Los Gatos Weekly-Times Photograph by Scott Lechner Los Gatos linemen Briston Lowry (54) and Austin Neale (63) bury a Mountain View ball-carrier in play last Friday night. The Wildcats bombed the Spartans 49-6 in the nonleague game. Cats roll over the Spartans Sorahan throws for 265 yards in Gatos win By Dick Sparrer Butch Cattolico was hoping for a little rest and relaxation. After all, there had been little opportunity for relaxation in any of the first four Los Gatos football games this fall. The Wildcats opened the season against San Lorenzo Valley, then faced Central Coast Section powers Oak Grove, Leland and Wilcox in successive weeks. The Cats could win just one of the first four games, and that win over Leland was anything but relaxing. So when Gatos went head-to-head with Mountain View in a nonleague game on Friday night, Cattolico was hoping for a lopsided victory. And he got his wish. "It was kind of nice," Cattolico said after the 49-6 win over the Spartans. "We got a chance to play a lot of kids." But the game didn't start as smoothly as Cattolico may have hoped. It appeared to when Chris Cavanagh took off on a 38-yard run, but the play was called back because of a holding penalty, and the Cats ultimately had to punt the football away. "They came out and made a couple of first downs, and I started thinking, 'Uh, oh!'" the coach said. But it wasn't long before the Cats started to move. Ryan Sorahan tossed to Adrian Rangel for 13 yards and to Troy Towner for 20 for a first down on third and 17. Justin Narragon ran for eight yards before Sorahan hooked up with Max Hirschman for 45 yards and a touchdown. Mike Cook kicked the first of his seven extra points, and the Wildcats were on top 7-0. "From there, it seemed like they woke up and everything fell into place," Cattolico said. The ensuing kick dropped in behind the Mountain View line, and Adam Dallas raced down to recover the loose ball at the 25. Seven plays later, the Cats scored again. Narragon carried four times for 13 yards and Brandon Fennema twice for eight yards before Sorahan faked into the line, then ran four yards for the touchdown. Sorahan hit Cavanagh on a 65-yard touchdown pass to up the lead to 21-0 early in the second period. The defense, led by Austin Neale, who moved from linebacker into the defensive line this week, held firm to force another Mountain View punt. Sorahan hit Mike Geddie for 28 yards, and Narragon ran for six yards before Fennema scored on a 22-yard run. The Cats would score once more before the half. Sorahan scrambled for seven yards, and Fennema ran for seven more before Hirschman hauled in a 16-yard pass. Sorahan then hit Towner over the middle for a 40-yard touchdown pass. Cook's fifth kick made it 35-0 at intermission. The Cats scored quickly in the third quarter. Fennema ran for 16 yards, and Sorahan tossed to Towner for 33 yards down to the one. Fennema went the final yard for the TD. The Spartans moved the ball a bit after the kickoff, but their drive stalled at the Gatos 15. Runs by Matt Grover and Scott Buxton took the Cats to the 26, then Narragon took off on a 74-yard touchdown run. Cook converted, and it was 49-0. Mountain View scored in the fourth, but the Wildcats had more than enough cushion to clinch the win. Narragon led the ground show with 123 yards on 11 carries. Fennema had nine carries for 81 yards, and Cavanagh carried twice for 31 yards. Grover had a couple of carries for 18 yards and Vince Caviglia had a run for nine yards. Sorahan hooked up on 10 of 12 passes for 265 yards and three touchdowns. "And we had no sacks, which was a big plus," Cattolico said. "The guys up front did a much better job. We were pushing some people around a little bit." He praised the work of tackles Matt Klemchuk and Chris McGilvray, guards Kellen Durose and Neale and center Kevin Mullen. Towner led the receiving corps with three catches for 98 yards. Cavanagh had the one catch for the 65-yard touchdown, and Hirschman had two grabs for 61 yards. Rangel caught two passes for 21 yards, Geddie one for 28 yards and Cook one for 14 yards. Back-up quarterback Matt Torres tossed the 14-yarder to Cook. Los Gatos finished the night with 278 yards rushing and 265 yards through the air. They held the Spartans to just 76 yards on the ground and 78 yards passing. Neale led the defensive effort with nine tackles, including three quarterback sacks. Andy Housley was also in on nine tackles and recovered a fumble. Ben Winkleman had two sacks among his six tackles, and sophomore linebacker John Glage was in on six stops. Dallas, Rangel, Philip Baiardo, Hirschman, Rick Esparza and Francisco Alameda were also in on tackles for the Cats. Los Gatos, now 2-3 for the year, will gun for its first league win on Oct. 16 when the Cats host Saratoga at 7:30 p.m. The Falcons are 2-0 in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League. "They're on kind of a roll," Cattolico said of the Falcons. "They're doing some real good things defensively. They're real tough." "Hopefully, our kids will be up to the task," he added. [ Back to Contents Page | Los Gatos Weekly-Times Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, October 14, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.