Running back Derek Smith goes in for the first of his three touchdowns in Saturday's 28-7 win over Wilcox High School.

Photograph by Douglas Rider

LG wildcats win CCS, go 13-0

Smith scores three TDs in 28-7 victory

By Dick Sparrer

It wasn't a typical Los Gatos football game.

But make no mistake about it ... it was Los Gatos' football game all they way when the Wildcats played Wilcox for the Central Coast Section Division III championship last Saturday night.

The explosive offense that Los Gatos has unleashed on opponents all season long was under wraps a bit. But Butch Cattolico's forces unleashed enough firepower to explode for a 28-7 win over Wilcox to complete a 13-0 season.

"It was different from what we've been doing all year long," admitted the Gatos coach after the victory. "But we really controlled the line of scrimmage and the game, both offensively and defensively."

Because of it, the Wildcats were a little more conservative than in most games this season and ran the football right down the throats of the Chargers.

"We ran the ball better against them than I thought we would," added the coach. "The guys up front really handled the ballgame and we pushed the line of scrimmage down the field."

Smith's big game

Doing most of the pushing was senior running back Derek Smith, who carried 28 times for 123 yards and three touchdowns.

"That was one of his best games of the year," said Cattolico of Smith. "He did a great job of running with the ball, especially in the second half. He seldom went down when just one guy hit him."

Smith scored on three runs inside the 10, thanks in no small part to a superb effort in the offensive line.

"We controlled the line of scrimmage, and we were on offense all night," said Cattolico, praising the work of tackles Nick Crafford and Casey Sargent, guards Adam Toeniskoetter and Nick McAlpine, centers Dan Holtzman and Matt Benedetti, and H-back Travis Howell.

"I was very impressed that could control the line of scrimmage against what I thought was a pretty good defense," added the coach. "We were able to eat a lot of the clock."

But as good as the Cats were on the ground, they were pretty good through the air, too. Junior quarterback Trent Edwards was perfect, hitting on 11 of 11 passes for 167 yards.

"He seemed to play his best when the big games were on the line," said Cattolico of Edwards, who finished the season with a completion percentage of 78 percent. "He completed a couple of passes as he was being dragged down."

Edwards tossed three passes to Brian Edwards for 95 yards, three to Joey Warren for 30 yards, four to Geno Gingery for 29 yards and one to Smith for 13.


Photograph by Douglas Rider

Senior Brian Edwards picks up a key first down for the Wildcats against Wilcox.




Secondary sensational

Warren, B. Edwards, Scott Soucy and Markus Willard were also sensational in the defensive secondary, keeping Wilcox from completing a pass in 10 attempts.

"I thought we did a real good job of taking away their passing game," said Cattolico. "Their passing game is all play-action, and we were able to recognize their sets and did a real good job of covering them. Our secondary did a great job."

Without any completions, the Wilcox offense was limited to just the 137 yards it could manage on the ground.

Nick Skrabe and Jon Espe led the charge in stopping the Wilcox running attack. The two were in on nine tackles apiece to lead the Wildcats.

Jason Rosa was in on six tackles and Mike Vyhnal had five. Both sacked the Wilcox quarterback.

Willard was in on seven tackles to lead the effort in the secondary. Warren had a pass interception to go with two tackles, B. Edwards was in on three tackles and Soucy got in on two.

Howell, Tony Berry, Ken Heimer, John Allen, Matt Newell and Randy Reilly were others in on tackles in the win.

"Our kids knew exactly what was coming, and the kids executed extremely well," said the coach. "We had a lot of kids step up on both sides of the ball."

Cats in control

Los Gatos took control of the game early, scoring on its first possession of the night.

Warren ran back the opening kickoff 30 yards to the Gatos 45, and the Cats took off on a 55-yard touchdown drive.

A 24-yard run by Smith, a 13-yard scramble by T. Edwards and an 18-yard pass from T. Edwards to B. Edwards set up Smith for a 4-yard touchdown run. Anthony Frangadakis kicked the extra point, and the Cats were up quickly 7-0.

"We went right down the field and scored," said the coach.

But the Chargers came back to tie the game.

The clubs traded punts, the only Gatos punt of the night, and Wilcox came out of the exchange with good field position. The Chargers scored, but Gatos answered right back.

Smith returned the kickoff 20 yards, then the Cats put together a 75-yard scoring drive.

Gatos drove to the Wilcox 40. Facing a fourth and seven, the Cats set up in punt formation. But they faked the kick, and T. Edwards tossed 18 yards to Gingery for a key first down.

T. Edwards, Warren and B. Edwards combined for 28 yards on a hitch and pitch, Skrabe broke a draw 10 yards on a third-and-nine play and T. Edwards tossed 13 yards to Smith and hit Gingery with three passes to set up Smith for a 5-yard TD run. Frangadakis converted again, and the Cats led 14-7.

Warren intercepted a Wilcox pass just after the kickoff, but the Cats ran out of time and went in at the half leading just 14-7.

"We felt like we were in control of the game, but not in control of the scoreboard enough," said Cattolico. "I told the kids we needed to do a better job and get the ball in the end zone."

So that's just what the Wildcats did.

The defense stopped Wilcox cold after the second half kickoff, then offense went to work.

"We took over and just started dominating the football game," said Cattolico.

Smith carried three times for 29 yards, then T. Edwards tossed 34 yards to B. Edwards on a flea flicker, the latter making a "great catch," according to the coach.

Smith capped the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run off a tackle. Frangadakis kicked the extra point, and the Cats were in control 21-7.

Los Gatos drove down for a field goal attempt later in the fourth period, but hooked the kick.

The defense stopped the Chargers again, though, and Gatos took over on downs at the Wilcox 28. Warren took an inside trap 28 yards for a touchdown on the next play, and Frangadakis' fourth kick capped the scoring.

"The kids didn't make any mistakes--no fumbles, no interceptions and we only punted once," said the coach. "They played a very good ballgame."

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