Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Photograph by Skye Dunlap

Los Gatos quarterback Tom Barrera struggles to get away from a would-be Oak Grove tackler in last Friday night's clash with the Eagles. Barrera threw a TD pass, but the Cats dropped a 21-16 decision to the Eagles.

Wildcats fall to Eagles

Cats were better, but drop 21-16 nod to Oak Grove

By Dick Sparrer

Butch Cattolico was pleased, but not satisfied.

His Los Gatos football team played better against Oak Grove than it had a week earlier against San Lorenzo Valley. But the Wildcats still aren't playing at a level satisfactory to the veteran head coach.

"I told (the players) after the game, 'you played good football--you played good enough to lose,' " Cattolico said.

"We're ready to play good football," he added; "it's a matter of whether we're ready to win."

They weren't last Friday night, but almost. The Wildcats lost a tough 21-16 decision to a powerful Oak Grove squad.

"We played a lot better," admitted Cattolico. "But they're a very good football team. We came up short--we needed to do some things a little bit better."

They did one thing better than they had the week before--hang onto the football. The Cats had turned the ball over five times in the loss to San Lorenzo Valley, but they committed just one turnover in the loss to the Eagles. Unfortunately, it went for a touchdown.

Gatos trailed 14-3 earlier in the fourth period when a pass in the flat was picked off and carried 36 yards to a touchdown.

The TD left the Cats trailing 21-3, and just when they could have folded up, they came on strong.

"At that point, we came alive," said the coach.

Senior quarterback Tom Barrera hit John Stengele over the middle, and the speedy senior wide receiver raced 64 yards for a touchdown. Alan Rosa kicked the extra point, and the Eagle lead was cut to 21-10.

The Gatos defense stood firm after the kick-off and forced an Oak Grove punt.

"We held them, and went down the field," said Cattolico.

Alan Rosa picked up 15 yards, and Stengele carried twice for six yards. Barrera hit Anthony Fitzgerald for 17 yards, and Vince Posner twice for 22 yards to take the Cats to the Oak Grove four.

Rosa, who led all LG ground gainers with 73 yards on 17 carries, blasted over from the four. The pass for two failed, but Gatos trailed just 21-16 with four minutes left in the game.

Los Gatos couldn't recover the onside kick, but they did recover a fumble two plays later. Chris Cavanagh hit top OG back D'Shaun Crockett to force a fumble and Charlie Cucco recovered.

But the Cats couldn't move, and the Eagles took over on downs with two minutes left.

Los Gatos got the ball back one last time with 34 seconds left, but stalled near midfield.

"We felt like we were coming on in the end of the game," said Cattolico. "But I don't think we believed we could win the football game until was too late to win it."

Rosa starred offensively with his 73 yards, and he kicked a 36-yard field goal in the first period. He also punted for a 42-yard average and drilled every kickoff into the end zone.

"He played really well," said the coach of Rosa.

Austin Glover supported Rosa's effort on the ground with 32 yards on three carries.

Barrera hooked up on seven of 16 passes for 119 yards and the touchdown.

"He played much better," said Cattolico of his quarterback.

Fitzgerald pulled in three tosses for 32 yards, and Posner had the two catches for 22 yards. Stengele snagged the one TD toss, and Glover also had a reception.

Inside linebacker Enzo Iacomini led all tacklers with 14 stops, and Glover and Justin Lehnert were in on 10 each. Cucco had nine tackles to go with his fumble recovery, and Mike Manson finished with eight tackles.

Austin Neale supported with seven tackles, Brandon Fennema finished with six, and Fitzgerald, Stengele, Mike Harris, Steve LaBarbera and Matt Klemchuk were also in on stops.

The loss left the Wildcats 0-2 in the young season and heading into a Saturday afternoon clash with another Central Coast Section powerhouse, Leland.

"If they're not better than Oak Grove, then they're just as good as Oak Grove," Cattolico said of the Chargers.

Los Gatos will visit Leland on Sept. 27, 1:30 p.m., following a 10:30 a.m. frosh-soph game.

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