The measurement would determine more than just a first down—it would likely mean the difference between victory and defeat for the Falcons and their Sept. 17 non-league opponent, Pioneer.

Even before crew chief Gene Dawson could give the official word, everyone in the stadium knew the outcome when the members of the Saratoga defensive unit began leaping for joy.

The Mustangs had come up just inches short of a first down on fourth and goal with 41.1 seconds left to play, and the Falcons had held on for their first win ever on their newly installed football field at Saratoga High.

And held on is exactly what Saratoga had done. The Falcons had led 21-0 in the first quarter and 34-7 early in the third period, but the Mustangs had battled back to cut the lead to 34-27 and were knocking at the door in the final moments.

"We were fortunate to hold on for a win," said Saratoga coach Kurt Heinrich moments after the victory. "I think, A, we got complacent, and, B, they fought their butts off. They're a good football team."

Pioneer coach Mark Krail was disappointed with the loss, but pleased with the way his Mustangs battled back.

"To get down so much so early—that's a big hole to dig out of," said Krail. "We were real close to putting it in there."

"Real close" is something of an understatement. The Mustangs drove 94 yards on 11 plays after taking over possession at their own 4-yard line with 3:41 left to play following a Saratoga punt. But they needed to go 96 yards.

Andrew Schulz made a brilliant diving catch of a Chris Foley pass for a 23-yard gain to the Saratoga 12-yard line with 1:53 left. Two running plays and a fumbled snap later, the Mustangs faced a fourth and four at the 6-yard line.

Foley tossed a screen pass to Schulz but Saratoga read it perfectly and appeared to stop it cold. But Schulz had the presence of mind to pitch the ball back to Foley, and the sophomore quarterback shot out of the pack. He was dropped at the 2-yard line by another sophomore, Saratoga's Alex Lagemann, and the only question was whether is was enough for the first down.

It wasn't, and Saratoga's celebration began. Quarterback Brandon Kinsting took two dives into the line to run out the clock, and the Falcons had the 34-27 victory.

"They played great," said Heinrich of his club's opponent. "Pioneer is a great team. They'll be in the playoffs."

It was a game that Saratoga appeared to have locked up, so with the score 34-13 and 10 minutes left to play, the Falcons started to play its substitutes. But the Mustangs took advantage of the opportunity and scored two quick touchdowns to cut the lead to 34-27 and take the momentum.

"Our second-team guys can't go in there and play flag football," said Heinrich, disappointed with the effort of his second teamers.

Shaun Souza took the hand-off on an inside reverse and went 62 yards for a touchdown, then C.J. Miller recovered the onside kick at the Pioneer 49.

A Schulz run for 31 yards and a Foley run for eight yards took the Mustangs to the 2-yard line, and Mike Makris went over the middle for the touchdown to make it 34-27.

Pioneer tried another onside kick, but Adam Sato recovered for the Falcons at Saratoga's 44. The Falcons were unable to convert a first down, and David Orasin had to punt the ball away. His kick rolled to the Pioneer 4-yard line before it was downed.

A 26-yard run by Souza and the diving catch by Schulz for 23 yards took the Mustangs to the 12.

Phil Spencer and T.J. Florence stopped Schulz at the 7-yard line, and Michael Block met Worrell at the 3 before a fumbled snap left the Mustangs back at the 6-yard line. That set the stage for Pioneer's final offensive play that came up inches short.

"We got a win against a quality team," said Heinrich, "so we're happy about that." The coach was also pleased with the play of Kinsting, the Falcons senior quarterback.

"Brandon did a great job of figuring out what they were doing up front," said Heinrich. Because of it, the quarterback was making good decisions on the option—whether to give the football to fullback Peter Rutti, keep it or pitch it to a trailing back.

Kinsting gave the ball to Rutti enough that the powerful back ran for 166 yards on 18 carries, including touchdown runs of 19 and 56 yards.

Rutti, who ran up 282 yards in the season opener against Leigh, took the ball up the right sideline and broke a couple of tackles on his way to his 56-yard TD run in the third quarter.

"That was all Peter Rutti," said Heinrich of the run.

Kinsting also ran for a couple of touchdowns and he completed his only two passes for 29 yards—a 12-yarder to Kyle Stoffers and a 17-yarder to Lagemann.

Tyler Williams added 44 yards on six carries and Spencer picked up 43 yards on five tries to support Rutti's effort on the ground. The backs were working behind an offensive front of tackles Danny Kowitz and Chris Chavez, guards Augie Lagemann and Matt Greene, center Scott Francis and tight end Sato.

Saratoga scored first in the game when an 18-yard run by Rutti and a 30-yard dash by Spencer set up Kinsting for a 1-yard TD blast. Orasin kicked the first of his four extra points, and the Falcons were up 7-0 with 7:08 left in the first quarter.

The defense got the Falcons the ball back in a hurry, and this time Rutti took off on a 19-yard touchdown dash.

Saratoga made it 21-0 when Williams took a hand-off around the left side and picked up a key block from Spencer to go 26 yards for a score. The Falcons had scored on each of their first three possessions.

Foley completed a couple of passes to lead the Mustangs down the field and capped a 73-yard drive with a 1-yard sneak to cut the lead to 21-7 with 7:46 left in the half.

That's how it remained until Rutti's 56-yard touchdown run three plays into the third. Jeff Lyu then intercepted a Foley pass two plays later and ran it back 33 yards to the Pioneer 15. Kinsting took a keeper around the left side for 10 yards and the score. Rolando Gomez blocked the kick attempt, but the Falcons led 34-7.

What followed was the Pioneer comeback that came up two yards and seven points short.

Greg Mow finished the day as the tackling leader for the Falcons, getting on 12 stops. Sato made 10 tackles, including two in the Pioneer backfield, Block was in on eight, Florence got in on seven and Eric Finnegan and Brent Walter had six apiece. Walter also sacked the quarterback.

Marc Schumacher and Mark Denari also had QB sacks, and Schumacher, Stoffers, Ryan Hall, Lyu, Spencer, Al. Lagemann, Greene, Daniel Wallace and Chris Toscano were among the tackling leaders. Lyu and Al. Lagemann each picked off Pioneer passes and Hall had a couple of tackles for losses.

Saratoga will hit the road for the first time this year when the Falcons visit Fremont on Sept. 23, 7:30 p.m., for a non-league game. The Falcons are 1-1 on the year and the Firebirds are 0-2 following losses to Willow Glen and Independence.