They didn't need to be—the Falcons defense saw to that.

Because even though the field goal cut the Saratoga lead to 7-3 at the time, that three-pointer would be all that the Falcons would allow on their way to an impressive 33-3 victory over the Titans in Palo Alto.

"Our defense did a great job," said Heinrich after the win that pushed his club to 4-3 for the year and to 2-2 in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League.

"The key to the game was our defense," he added. "They tackled real well in the open field, and we held them to just 132 yards. For us to be successful, our defense has to do this."

Leading the effort for the Saratoga defense were Kyle Stoffers, Adam Sato, T.J. Florence, Michael Block, Brent Walter, Greg Mow, Jeff Lyu, Phil Spencer, Mark Denari and Danny Wallace.

"The defense held them until we could get something going," added Heinrich. And in the second half, the Falcons really got going.

Saratoga led just 7-3 at intermission, thanks to a 12-yard touchdown run by quarterback Brandon Kinsting and David Orasin's extra point in the first half.

The defense allowed the Titans just a 42-yard field goal in the first half, then blanked Gunn in the second half—and that's when the Saratoga offense really got busy.

Kinsting's 5-yard TD and Orasin's second kick upped the score to 14-3 in the third quarter, then Kinsting went to the air to hit Alex Lagemann with a 21-yard touchdown pass.

Spencer scored on a 9-yard run and Orasin converted to make it 27-3, then Saratoga closed out the scoring on a 5-yard touchdown run by Peter Rutti.

Rutti led the Saratoga ground attack with 23 carries for 161 yards, pushing him over 1,100 yards for the season after only seven games.

"He's having a great year," said Heinrich of Rutti.

Spencer supported with 17 carries for 77 yards, Scott Newberry picked up 47 yards on six tries and Kinsting ran for 46 yards. Kinsting also hooked up on 3 of 7 passes as he led the Falcons to 343 yards of total offense in the win.

Leading that offensive effort across the front line were tight ends Sato and Walter, tackles Chris Chavez and Danny Kowitz, guards Matt Greene and Augie Lagemann and center Scott Francis.

"It was a great win," added Heinrich. "We couldn't be happier."

The Falcons will try to make it two straight when they face an important game on Oct. 29 at Los Gatos against a strong Homestead club. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

"They're good," said Heinrich of the Mustangs, who rolled over Fremont 55-26 in a non-league game last week. "They have some really good skill guys."

The best of them all is running back Chris Morris, who like Rutti is running up big numbers this fall. Morris has helped the Mustangs to a 5-2 record this season, 1-2 in the De Anza Division.