Panthers, Cougars claim Pop Warner Football wins

Kelly Peterson scored on a 64-yard punt return in the final minutes of play to lead the Los Gatos Panthers to a thrilling 12-7 victory over Almaden in Pop Warner Football League play on Sept. 10.

Almaden scored a first-quarter touchdown and converted the extra point to take an early 7-0 lead, and that lead stood up into the fourth before Peterson picked up a key block from Nick Della Rocchetta and was off to the races on his 64-yard touchdown run.

Jake Schonig had gotten the Panthers close when he blasted over from the 2 for a second-period TD. Schonig had set up the short touchdown run with a 34-yard dash that took Gatos deep into Almaden territory.

Schonig also starred defensively for the Panthers in the game with five solo tackles and an assist. Daniel Silva had a big day on the defensive side with four solo tackles and two assists, and Kellan Barker came through with his second interception of the season with a diving grab in the first quarter.

The Panthers are now 2-0 for the year.

The Los Gatos Cougars improved to 3-0 for the year with a 22-6 win over the Almaden Chargers the same day.

The Cougars and Chargers fought through a scoreless first half, but Gatos broke the game open in the third quarter with three touchdowns.

Kevin McCarty took a quarterback keeper 42 yards for the game's first score and a 6-0 lead for Los Gatos.

The defense stopped Almaden cold, and the offense went right back to work. Cameron Compton rolled 35 to the Chargers' 1-yard-line, and Richie Scudellari blasted over from there for the touchdown. Scudellari kicked the 2-point conversion, and the Cougars were in control 14-0.

But Gatos wasn't finished yet. Brandon Clark's reception got the Cougars close, and Compton went the last 18 yards for a touchdown. Scudellari kicked another 2-pointer, and LG was up 22-0.

The Los Gatos defense, led by Stefan Fowler, held Almaden in check most of the day. The Chargers broke up the shut out with a touchdown midway through the final period, but it was too little, too late.

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