Photograph by Tsutomu Fujita
Saratoga's Scott Moran (19) makes the stop on Gino Gingery of Los Gatos as Billy Miroyan moves in.
Saratoga wins berth in CCS playoffs
Falcons plays Gatos tough, but fall 14-7
By Dick Sparrer
Only a couple of football teams this fall have been able to hold the powerful Los Gatos offense to less than 40 points in a game. And no team has managed to keep the Wildcats from scoring less than 20.
No team, that is, until Saratoga turned the trick last Friday night.
In fact, not only did the Falcons hold the Cats to just a couple of touchdowns in the Friday night game at Los Gatos, but they were taking shots at the end zone in the final minutes of play in hopes of pulling off the upset of the year.
But it wasn't to be. Los Gatos held on to claim a 14-7 win over Saratoga to complete a third straight 10-0 regular season.
The Wildcats won the title in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League with a 6-0 record, and they'll go after a second straight Central Coast Section Division III title when they host St. Francis (4-6) Nov. 16, 7:30 p.m.
But they'll enter the playoffs after being the fewest points they've scored in a game this season ... thanks to the Falcons.
And Saratoga coach Kurt Heinrich is hoping that the solid performance recorded by his club will give his players confidence as they advance to their own CCS playoff game.
The Falcons, 2-3-1 in the division and 5-4-1 for the year, will open the CCS Division IV playoffs on the road when they visit Gunderson (8-2) Nov. 17, 1 p.m.
Heinrich isn't sure what to expect from the Grizzlies, though he said, "I know they've got a lot of speed." But he has high expectations for his own Falcons after their solid showing last Friday night.
"It was a great game," Heinrich said . "The kids played hard, and the defense played great."
It was the defense that gave Saratoga its only score of the game. Los Gatos was driving deep in Saratoga territory in the first period when David Lii stepped in front of Trent Edwards for an interception. The senior safety was then off to the races on a 95-yard touchdown run. The kick by A.J. Weitsman gave the Falcons an early 7-0 lead.
Los Gatos scored in the second period, but missed an extra point for the first time this season, so Saratoga took a 7-6 lead into the locker room at the break.
The Cats scored in the third and converted the 2-point conversion to take a 14-7 lead.
Saratoga threatened late in the game, but couldn't manage an offensive score against the tough Wildcats.
Still, like Heinrich said, "We were throwing toward the end zone late in the game."
Senior quarterback Scott Moran led the Falcons down the field in the final moments, but an interception by Derek Tam ended the threat.
"He had some nice plays," said Heinrich of Moran. "He played pretty well, considering the guy never left the field."
Moran, who usually concentrates his efforts on offense, doubled up as a free safety for the Gatos game and was singled out for his performance along with Lii and cornerbacks Devin Schrock and Marc Crosby in the secondary.
Heinrich also praised the efforts of Billy Miroyan, Greg Van Hoesen, Connor Peck and Marc Munoz defensively.
"It was one of those rivalry games," said the coach, "and I think overall they just played really hard."
"Los Gatos didn't give us anything," he added. "They're solid, and they're well coached."
Warriors in CCS
First-year head coach Tony Santos could have only dreamed about taking his Westmont football team to the CCS playoffs this fall.
After all, the Warriors had a losing 4-6 record a year ago, and though he was a veteran of 11 seasons as an assistant coach, he was in his first year as a head coach and in his first season in the Westmont program.
But heading into the final night of the regular season, his Warriors were 8-1, locked in second place in the Santa Teresa Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League and apparently playoff bound.
Del Mar obviously wasn't impressed.
The Dons were headed nowhere with a 1-3-1 league record and 1-7-1 overall mark, and they too had a first-year coach in Matt Andree. But Del Mar pulled off an upset Friday night of major proportions that almost turned Westmont's dream season into a nightmare.
The Dons upset the Warriors 29-25 when they scored in the final quarter to battle back from a 23-21 deficit.
The loss shocked Westmont, but luckily for Santos and his Warriors, they had already secured enough points to advance to the playoffs.
Westmont, 8-2 for the year, earned a place in the CCS Division III event, and will open play on the road at San Lorenzo Valley (10-0) Nov. 17, 1 p.m.
So Westmont made it to the postseason, but there had to be some tense moments after losing the heartbreaker to Del Mar Friday night.
The Warriors had opened up a 17-0 first-quarter lead against the Dons on a couple of long touchdown passes for junior passer Bryen Blankenship to senior Connor McDonald. Blankenship tossed a 31-yard TD pass to McDonald to open the period, then the two hooked up on an 85-yard scoring toss.
Senior running back Todd Bethke blasted over for the 2-point conversion after the second touchdown, and Ben Peterson drilled a 22-yard field to make it 17-0 before the end of the first quarter.
Senior back Eric Bayliss, who topped the 100-yard rushing mark in the win, scored on a 5-yard run, and Eric Martin kicked the extra point to cut the lead to 17-7, but the Warriors came right back on a 17-yard TD toss from Blankenship to McDonald. Peterson converted, and the Warriors were up 23-7.
Greg Myers tossed an 18-yard touchdown pass to D.J. Eddy, then threw for the 2-point conversion to cut the lead to 23-15 by intermission.
Myers fired an 8-yard scoring strike to Nick Clinton in the third quarter to get the Dons closer at 23-21, then Bayliss took off on a 47-yard touchdown run in the final quarter to clinch the win for Del Mar. Matt Barrera ran for the 2-point conversion to offset a late safety for Westmont.
Panthers win
The season ended on an encouraging note for first-year coach Mike Carrozzo and his Prospect football team.
The Panthers were winless heading into the final game of the season against Overfelt, a club trying to stay alive in the race for the playoffs.
But Prospect pulled off the upset with a 17-8 win over the Royals.
The win couldn't keep the Panthers out of the cellar in the Santa Teresa Division, but they did manage to avoid a winless season.
Prospect finished 1-5 in the division and 1-9 overall with the win over Overfelt, and it was junior quarterback Adam Day leading the Panthers to the victory.
Day completed 9 of 20 passes for 107 yards and a couple of touchdowns to lead the Panthers past the Royals. Day pitched a couple of 20-yard touchdown passes for senior Mike Reclusado, who finished the night with four catches for 55 yards. Senior tight end Mackie Harrold snagged three passes for 31 yards.
Junior Jonathan Vela booted the extra points after each of the TDs, and he also kicked a 30-yard field goal to help Prospect clinch the victory.
Senior Ryan Schaefers was the workhorse in the Prospect backfield, carrying 14 times for 64 yards. Trevor Rogers, another senior, carried nine times for 36 yards.
Schaefers was also the tackling leader for the Panthers with 10 stops. Trevor Rogers was in on six tackles, and Reclusado got in on five.
Ted Piggins picked two Overfelt passes, and Austin Baumgarten sacked the enemy quarterback.
Saratoga, California Since 1955
