The Saratoga coach was certain that he had a talented quarterback in senior Brett Granum—a dual threat who could run or throw the football, and an experienced player who could lead the offense.

What he wasn't sure of, though, was whether or not Granum could lead the Falcons to a division championship.

He is now.

Granum led Saratoga to a 6-0 finish and the league championship in the El Camino Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League. For his efforts, Granum was named the Most Valuable Player in the division for the 2003 campaign.

Granum topped a list of five special award winners on the all-league team—three of them Falcons.

Granum finished the season with a combined net total of 1,142 yards passing and rushing. The senior completed 31 of 68 passes for 584 yards and six touchdowns, and he ran 104 times for 558 yards and seven TDs.

Talented senior running back Dayne McGee was named the division's Most Valuable Offensive Player and senior two-way star Ryan Newberry was picked the league's Most Valuable Defensive Player.

McGee raced for more than 1,000 yards and was the Saratoga workhorse in the backfield. The senior carried 173 times for 1,152 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Newberry ran the ball 36 times for 167 yards, but it was on the defensive side of the football where he really starred for the Falcons. He led Saratoga with 73 tackles, including a team-high 23 unassisted stops.

Fremont senior Mike Silva won the division's Most Valuable Back award and Santa Clara senior Alex Reyes was picked the Most Valuable Lineman.

Silva had a sensational senior season for the Firebirds. The quarterback completed 81 of 190 passes for 1,278 yards and 14 touchdowns. He also ran the football 117 times for 480 yards and nine TDs.

The 14 TD tosses gave Silva 26 for his career, breaking the school mark of 23 set by Brian Theodore.

As if that wasn't enough, Silva had a fumble return for a touchdown, got in on 59 tackles (in just six games) and had a 36.1-yard punting average.

Saratoga dominated the all-league first team with nine Falcons earning positions on the first and second teams.

Junior running back Phil Spencer, who carried 80 times for 853 yards and 10 TDs, was picked to the first-team offense along with teammates Mark Bertelson, a senior center, and Augie Laugeman, a sophomore tackle.

Senior defensive backs Paul Culbertson and Darren Lee claimed first-team defensive honors for the Falcons along with junior Brent Walter and senior Javier Meza in the defensive line and seniors Adam Sato and Tom Cummins at linebacker.

Rounding out the first offense were senior quarterback Donny Ecker of Los Altos; senior running backs Jonathan Price of Cupertino, Akili Roach of Santa Clara and Royce Hurd of Los Altos; senior wide receivers Mike Kinsman of Santa Clara and Gavin Zack of Monta Vista and junior Aaron Hickson of Fremont; senior tight end Matt O'Donnell of Santa Clara; senior guards Colby Farr of Cupertino and Jared Rose of Santa Clara and junior Jason Kaye of Lynbrook; senior tackles Matt Kolblak of Los Altos and Sean Crane of Cupertino; and junior utility player James Nicholson of Los Altos.

Earning places on the first defense were junior Matt Delgado of Monta Vista and sophomore Josh Lodge of Santa Clara in the line; seniors Alex Marino and Travis McClosky of Monta Vista and Nick Ramirez-Baker of Cupertino and sophomore Alex Minor of Santa Clara at linebacker; junior Beni Quezada of Santa Clara and sophomore Nathan Cathcart in the secondary; and senior James Morace of Los Altos at utility.

Players selected to the El Camino Division second-team offense included junior quarterback Jason Diaz of Monta Vista; senior Brad Cintas of Santa Clara and juniors Bronson Farr of Cupertino and Austin Fong of Lynbrook at running back; seniors Chris Knopf of Fremont and Shawn Gioard of Los Altos at wide receiver; senior Pat Conte of Los Altos at tight end; senior Matt Hancock of Santa Clara at center; seniors Ron Ramirez of Santa Clara and Alex Pola of Los Altos at guard; and seniors Jesse Maes of Fremont, Eddie Del Rio of Los Altos and Nate Otten of Santa Clara and junior Matt Ravadge of Cupertino at tackle.

Picked to the all-league second team defense were juniors Ryan Hall of Saratoga and Ryan Dormisian of Lynbrook and seniors R.J. Davis of Fremont and Abe Tolliver of Los Altos in the line; sophomore Jay Atkins of Fremont, senior Ryan Sherbino of Los Altos and juniors T.J. Florence of Saratoga, Asim Alam of Cupertino, Alex Baklashov of Los Altos and Johnny Huizar of Lynbrook at linebacker; and seniors Eddie Guevarra of Cupertino and Sean Osentowski of Fremont and juniors Todd Firtzgerald of Cupertino and Mike Thurman of Lynbrook in the secondary.