Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Photograph by Skye Dunlap

Los Gatos defenders Charlie Cucco (59) and Steve LaBarbera drag down Tully Banta-Cain of Fremont in football action last Friday night.

Rosa sparks Cats to win

Los Gatos dominates Fremont 57-14

By Dick Sparrer

Butch Cattolico was a little worried about his sensational running back, Alan Rosa. After all, it was already the second play of the game, and the Los Gatos speedster only had a nine-yard run.

In previous weeks, Rosa had opened games with more impressive efforts--a 73-yard touchdown run on his first carry against Monta Vista, and a 43-yard run on his first try against Saratoga.

But against Fremont last Friday night Rosa was held to just nine yards. It wasn't until his second carry that he was off to the races.

Rosa was a little behind schedule, but he did manage to break that second run 61 yards for a Los Gatos touchdown.

It was only the beginning.

Rosa went on to run for 147 yards, and the Wildcats went on to record a very lopsided 57-14 win over the Firebirds to run their record to 3-0 in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League.

The Cats, 3-3 for the year, will try to make it fourth straight in league play when they visit Homestead on Oct. 24, 7:30 p.m., at Fremont's Diesner Field.

"I think Homestead is going to be stronger [than Fremont]," Cattolico said of the Mustangs, 1-1 in the division and 2-4 for the year. "They have an outstanding running back in Jason Woods and five or so really good football players."

But, then, so do the Wildcats, a fact that Fremont discovered quickly last Friday night.

"Our kids came out and played very well," Cattolico said.

Especially Rosa.

"We're getting the ball in his hands early because he's doing some good things," Cattolico said of his senior tailback.

Rosa returned the opening kickoff to the 30, broke the line for nine yards on the first play, then was off on a 61-yard touchdown run.

Gatos kicked the extra point to make it 7-0, and from there it was a breeze for the Wildcats.

Fremont tried to run a nine-man front against the balanced Los Gatos attack, but junior quarterback Ryan Sorahan picked the Firebirds apart to go six for nine through the air for 179 yards and two touchdowns.

"They ended up playing a 6-3 against us, literally," the coach said. But the offensive line of guards Kellen Durose and Fred Luminoso, tackles Matt Klemchuk and Mike Manson, center Charlie Cucco and tight end Vince Posner handled the beefy Fremont front wall.

"They did really well," Cattolico said of his offensive line. "That was a difficult thing to do, to come up against that front. They did a good job against their big boys." The coach added that fullbacks Austin Glover and Matt Grover were powerful forces as blockers for the Cats.

He also praised the work of the second line of Kevin Mullen, Chris McGilvray, Mike Belsheim. Scott Harville and Clint Smith.

Los Gatos virtually scored at will after Rosa's game-opening touchdown.

Sorahan hit Anthony Fitzgerald on a 58-yard touchdown pass, and a 14-yard Sorahan pass to Grover set up a 37-yard TD run by John Stengele.

Rosa added a 42-yard field goal, and it was 23-0 six minutes into the game.

Sorahan found Glover for 16 yards and Fitzgerald for 12 before firing a 35-yard TD strike to Posner. Rosa kicked his third extra point of the night, and it was 30-0--the score that stood through intermission.

"We talked at the half about how they had been down 31-7 against Lynbrook and came back to win the ball game," the coach said.

And true to their past, the Firebirds came out in the second half and moved right in for a touchdown. But Los Gatos is no Lynbrook.

The Wildcats answered right back. Rosa had runs of 18 and 17 yards, and Sorahan tossed 44 yards to Stengele to take the Cats to the Fremont four. Rosa went the last four yards for the touchdown, then kicked the extra point to make it 37-7.

"Then it got ugly," Cattolico said.

Fremont fumbled, and a moment later Steve LaBarbera took off on a 21-yard touchdown run. Rosa converted.

Aaron Wagman picked up another Fremont fumble and rambled 30 yards for another score. It was then 50-7.

Fremont scored on an 88-yard run, but Gatos answered right back. Beau Narragon took off on a 25-yard run, and Wagman broke up the middle for 34 yards and a touchdown. Mike Cook's extra point made the final 57-14.

Rosa led the ground show with 147 yards on 16 carries, and LaBarbera picked up 60 yards on five tries. Stengele had carried three times for 41 yards and also caught a pass for 44 yards. Fitzgerald pulled in two passes for 70 yards and Posner, Glover and Grover also hauled in Sorahan tosses.

As good as the offense was against Fremont, the defense was equally as impressive.

Austin Neale led all Gatos tacklers in the win with nine stops, and Luminoso, Enzo Iacomini, Chris Cavanagh, LaBarbera and Glover were each in on seven. Cavanagh also picked off a Fremont pass.

C. Cucco, Robbie Cucco and Justin Lehnert were each in on six tackles, Narragon, Ross Troquato-Perrotti were in on five apiece and Ricky Sanders and Andro Radonich got in on four each. Sharing in tackles were Stengele, Fitzgerald, Max Hirschman, Brandon Fennema, Wagman, Troy Towner, Andre Yancey, Ken Troquato-Perrotti, Durose, Smith, Klemchuk, Manson and Posner.

The Cats held the Firebirds to 40 yards on five pass completions and to 159 yards rushing on 39 carries, much of that coming on an 88-yard touchdown run in the second half.

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