49ers ... er, Wildcats win again
By Dick Sparrer
It almost seems more appropriate these days, when referring to the Los Gatos football team, to call them the 49ers rather than the Wildcats.
It's not that the Cats bear any real resemblence to the struggling NFL team in San Francisco. It's just that Gatos seems to be stuck on the number 49.
Los Gatos has cruised to three straight victories to open the 2000 season, and in each of them the Wildcats have rolled up 49 points to easily outdistance their opponents.
The Cats scored 49 points in a 49-7 win over Leland to open the season, then scored 49 more in an impressive 49-20 win over Leigh the following week.
And last week they did it again. The 49ers... er, the Wildcats filled the scoreboard with 49 points once again in a 49-7 victory over Santa Clara.
Scoring 49 points a game almost seems to be becoming a habit for the Wildcats. And it's a habit coach Butch Cattolico and his Cats could easily get used to.
"I felt all along that offensively we could be a pretty good football team," said the coach.
But the real test begins this week as the Cats prepare to open play in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League.
The Wildcats will hit the road for an afternoon game at Palo Alto on Sept. 29, 3 p.m. And Cattolico is quick to admit that scoring 49 points against the Vikings could be tough.
"They should be ready for us," said Cattolico. "They're pretty quick and they run the ball fairly well."
"They're going to run the ball inside against us," he added. "And they're a ball control type of team."
But controlling the ball doesn't seem to be enough for teams against the Wildcats. Los Gatos scored three touchdowns on just four plays against Santa Clara last Saturday night. And the Cats scored five TDs while just running 19 plays in the first half.
"In the first couple of games, we ran the ball early," said the coach. And because of early leads, the Wildcats never could do much through the air.
"So we decided to come out throwing so that we could work on our passing game," he said.
It doesn't look like it needs much work.
Junior quarterback Trent Edwards for nine for nine for 223 yards and four touchdowns in the Gatos win, and back-up quarterback Tony Berry completed his only pass for 22 yards.
"He's got a lot of poise back there," said Cattolico of Edwards. "[Saturday night], every ball he threw was right on the money."
Edwards drove the Cats right down the field on their first possession of the night, hitting Brian Edwards twice for 28 yards and Geno Gingery twice for 34 yards. The second toss to Gingery was an 8-yard touchdown pass.
Santa Clara went three plays and a punt after the kick off, and Gatos took little time to get back into the endzone.
Derek Smith hit the line for five yards, then T. Edwards hit B. Edwards in stride coming over the middle for a 31-yard touchdown pass. Anthony Frandadakis kicked the second of his seven extra points, and the Cats led 14-0.
But Gatos wasn't finished yet. The Cats took over at their own 14 following a Santa Clara punt, and Joey Warren quickly broke a reverse 86 yards for a touchdown.
A 46-yard punt return by B. Edwards gave the Cats good field position in the second quarter. Smith carried three times for 27 yards before T. Edwards tossed another 8-yard TD pass to Gingery.
Jon Espe and Nick McAlpine came through with quarterback sacks to force Santa Clara to punt the ball away once again. The kick went into the endzone for a touchback, but a play later T. Edwards hit Warren in stride for an 80-yard touchdown pass.
Santa Clara was forced to punt once again, and this time Warren got off a 40-yard return. But time ran out on the Cats, and the half ended with Gatos up 35-0.
It was more of the same in the second half, though. Jason Rosa picked up eight yards, Smith ran twice for 22 and Chris Willard gained six before T. Edwards tossed to Gingery for 34 yards down to the one. Smith shot over for the TD on the next play and the Gatos starters were finished for the night.
Berry came on to take over the offense and hit Stuart Gordon for 22 yards. Willard carried five times for 32 yards, including a 21-yard run and a 4-yard TD run.
The Wildcats finished the night with nine backs combining for 247 yards rushing.
Warren led the way with 91 yards on two carries, but Smith was the workhorse with 11 totes for 73 yards. Willard added 37 yards on six tries, Shane Rogers had a 16-yard run and Ian Carpenter ran twice for 12 yards.
Gingery had a big night with four catches for 76 yards. B. Edwards grabbed three passes for 70 yards, Warren caught two for 88 and Gordon had the one catch for 22.
Los Gatos finished the night with 492 yards of total offense, with McAlpine and Nick Crafford leading the charge up front in the offensive line.
Mike Vynhal was the defensive leader with 13 tackles, including a pair of quarterback sacks.
Ken Heimer and Markus Willard were in on nine tackles apiece, and John Glage and Espe were in on eight each. M. Willard, Espe and McAlpine each sacked the Santa Clara quarterback.
Matt Newell was in on seven tackles for the Cats and Randy Reilly, James Furlo, Rosa and Ryan Johnson were in on five each.
Scott Cohn, Berry, Scott Soucy, Warren, Geoff Sholly, Travis Howell, Evan McDonald, Theron McCarty and Gingery were also in on tackles in the win.
The only disappointment on an otherwise perfect night for the Cats was the loss of senior linebacker-fullback Nick Skrabe to a first-quarter injury. Skrabe is expected to miss at least two weeks.
"He'll be a tough guy for us to replace," said Cattolico. "He's just such a tough kid on both sides of the ball."
|
Los Gatos, California Since 1881
