What resulted was second half battle and a game that wasn't decided until the final minutes of play.

"We let a good football team get back in the ballgame, and you can't do that," said Cattolico.

And make no mistake about it--Pioneer is a good football team, and the Mustangs were especially good on defense last Friday. The offense, though, could never get untracked against a stingy Gatos defense.

"No one has been able to hold down their offense, and we did a good job," said Cattolico, whose club shut out Pioneer and held the Mustangs to just 57 yards of total offense.

"I was surprised by our lack of offense," said Pioneer boss Mark Krail. "But this was our best defensive effort of the year by far."

"It was a good high school game," added Krail. "I don't think that our kids were awestruck. That's all we asked them to do--don't play the name on the jersey."

Krail had to be thinking that his players didn't heed his advice when Los Gatos used 10 plays to mark 79 yards on its first possession to score with 6:23 left in the first quarter.

Pioneer went three plays and out on its next possession, and the Cats looked to be back in business after a 46-yard run by Robbie Comeau. But two plays later Los Gatos lost a fumble that Steven Lopes recovered at the Pioneer 20. That would turn out to be the story of the rest of the half.

It was three plays and a punt again for the Mustangs, but once more the Cats fumbled after three plays. Shane Murray forced the fumble that Jessie Herrera recovered, again at the Pioneer 20.

A quarterback sack by Gatos defensive end Karl Winkelman left the Mustangs in a punting situation again, but this time Gatos fumbled the punt that Pioneer's Don Medlinger recovered and, after a personal foul call, the Mustangs had good field position at the Los Gatos 23.

Pioneer lost five yards on four plays and Gatos took over on downs. The Cats drove down the field to attempt a field goal, but it flew wide right.

Both defenses stiffened in the second half and neither team could manage a threat.

It was 7-0 late in the game, and the Mustangs took over near midfield after a punt. But a first down pass was picked off by Kalpin and he raced 47 yards for a touchdown.

Cattolico breathed a sigh of relief, but he quickly sucked it back in when Pioneer's Matt Montelongo took the ensuing kick-off back 59 yards to the Los Gatos 32. A few plays later, though, Joey Donofrio intercepted a pass at his 2-yard-line and ran it out to the 21.

A 16-yard run by Kalpin gave the Cats a first down, and Will Kapp ran twice for nine more to get Gatos to the 46. Kalpin, hitting the line in an effort to pick up the first down, broke the next play 54 yards for what proved a game-ending touchdown.

"Offensively, we couldn't move the ball," said Krail. "Los Gatos did a good job of preparation."

"But I'm really proud of our kids," he added. "They didn't quit."

The story of the night for the Mustangs was defense, and Herrera led that effort with 12 tackles and a fumble recovery. Barnes had a solid night for Pioneer, getting in on nine tackles--including one for a loss--before suffering the injury.

Murray was in on eight tackles, one of them forcing a fumble, and Kyle Burchfiel and Nico Pagan got in on seven apiece. John Patten five stops and Lopes, Joe Alise, Jason Wetzel and Enrique Martinez had four each. Lopes, Patten, Martinez, Wetzel and Jose Mendez were all in on quarterback sacks.

Daniel Montesano, Montelongo, Eric Kuykendall, Russell Marrone and Stanley White were also in on tackles for Pioneer.

Murray could manage just 28 yards on nine carries, but that was tops offensively for the Mustangs. Lopes added 24 yards on five tries and Marquee Heffner picked up 20 yards on seven attempts.

Quarterback Chris Foley had a tough night in his final high school football game. The three-year Pioneer starter completed just 1 of 15 passes, a 5-yarder to Lopes.

Tackles Grant Mayer and Tyler Chase, guards Chris Brookmeyer and Marrone and center Erik Sanchez led the effort in the offensive line.