Saratoga News Falcons, Heinrich get first win By Dick Sparrer Saratoga won its first football game for brand new head coach Kurt Heinrich last weekend. But to call this Heinrich's first win at Saratoga would be somewhat misleading. Heinrich is no newcomer to Saratoga football. He played in many Saratoga victories when he was a member of the Falcons, including a baker's dozen when he played for a Saratoga team that posted a 13-0 record. Still, Saratoga's exciting 22-14 win over Archbishop Mitty High School on Saturday did mark a first for Heinrich, and he enjoyed every minute of it. "It was a nice win," the new Saratoga boss said. "The kids played great and competed real hard." It was also special for Heinrich, considering the win came against some pretty stiff competition. "I think Mitty has some real good athletes," the Saratoga coach said. "But our guys were ready to play and took it upon themselves to reach another level." Saratoga ran the football right down the throats of the Monarchs all afternoon, and took control of the game in the second half. The Falcons rolled up nearly 350 yards of total offense, including an impressive 311 yards on the ground. Brent Coleman led the ground attack with 112 yards on 20 carries. Ryan Bernard joined Coleman over the century mark with 101 yards on 19 carries. "He did a great job for us," Heinrich said of Bernard. "He worked really hard this summer and deserves a lot of credit for what he's been able to overcome." Bernard has been hampered by injuries in past seasons, but he's off and running this year. He ran for a 120 yards in a season-opening loss to Soquel, and he came back with 101 yards and two touchdowns last Saturday. Junior Jason Choe also supported the Saratoga running attack with 52 yards on 11 carries. The three backs ran hard behind a senior-dominated line of tight end Tim Young, tackles Lou Petrossi and Brian Cavanaugh, guards Brady Moran and Adam Weiskal and center Eric Allen. Halfback Alex Foster is a lead blocker for the Falcons. The Falcons scored early in their second possession against Mitty. Bernard capped a drive with a 3-yard touchdown run, and Eric Bickenbach kicked the extra point. But the Monarchs ran back the ensuing kick off for a touchdown, then scored again to lead 14-7 after a period. Bernard blasted over from the one for a second-period touchdown, but the Falcons went in at the half down 14-13. Bickenbach put Saratoga on top for good with a 27-yard field goal in the third period, and Daniel Goni capped the scoring with a 17-yard TD run in the fourth. "He had a great day," Heinrich said of Goni. The Saratoga quarterback ran 10 times for 42 yards and completed three-of-eight passes for 23 yards. Goni tossed to Andre Sorba twice and to Bernard once. As good as the Falcons were offensively against the Monarchs, they were equally as tough defensively. "The defense did a great job," said Heinrich. "Coach (Ray) Goni really had 'em going." Heinrich singled out Goni and Bernard for their work at linebacker and also praised the work of defensive tackles Young and Moran and Foster at noseguard. "We did a great job on defense, especially in the second half," he said. The Falcons held the Monarchs to just 113 yards. Saratoga, now 1-1, will host unbeaten Willow Glen on Sept. 26, at 7:30 p.m., at Los Gatos. The Rams opened with a 34-14 win over Lincoln, then beat Monta Vista 26-20 last weekend. "Willow Glen can throw the ball pretty well now," said Heinrich. "They can air it out." "It should be a tale of two cities," he added, "with them throwing the ball, and right now our running game seems to be going pretty good." Rajagopal stars In other local action, Vik Rajagopal hauled in six passes for Lynbrook last week. But two of them were a little more important than the other four. Rajagopal pulled down a pair of touchdown passes from Matt Fratus to lead the Vikings to a thrilling 23-21 nonleague win over Prospect at Cupertino. Rajagopal's first TD reception was a circus catch that earned him "Play of the Week" honors from KICU-TV's (Channel 36) High School Sports Focus. The play covered 24 yards and gave Lynbrook an early 7-0 lead. The second came in the third period when he flew high in the air out of a Prospect triple-team to pull down a 14-yard TD toss from Fratus. Barry Arata shot over from the two for a second-period touchdown for the Vikings, and sophomore Gordon Hawley kicked a 26-yard field goal and two extra points. The Vikings, now 2-0, will chase their third win of the season on Sept. 25, 7:30 p.m., when they face Homestead at Fremont's Diesner Field. The Mustangs are 0-2 following a 34-14 loss to Overfelt. Warriors fall Westmont lost a tough 28-12 decision to Fremont last week to slip to 0-2 in the young season. The Warriors had lost a 21-19 heartbreaker to Lynbrook in the first week of the season. The Warriors will chase their first win of the season on Sept. 25, at 7:30 p.m., when they host Los Altos. The Eagles are 1-1 in 1998, beating St. Lawrence 31-0 in their season opener before losing 18-3 to Irvington last weekend. [ Back to Contents Page | Saratoga News Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Saratoga News, September 23, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.