 |
|
|
|
|
Chargers good ... Cats better
By Dick Sparrer
Two outstanding football teams collided at Helm Field last Friday night.
Wilcox showed up and played very well in the important game in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League.
Los Gatos, though, played better.
The Wildcats turned a 14-12 fourth-quarter lead into a rousing 28-12 De Anza Division victory over the Chargers--a victory that clinched no worse than a tie for first place for the Cats.
"It was a good ballgame," said Gatos head coach Butch Cattolico after the win that pushed his club to 5-0 in league and to 8-0 for the year. "It was well played by both teams, and both teams had their shots--but our kids came through."
They sure did.
The Wildcats dominated possession of the football and ran up nearly 400 yards on the ground working behind an offensive front that Cattolico considers "one of the best groups we've had."
"This group is really solid," said the coach. "To put 400 yards on the ground against a team like Wilcox... well, you know they're doing a great job."
Justin Narragon led the awesome ground show with 232 yards and three touchdowns on 32 carries. Derek Smith supported with 91 yards, and Joey Warren ran for 56.
The backs were working behind a powerful offensive front of tackles Mike Belsheim and Ryan O'Gorman, center Nick Cisowski and guards Bradon Chapatte, Nick McAlpine and Rick Esparza. The coach also praised tight ends Ben Winkelman and Jared Allen, fullback Vince Caviglia and wide receiver Kevin Krug for their blocking.
But it was more than the offense that sparked the Los Gatos victory.
"The kids did a real good job defensively, too," added the coach.
Nick Skrabe led the tackling parade with 11 stops, and Briston Lowry returned from an injury to get in on 10 tackles. Lowry also recovered a fumble.
Caviglia, Brian Edwards and Markus Willard were in on eight tackles each, and Steve Smith and Chapatte got in on six apiece.
"That was probably [Chapatte's] best football game on both sides of the ball," said Cattolico of the senior guard-linebacker.
Allen, Winkelman and Scott Soucy were in on five tackles each, and O'Gorman, Warren and John Glage were in on three each.
Los Gatos opened up a 14-6 lead at the half, but Wilcox scored in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to 14-12. Then the Cats "stuffed" thw two-point conversion try.
Allen and Chapatte forced Wilcox outside on the try for two, and Soucy and Edwards came up to make the hit on the ball carrier to help the Cats maintain the lead.
But even though the Chargers had gotten close, the Cats didn't get worried... they got busy.
Kyle Schaffer returned the kickoff 25 yards, and then the offense went to work.
Narragon carried three times for a first down, then, after Warren picked up seven, Smith carried three tacklers for 18 yards and another first down at the Wilcox 26.
Warren ran 12 yards on second down for another first, then Narragon went the final 13 for the game-winning touchdown. Ben Frazier kicked the first of four extra points, and the Cats held a comfortable 21-12 lead.
The Chargers started to move, but Lowry, who Cattolico said "played a really nice game," came up to make a hit for a 5-yard loss. A play later Willard picked off a Wilcox pass at his own 24.
Narragon ran for nine yards on three plays, but Gatos faced a fourth-and-one at its own 33 with just over a minute left to play.
Cattolico had plans to punt the football away, but Wilcox called timeout, so he went out on the field to talk to his offense. The Cats convinced their coach they could make the yard, so he let them go for it. Narragon broke the next play 67 yards for a back-breaking touchdown.
"We got a key block [by Allen] on their linebacker that just completely opened up the hole," said the coach. "Once [Narragon] had a seam, no one was going to catch him."
"The funny thing was, if they hadn't called timeout, we would have punted the ball," said Cattolico.
Frazier's fourth kick made the final 28-12.
Gatos actually got off to a slow start in the game, at least on the scoreboard. The Cats ran 21 plays to just four for Wilcox in the first period, but they led just 7-6 after a quarter.
The Chargers broke their second play of the game 61 yards for a touchdown, but Gatos came storming back.
A 30-yard run by Narragon ultimately set up the senior back for a 10-yard touchdown run with 50 seconds left in the first period.
Smith followed big blocks from Belsheim and Caviglia to score from the 9 later in the half to give the Cats a 14-6 lead.
That's how it remained at intermission when the Cats stopped the Chargers cold after the kickoff. Edwards forced a fumble that Soucy recovered to halt any Wilcox threat.
|
|
|
|
Los Gatos, California Since 1881
