Photograph by Robert Scheer
John Herndon (6) and the rest of the Saratoga Falcons hoist their CCS championship trophy after beating Palma 17-3. The defeated Chieftains look on.
By Dick Sparrer
It's just a football field.
But for the Saratoga football players, the vision of the San Jose City College football field will be a scene stamped in their memories for a lifetime.
It's where they won the 1996 Central Coast Section championship.
And as they assembled near midfield in the post-game delerium following a 17-3 victory over Palma in the CCS Division IV title game, they were soaking in all of the sights, smells and sounds to store away forever.
The final score glowed in all of its glorious splendor from the giant scoreboard that provided the backdrop for the Saratoga celebration, and players shared smiles and tears, handshakes and hugs as they lived the moment.
"I want to stay here forever!" came a voice from the pack of Falcons. And they will in their memories.
Palma, on the other hand, would just as soon forget the day.
The Chieftains came in as heavy favorites in the title game. They boasted a 12-0 season record compared to a 9-3 mark for the Falcons, and they were everyone's pick to win it all throughout the playoffs.
For a half, it looked like Palma might live up to that favorite's role. The bagpipes that moaned with every Palma good fortune were playing loudly throughout the first two periods.
But Saratoga quieted the bagpipes and stopped the Chieftains in the second half, battling back from a 3-0 deficit for the 17-3 win.
And it was a very sweet win indeed for head coach Mike Machado and his Falcons.
"I told the kids, in a situation like this you want to play the best," he said, "because when you beat them, you've really accomplished something."
Saratoga certainly accomplished something on Saturday--something not many area football followers expected.
Palma dominated the first half, but the Chieftains could manage just a field goal for their efforts and took only a 3-0 lead in at intermission.
"It's been like that all year," Machado said. "When our backs are to the wall, they just don't break. They may bend, but they don't break."
The Falcons didn't even bend in the second half. But they did break--break the game open in the third period with a pair of touchdowns.
A 31-yard Joe Brady punt pinned the Chieftains deep in their own territory at the 14, and the Saratoga defense stopped them cold.
Palma punted the ball back to the Falcons, and that turned out to be the play of the day.
Junior Mike Black hauled in the line-drive punt at his own 48 and raced 52 yards for a touchdown.
"It turned the momentum," Machado said of the punt return. "[Assistant coach Ray Goni] made the call to go left, and Mike made the cut and beat the outside guy to the end zone."
"When I cut it back, I just saw some open field," Black said. "There was a nice block to seal, and I just saw the open field."
A downfield block by Brennan Carroll was the last one Black needed to get into the end zone, and Tyler Kellogg's extra point gave the Falcons a 7-0 lead.
And it didn't take Saratoga long to score again.
David Goni drilled a line-drive kickoff into a Palma lineman, and Matt McKenna pounded on the loose ball to give the Falcons control at the Palma 34.
A couple of losses and a penalty were more than offset by three runs by Trent Frisina for 36 yards. Goni ultimately hit Brady with an 11-yard touchdown pass on a third-down play. Kellogg converted again, and Saratoga was up 14-3 with 1:56 left in the third period.
The Falcons, who were so dominated in the first half, were turning the game around in the second half. Palma had outgained Saratoga 110-45 in first half yardage, running 30 plays to 13 for the Falcons.
But in the end it was Saratoga outgaining Palma 211-169 in total offense.
"We made a few adjustments [at the half], and the kids executed," Machado said.
"We just came out and played like we were supposed to play in the first half," added John Herndon, who starred at linebacker and halfback for the Falcons.
It was actually Herndon's move from fullback to halfback in the second half that was a key to the Saratoga attack.
Frisina led the Falcons with 106 yards on 16 carries in the win, but Herndon supported with 43 yards on six carries--40 of those yards coming in the second half, and 29 of the 40 came on a final drive that sealed the Saratoga victory.
Black started that drive with a pass interception at the Saratoga give.
"I knew he was going to pump fake and throw it deep," Black said of the Palma quarterback. "I just jumped for it."
His interception stopped a Palma threat and started a drive that covered 86 yards, ate up almost seven minutes on the clock and culminated with a 37-yard field goal by Kellogg.
Frisina carried three times for 42 yards and hauled in a Goni pass for 12 more on the drive. Herndon picked up the 29 yards, and Kellogg carried once for 14 to set up his own field goal.
But Machado was quick to point out that it was the defensive effort, sparked by coaches Goni and Eric Walukiewicz, that was the key to the victory.
Brennan Carroll led all Saratoga tacklers with eight stops in the important victory, and Brian Carroll was in on eight tackles, including a quarterback sack and another tackle in the enemy backfield.
Ross Hanson, Herndon, Jordan Eshelman and Kyle Cardin were others mixing it up inside for the Falcons. Hanson was in on seven tackles, Herndon and Choe five each and Cardin and Eshelman four apiece.
Eshelman recovered a fumble and came through with a key quarterback sack late in the game. He and Brian Carroll also forced an incomplete pass on Palma's last possession that ended when James Choe picked off a pass.
Goni was in on six tackles for Saratoga, and Choe got in on five. Linebacker Jack Huang had a key quarterback sack at the Palma one among his four tackles.
Black, Shaun O'Conner and Cory Schwaderer were also among the tackling leaders, and Troy Cardin, Jeremy Devich, Sean Hanley and Kota Takamoto were in on key stops.
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, December 11, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved