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Father-son combo back to watch all-stars
By Dick Sparrer
Football coaches Butch and Joe Cattolico will be together for the July 25 Silicon Valley Youth Classic Football Game.
Then, that's really nothing new ... they've been there before.
The two led the North all-stars to victory back in 1992 as a father-son team -- Butch as the head coach for the North squad and Joe as his starting quarterback.
Their role will be much different when they return for the 26th renewal of the all-star rivalry, though. The Cattolicos will be spectators sitting in the Independence High School bleachers.
But they will still view the game with special interest.
Special because Joe, the head coach at Independence, has two of his players on the South squad, and special because Butch, the head man at Los Gatos, has four of his Wildcats playing for the North.
But their interest in the game will go much deeper than just the X's and O's, and the performances of their own players.
They'll watch with special interest as Ken Padia leads the North squad into action. Because for the first time since the Cattolicos did in it 1992, a father and son return to the game as a head coach and player.
Padia will lead a North team that includes his own son, Leigh defensive lineman Kasey Padia. And both the Cattolicos know what a special experience that is.
"I thought that was probably the most fun I ever had in coaching," said Butch of the opportunity to coach his son in the all-star classic. "It was an awful lot of fun, and even more enjoyable because it was an all-star game. There was not quite the pressure of a regular season game."
Cattolico never had the opportunity to coach his son in a regular season game. He coaches at Los Gatos, and Joe was a star quarterback down the road at Leigh.
"It was the one opportunity in my life to actually play football for my dad," added Joe. "It was real exciting, and fun to do in an all-star game because it was a little less of a pressure situation."
For Padia, the experience may be a little different. Kasey was a member of his squad at Leigh last fall, so the two are very familiar with one another on the football field.
"It was something I always wanted to do," said Butch of coaching Joe. "It was very unique, and I wouldn't trade it for all the world."
The experience may have even led to a career choice for the younger Cattolico. Football is something the father and son have always shared, and that is true even more now that they are both varsity coaches.
"Coaching was something I had grown up with," said Joe. "Once I started coaching, it was a lot of fun for me and my dad."
Football is obviously an interest that Padia shares with his sons, too. The elder Padia will coach his son Kasey in this year's all-star game just three years after having the opportunity to watch his son Kyle play quarterback for the North all-star squad in the summer of 1998.
Ken and Kasey Padia will be the first father-son team to serve as a head coach and player since the Cattolico pair back in 1992. But Butch and Joe weren't the only father-son team represented in the game that summer.
Fred Morales of Gunderson stood across the field as the head coach for the South team that year with his son, Gunderson's Mike Morales, starting at quarterback.
Like Padia, Morales was watching a second son play in the summer classic. Fred Morales Jr. was a quarterback for the South in the summer of 1986.
There have been only two other father-son combinations in the summer game.
Lee Evans, an all-star assistant many times, worked on the South coaching staff in 1989 when his son Brent Evans of Oak Grove played quarterback for the squad. Tragically, Brent died this past year.
And the late Ray Goñi, who first worked as a North assistant in 1974, was on the staff in 1995 when his son, Kyle Goñi of Saratoga, played in the North's defensive secondary. His sons David (1997) and Daniel (1999) followed their older brother into the all-star game.
The relationships are just part of what makes the Silicon Valley Youth Classic such a special football game.
"It's a great game for a great cause, and it has a rich history," said Butch Cattolico. "I'm glad to have been part of it."
And he and Joe will be part of the game again this year.
"We'll sit together and watch the game," said Butch.
And that's how it should be.
All-star notes
Local players-- John Hart and Jon Moshier of Saratoga, Gordon Hawley and Shawn Dormishian of Lynbrook, Dave Horner and Billy Stouffer of Westmont, and Saladin Washington and Carl Simien of Prospect are local players participating in the all-star classic. Saratoga's Hart, a center, and Moshier, a two-way lineman, were each all-leaguers for the Falcons last year. They shared their team's most inspirational player award and were co-captains.
Hawley will bring his kicking talents to the North squad. He was a three-time all-leaguer as a punter and place-kicker for the Vikings.
Horner, a two-way lineman, and Stouffer, who served double duty at fullback and linebacker, were each all-leaguers for the Warriors last season. Stouffer was his team's most valuable player and Horner was the squad's outstanding lineman.
Washington, an outstanding running back for Prospect, and Simien, a solid offensive tackle, were each all-leaguers for the Panthers in 2000. Washington, the league's outstanding offensive player, was his team's MVP and all-CCS honorable mention pick, and Simien was his team's outstanding lineman.
Tickets-- Tickets for the game, sponsored by the Almaden Valley Rotary Club, are priced at $10.
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