"It was great," said Heinrich of the Saturday night win over the Pioneers at Los Gatos High School's Helm Field. "We throttled them. We beat them in every way."

The win was Saratoga's second of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League El Camino Division season, and the Falcons improved to 4-0-1 for the year. Cupertino slipped to 1-1 in league play and 3-2 for the year.

The Falcons held Cupertino to just 130 yards of total offense while they rolled up more than 400 yards on the ground.

"Our defense was great," said the coach. "We outhit them, outcompeted and we were more physical than they were. I was really pleased with our defense."

Leading the charge was defensive lineman Javier Meza, a senior co-captain for the Falcons.

"Javier did a wonderful job," said Heinrich. "He was really a difference-maker out there."

The coach also praised the work of Ryan Newberry, Ryan Hall, Adam Sato and Tom Cummins.

The Falcons controlled Cupertino speedster Jonathon Price. The 'Tino backed gained over 100 yards in the game, but most of that came late in the game, said Heinrich.

"Coach [Kevin] Tanner's defense absolutely shut him down," said Heinrich.

The coach also praised the work of place-kicker Eric Frederickson.

"He pinned them back with his kick-offs, and he didn't let Price get the ball and make a big play," said Heinrich.

And then there was the Saratoga offense.

Dayne McGee, Phil Spencer and Newberry rolled up nearly 400 yards running behind a powerful offensive front wall.

McGee carried 27 times for 201 yards and two touchdowns to lead the attack, and Spencer ran eight times for 153 yards and two TDs. Newberry supported with 43 yards on the ground and "a lot of lead blocking," said Heinrich. "That's a pretty tough combination."

Spencer gave the Falcons the early lead with a 26-yard touchdown run in the first period and a 50-yard TD dash in the second. Frederickson converted after each score, as he did after all five Saratoga touchdowns, to give the Falcons a 14-0 lead.

Cupertino cut the lead to 14-7 before the half, but Saratoga pulled away in the second half. McGee took off on a brilliant 90-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to help the Falcons take control.

"He beat two angles, raced down our sidelines, ran over a defensive back and outran their safety and another guy," said Heinrich. "it was a great run."

McGee scored on a 4-yard run in the fourth quarter and Peter Rutti ran one in from the 31-yard line late in the game to close out the scoring.

Tight ends Chris Chavez and Cummins, tackles Augie Lagemann and John Cha, guards Sato and Jay New and center Mark Bertelsen led the way in the offensive line.

"We ran a lot of double tight and really took it right at 'em," said Heinrich. "We ran no huddle most of the first half so that they couldn't make their substitutions, and it really paid off in the second half."

Senior quarterback Brett Granum returned to the field after sitting out a week with a shoulder injury.

"He ran our offense and did a nice job," said Heinrich.

The Falcons will be out to continue their winning ways when they return to Los Gatos on Oct. 17 to host Lynbrook at 7:30 p.m. It will be homecoming night for Saratoga. The Vikings are winless this season.

"But they've got some guys," said Heinrich of the Vikes. "They have a nice fullback and a few other pretty good players."

"We'll be emotionally challenged to get back up," he added.