Saratoga's Troy Follmar goes up for a catch in last Friday night's frosh-soph clash with Wilcox. The Falcons lost 33-12 to the Chargers to end up third in the division.
Photograph by Skye Dunlap
Falcons knock off Wilcox
Frosh-sophers end with loss
By Dick Sparrer
Saratoga saved its best for last.
The Falcons had a lot riding on Friday night's football game against Wilcox ... a winning season, a possible berth in the Central Coast Section playoffs and fourth place in the rugged De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League.
Well, the Falcons aren't going to the playoffs, but not because they didn't come through with a victory over the Chargers last Friday. Saratoga pulled out a thrilling 21-20 win over Wilcox to clinch fourth place in the standings and a winning season, but the Falcons missed a trip to CCS by only a few points.
Still, it was a great way to end the season for the Falcons.
"We're very happy," said Saratoga head coach Kurt Heinrich. "It was a great win."
The Falcons clinched the victory when senior defensive end Andrew Bosworth stepped in front of a screen pass for an interception and raced 36 yards for a touchdown.
Senior place-kicker Mike Cook booted the extra point, and the Falcons had the 21-20 victory.
"We had a winning season, and that's hard to do playing in our league," said Heinrich, whose club posted a 5-4-1 season record and 2-3-1 mark in the division. "We are clearly the smallest school in the league."
But the Falcons didn't look like it on Friday night. They knocked off powerful Wilcox with a solid team performance.
"We played great in all aspects of the game--offense, defense and the kicking game," said the coach. "As a coaching staff, we're proud of them."
"For us to battle like that," he added, "it's a real credit to our kids."
The Falcons jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the game, thanks to the play of senior quarterback Bryce Allen.
Allen ran 3 yards for a first-quarter touchdown, then hit junior James Lii with a 57-yard touchdown pass in the second period.
"Bryce Allen was sharp," said Heinrich of his QB, who hooked up on eight of 16 passes for 106 yards. "And Lii made a big reception for us on a corner route and turned it up to go all the way. Once he gets out in the open like that, no one is going to catch him."
Wilcox managed to catch the Falcons, though. The Chargers answered with three touchdowns to take a 20-14 lead. But Nolan Ng shot through to block an attempted extra point kick, and that play would end up as the difference in the game.
"He's been playing real strong on special teams all year," said Heinrich of the senior.
Bosworth later returned the interception for the touchdown, and Cook kicked his third extra point to clinch the win.
The coach praised the work of tackles Jason Findley and Jon Moshier, guards Chris Yamaguchi and Mike Charters and center John Hart for their solid play in the offensive line, and he added that Jason Choe ran hard at running back.
"And the defense played very well," added the coach, praising Bosworth, Ng and senior linebackers Mike Robinson and Todd Anderson for solid efforts.
"[Robinson] was in on over 20 tackles," said Heinrich.
"And [Anderson] has come battling back after knee surgery," he added. "He just didn't give in, and that's a real positive commentary on him."
The Falcons actually would have finished last in the De Anza Division had they lost to Wilcox. But the win pushed Saratoga all the way to fourth place behind only Los Gatos (6-0), Milpitas (4-1-1) and Palo Alto (4-2).
Derek Cartmell, Troy Cowan, Nathan Duncan, Jon Epes, Shawn Filip, Dave Ham, Kelly Mathew, Robert Meng, Neima Mirzaei, Tim Moore, Dan Morse, Justin Newmark, Nick Olivari, Erick Raich, Mike Robinson, Max Sandigo and Brian Stirm were others seniors playing their final game for the Falcons.
Frosh-soph falls
The Saratoga frosh-soph football team lost a tough 33-12 decision to Wilcox the same night, losing its bid for a share of the title in the De Anza Division.
A Saratoga win would have left the Falcons in a three-way tie for first place with Los Gatos and Wilcox. But the Falcons lost to slip to 4-2 in league play. Wilcox was first at 6-0, with Gatos second at 5-1.
Still, it was a great year for the Falcons, who rolled to an 8-2 season overall, losing only to Wilcox and Los Gatos.
"They had a great season," said Heinrich of the 'Toga frosh-soph. "[Head coach Ryan Iwanaga] did a great job down there."
Panthers advance
As the saying goes, "I'd rather be lucky than good."
Well, the Prospect football team was both last Saturday afternoon at Westmont.
First, the Panthers looked pretty good on their way to an important 20-0 victory over the Warriors, a win that helped the Panthers clinch a share of second place in the Santa Teresa Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League.
Then they were pretty lucky when it came time for the coin toss to break the tie and determine which team would win an automatic berth in the Central Coast Section playoffs.
Prospect, Del Mar and Piedmont Hills finished the year locked in a three-way tie for second in the division with matching 4-2 records. A coin toss would break the tie, and the Panthers won the toss.
But as it turns out, all three teams will advance to postseason play. Both the Dons and Pirates had enough points to quality for CCS, and they'll join the Panthers in the playoffs that begin this weekend.
Prospect has an unenviable opening round match-up with unbeaten Los Gatos in the CCS Division III bracket. The Wildcats, 10-0 in the regular season and the No. 1 seed in the division, will host the Panthers on Nov. 19, 7 p.m., in the opening round game at LG. Prospect, the No. 8 seed in the division, takes a 7-3 record into the playoffs.
Del Mar also won a place in the CCS Division III playoffs. The Dons, 8-2 for the year and the No. 5 seed, will visit No. 4 seed Mitty (7-3) on Nov. 20, 1 p.m.
Piedmont Hills, meanwhile, won an at-large berth in the CCS Division II bracket. The Pirates, 7-3 and the No. 8 seed, will visit No. 1 seed Santa Clara (9-1) on Nov. 19, 7 p.m., at Townsend Field.
Pioneer, the champs of the Santa Teresa Division, opens the CCS Division IV playoffs at home. The Mustangs (8-2 and the No. 2 seed) host King City (7-3, No. 7 seed) on Nov. 20, 1 p.m.
Prospect rolled to the 20-0 win over Westmont on Saturday, scoring twice in the first period and adding an insurance touchdown in the fourth.
Senior quarterback Jordan Williams flipped a 46-yard scoring bomb to Andrew Heling in the first period to put the Panthers up 6-0, and Saladin Washington made it 12-0 later in the quarter when he ran one in from the 5.
That's how it remained until the final quarter when Donald Austin scored from the 7. Curtis Wills tossed to Jason Pauwels for the two-point conversion, and the Panthers had locked up the 20-0 victory.
Mike Hilbert helped keep the Warriors in the game with a solid defensive performance. The junior safety had a quarterback sack and also picked off a pass and ran it back 26 yards for Westmont.
Westmont finished the year with a 2-4 league record and a 2-8 mark for the season.
Saratoga, California Since 1955
