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Berg Scores Two Touchdowns, but North Loses 27-24
Andrew Berg had a huge night in the 36th annual Charlie Wedemeyer All-Star Football Game, just not quite huge enough to lead his North team to victory. There were plenty of highlight-reel plays in the annual All-Star game at Spartan Stadium, but in the end the South All-Stars walked away with a 27-24 victory.
The annual all-star game is sponsored by the Almaden Valley Rotary Club. It benefits, among others, the Charlie Wedemeyer Family Outreach program, which raises money for ALS research. Wedemeyer, former head coach at Los Gatos High School, was stricken with ALS in the early 1980s. He astonished the medical world with his battle against the disease, which typically claims its victims in less than two years. Wedemeyer fought if off for more than 32 years before finally passing away June 3.
It was the first time he was not in attendance at the game since it was named in his honor. This year’s All-Stars and members of the U.S. Army presented Lucy Wedemeyer, Charlie’s wife, with a commemorative No. 1 jersey during a halftime ceremony in his honor. Players and referees also wore commemorative “CW” patches on their jerseys and official’s shirts. Charlie Wedemeyer was well known for his offensive genius, and this year’s game featured plenty of offense, just the way Charlie would have liked it.
The South was led by multitalented quarterback Josh McCain, who can beat you through the air and — when things break down — on the ground with his legs. McCain had a huge night, throwing for two touchdowns and catching a third. Berg, who was one of three Los Gatos High School players in the game, did what he could trying to help the North match McCain’s efforts. Berg had a huge night, catching five passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns. But McCain was the game’s MVP, and he didn’t waste any time establishing that. He immediately led the South on a 12-play, 78-yard drive that ended in a 10-yard touchdown pass to Valley Christian’s James Yoder. Coaches in the All-Star game typically alternate quarterbacks, and while McCain was out of the game, the North took the lead. Back came McCain, and back came the South.
McCain returned and found Leland’s Ryan Smith open for a 16-yard touchdown to regain the lead. McCain and Smith hooked up again late in the fourth on a big 42-yard reception down the sideline to set up a game-winning 35-yard field goal by Live Oak’s Dylan Frechette. St. Francis quarterback Kyle Miller ran for a touchdown in the first-half and led a long scoring drive that tied the game in the third quarter. In the second quarter after the South went ahead on Trevor Luescher’s 11-yard touchdown pass to McCain, Miller hit Berg with a six-yard touchdown pass to tie the score at 24.
Berg’s other touchdown came midway through the second quarter when Los Altos quarterback Tim Vanneman hooked up with the Harvard-bound Berg on an 85-yard scoring play that put the North on top 14-10. Los Gatos’ other two representatives in the game were linebacker Alex Gletzer and offensive lineman Wes Bolliger.
Cat's Prepare to Compete in the Tough DeAnza League
Los Gatos is looking to defend a CCS title in 2010 after a thrilling win in overtime against the Wilcox Chargers in 2009. They have their work cut out for them, as they share the DeAnza League with three other teams that went to CCS playoffs. Palo Alto, and Milpitas joined Los Gatos and Wilcox in CCS play last year, Milpitas beat San Benito 28 - 10 to become the Division I Champion while Palo Alto lost to Bellarmine in the first round as they went on to win the Open division Crown.
Four teams, two champions, and two schools that lost to the champions. Great news for the DeAnza League, unless of course you happen to be Gunn High School who replaces Mtn. View this year and will be competing against the perennial Goliath's, Los Gatos, Milpitas, Palo Alto, and Wilcox. The league is rounded out by Homestead and Saratoga, two teams that have not competed for a title anytime in recent history. However, this does make Saratoga a very dangerous opponent for Los Gatos, as the Falcons would love nothing better than to beat their cross town rivals. This is usually the biggest game of the year for Saratoga and you can throw the team records out the window when these two teams get together to do battle.
You can look to October in 2010 as the deciding month for the Cats, as they will face the other top three teams in the league back to back. When they finally face the weaker teams in the league, their should be a front runner in control, but will that be the Cats? In consecutive weeks in October they will play Milpitas, Wilcox, and Palo Alto, while facing only Wilcox on the road. This will be a huge game as Wilcox has not forgotten how close they came to being the Division II champion in 2009. And, if facing these three strong opponents back to back were not enough, Saratoga will be waiting in the wings the very next week to take advantage if the Cats come out of that stretch battered and bruised. Coach Cattolico and his staff will have their work cut out for them as they lost a lot of great senior players from last year, including player of the year QB Nick Hirschman, wide out Andrew Berg, and LB Alec Geltzer.
We know that their is a lot of returning talent, but whether they can excel to the point of becoming DeAnza League champions remains to be seen. One thing is clear though, and that is the Cats will be well prepared and coached as they have an excellent staff that has been together for a long time. So, we will sit back and see what will transpire in 2010 as Fall is almost here and Los Gatos Football will once again take center stage, and hopefully, the Cats will be right in the front when the curtain comes down on the DeAnza League at the end of the year.
Los Gatos Continues to Roll Through Division II
Los Gatos continued to roll through the Division II playoffs, crushing Aragon 45-6 at Westmont High on Friday. Senior running back Cory McDowell had a season-high 137 yards and three touchdowns, and Nick Hirschman and Andrew Berg hooked up on two first-quarter scores to put the game away early.
Berg had six catches for 164 yards, with 100 of them coming in the first quarter. The senior has six 100-yard receiving games this season. Hirschman was 11-of-17 for 286 yards, his second-highest total this season. Nose guard Suhkraj Sohal had 11 tackles, and linebackers Joey Vizzusi and Alec Gletzer had 10 tackles each for the Wildcats defense, which allowed its first points of the postseason with three minutes remaining.
Los Gatos has outscored its opponents 93-6 in clinching a spot in the title game.
The Wildcats will face Wilcox Saturday night at Westmont. Aragon got its lone score on a 36-yard touchdown pass from Sam Tuivailala to Isaiah Harris.
SCORING
Los Gatos 21 10 7 7 — 45
Aragon 0 0 0 6 — 6
LG — McDowell 11 run (Heimer kick)
LG — Berg 38 pass from Hirschman (Heimer kick)
LG — Berg 49 pass from Hirschman (Heimer kick)
LG — McDowell 1 run (Heimer kick)
LG — Heimer 27 FG
LG — McDowell 3 run (Heimer kick)
LG — Cusella 2 run (Heimer kick)
A — Harris 36 pass from Tuivailala (kick blocked)
Records — Los Gatos 9-3; Aragon 7-5
Westmont No Match for Cats; Aragon Next
Sophomore Garret Zeiter scored three touchdowns in romp over Westmont,
photo by Los Gatos Observer
The field was muddy, the air damp and the footballs wet. Coach Butch Cattolico was hoping it wasn’t one of those nights where the weather becomes the big equalizer. Quarterback Nick Hirschman had trouble gripping a wet ball on Los Gatos’ first possession and tossed only his second interception of the year. The Cats went for it on fourth and two on their next possession and didn’t make it.
The good news was that Westmont could do no better on offense early on, and when Los Gatos got the ball for the third time, the Cats marched down field and scored when Hirschman connected with Andrew Berg on a 21-yard scoring toss. Two plays later, Joey Vizzusi intercepted a pass and raced 13 yards into the end zone, and Los Gatos was off to the races.
With 28 more second-quarter points, the Wildcats led 41-0 at halftime and cruised to a 48-0 victory over Westmont in the opening round of the CCS Division II playoffs Friday night at Helm Field. “The field was a little muddy and the balls were pretty slick,” said Cattolico. “So we ended up having to run the ball a little bit more than we planned to.” And it was Zeiter, who joined the varsity late in the season, who did the bulk of the running. The sophomore scored two touchdowns in the second quarter and another in the third quarter and ended up with 88 yards on 19 carries.
“We had four footballs approved before the game, and we had guys keeping them dry on the sidelines,” said Cattolico. “Westmont fumbled the ball away three times, and we intercepted two passes, so that made things a little easier for us.” Cory McDowell had 53 yards on six carries, including one carry for 36 yards. Bevan Waite had a 42-yard run late in the game. In total, Los Gatos racked up 202 yards rushing. It was one of the rare games this season in which the Cats had more yards on the ground than they had through the air. Hirschman completed 9 of 12 passes for 184 yards and two touchdowns. He connected on a 34-yard scoring toss to Jake Hackman-Salazar in the second period.
Berg caught four passes for 89 yards, and Hackman-Salazar three passes for 78 yards. Defensively, Alec Gletzer and Vizzusi led the way with eight tackles each. Nick Martino had six tackles and Shane Smith and Sukhraj Sohal five tackles each. Smith, Mike Sporck and Landon Cramer each recovered fumbles, and Vizzusi and Berg picked off passes. Cattolico said that the first round of CCS playoffs typically pits teams from the B leagues against teams from the A leagues. Once you get to the semifinals, however, he said that it is usually all A league teams that are left. And that will be the case this Friday when Los Gatos faces a tough Aragon team at 7 p.m. at Westmont High School. Aragon is currently 7-4 overall and always a formidable opponent.
“They have a quarterback (Sam Tuivailala) who is very talented,” said Cattolico. “They are a wing-T football team with good skill kids. They don’t look to be as big as they usually are, but they still have good size.” Cattolico said Los Gatos will have to contain Tuivailala if they hope to slow down the Aragon offense.
“They are going to try and run the ball, but they will throw when they have to,” said Cattolico. “The quarterback throws the ball well, and he can take off and run when there is nothing there. He is very dangerous.” The winner of this Friday night’s game will play the winner of the Leland-Wilcox semifinal in the Division II championship game. Wilcox hammered Sobrato 48-0 in its opener, and Leland pounded Gunn 51-13.
Randy Frey is a writer for the Los Gatos Observer
After tough football loss, Los Gatos looks forward to CCS playoffs
It's that time of year when the players and coaches on the Los Gatos football team would rather look forward than back. The Wildcats are looking forward to the start of the second season on Nov. 20, 7 p.m., when they host Westmont in the first round of the Central Coast Section Division II, because the first season didn't end up all that well.
Los Gatos lost for the second time in three weeks last Friday night, falling 20-19 to Milpitas to finish in a second-place tie with the Trojans in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League. Palo Alto (4-0-2) clinched the title with a 14-14 tie against fourth-place Wilcox (3-2-1). The Cats and Trojans shared second with matching 4-2 records. "Next to the [West Catholic Athletic League], our league is probably the best in the section," said Los Gatos coach Butch Cattolico. "And you could just about throw a blanket over the top four, we're all that close." All four of the top clubs will join fifth-place Saratoga in the CCS playoffs.
Paly (7-1-2 overall) is in the Open School Division and will host Bellarmine (8-1-1) on Friday; Milpitas (8-2) is in Division I and will entertain Gilroy (4-5-1) on Saturday; Saratoga (5-5) is in Division III and visits Burlingame (7-3) on Friday; and Los Gatos (7-3) and Wilcox (6-3-1) are both in Division II, the Cats at home against Westmont (6-3-1) and the Chargers hosting Sobrato (8-2). Westmont earned a place in the playoffs with a tight 7-0 victory Advertisement over Gunderson last Friday night.
After losing three of their first five games, the Warriors have won four of their last five games and tied one. "They've come along the last couple of games," said Cattolico of the Warriors. "They're got some pretty good running backs, and [Dominik] Arbet is the guy they like to go to. And they look to be pretty well coached." The only common opponent for the Wildcats and Warriors this season is Saratoga. The Falcons whipped Westmont 52-27 early in the year, but lost 47-0 to the Cats on Oct. 23. "Our biggest concern as a team right now, though, is that we don't handle size well," said Cattolico, That was a problem that the Wildcats faced last Friday night when they lost to a big, physical Milpitas team. "We were disappointed because last week [against Wilcox] it looked like we were finally getting physical," said the coach, "but against Milpitas we got`out-physicalled.' " "It was a tough one to lose," he added. "We knew what we had to do, and we didn't go out and do it." Still, the Wildcats had their chances.
Los Gatos took a 19-17 lead on the first play of the fourth quarter when big 6-foot-3, 220-pound senior quarterback Nick Hirschman threw a 72-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Berg, who broke a couple of tackles on his way to the end zone. Unfortunately, the Cats missed on the extra point attempt—the second miss of the night—and that point would end up proving costly. Milpitas came back to move into position for a field goal and led 20-19 with about five minutes to play. With a minute to go, Hirschman connected with Jake Hackman-Salazar on passes for 28 and 11 yards to move the Cats to the Milpitas 35-yard line. But with 15 seconds, Hirschman's desperation pass was intercepted, and the Trojans had secured the win.
It was just Hirschman's first interception this season. Hirschman had another impressive night for the Wildcats, hitting on 16 of 26 passes for 282 yards and three touchdowns. Hackman-Salazar caught 11 passes for 144 yards and Berg had four grabs for 127, despite facing double coverage all night long. Alec Gletzer also had a reception for 11 yards. Berg carried five times for 43 yards to lead the ground attack and sophomore running back Garrett Zeiter provided a encouraging note for the Gatos coaching staff with six carries for 29 yards. Cory McDowell ran nine times for 27 yards, Cole Cusella four for 16 and Gletzer three for 12. Senior linebacker Joey Vizzusi was the defensive leader with 17 tackles and Gletzer and Sukhraj Sohal had 13 apiece. Hackman-Salazar chipped in with nine stops, Cusella and Mike Sporck six each, Blair Gardner five and Andrew Tjon and Shane Smith four apiece. Dionte Cook, Taig McNulty and Cameron Hashemi had three tackles each, Charlie Zweng and Berg two apiece and Harrison Tinsley and Nick Martino one each.
"Overall, though, we didn't tackle as well as we should have," said Cattolico. Los Gatos dominated the game early and scored first on a 29-yard TD toss from Hirschman to Berg. Jon Impey kicked the extra point to make it 7-0. A 49-yard screen pass on a big fourth down play led to the first Milpitas touchdown. "Just when we thought we had stopped them, they went 49 yards," said Cattolico. "That really hurt." The Trojans scored again before the half to lead 14-7 at intermission, then kicked a field goal early in the second half to lead 17-7. But the Cats came fighting back. After an apparent 70-yard touchdown run by Berg was called because of a penalty, the Wildcats started to move. Berg ran 18 yards for a first down. A couple of key runs by Zeiter, a 10-yard run by Berg and a pair of big passes from Hirschman to Hackman-Salazar set up a 10-yard scoring toss from Hirschman to Hackman-Salazar. A missed extra point left the Cats down 17-13. The Wildcats fought back later to take the lead, but couldn't hold it.
High School Football Playoff Preview
the Central Coast Section football playoffs kick off Friday night with several interesting story lines involving Santa Clara County teams. In Division I, Independence (6-3-1), the No. 8 seed, travels to top-seeded San Benito (8-2) at 7 p.m. San Benito is coming off a 35-30 upset loss to Gilroy last week, as Gilroy's Jordan Holler returned a pair of kickoffs for touchdowns. San Benito quarterback Trevor Fabing hurt his shoulder and left the game in the second half. His status for the game Friday is uncertain. Independence has won four games in a row since tying Willow Glen. Running back Robert Rodriguez (882 yards rushing) and safety Joe Pauli (13.9 tackles per game) are the key players for the 76ers. But rumors are swirling that senior running back/linebacker Derek Muaava, who has missed the entire season with a knee injury, might return to face the Haybalers. Independence Coach Norman Brown said Muaava, who has made an oral commitment to San Jose State, wants to play, but the decision won't be made until game time.
The game has added intrigue with Brown going up against Haybalers defensive coordinator Tod Thatcher. The two are close friends since their days at Edenvale Elementary School and played at Oak Grove together. "I know Tod and the way he coaches so well," said Brown, who is also close with Haybalers head coach Chris Cameron. "We learned to play defense together at Oak Grove, and I think he has put together Advertisement one of the best defenses in the section. It's going to be tough game."
Gilroy, which has won its past two games, comes north to face No. 3 seed Milpitas in another Division I matchup, Saturday at 7 p.m. Milpitas (8-2) defeated Los Gatos 20-19 last week behind a strong defensive effort, led by brothers Maki Musika and Daniel Musika. Milpitas is seeking its second CCS title. The Trojans won the Large School championship in 2006.
Fifth-seeded Andrew Hill will be out for some revenge when it visits No. 4 Salinas, the team that eliminated the Falcons in the first round of the playoffs last season. The rematch is Saturday at 7 p.m in Salinas. The Falcons (7-1-2) have a game breaker in Ronnie Isles (1,140 yards rushing and 19 touchdowns) and another solid threat on both sides of the ball in linebacker/running back Thomas Everett (745 yards rushing and 89 tackles). Hill feels as if it has something to prove, and a win might give them a chance to face San Benito, the only team to beat the Falcons this year.
Piedmont Hills (8-2), led by dynamic senior quarterback Joshua McCain, is the No. 2 seed and will host Watsonville on Friday at 7 p.m. The Pirates received a boost from the return of Derek Stewart, who missed three games in October with turf toe. He has rushed for 290 yards, caught six passes for 111 yards and scored six times in the past three games.
Division II features defending Medium School champion Los Gatos (7-3) as the top seed and league rival Wilcox as the No. 2 seed. Los Gatos beat Wilcox two weeks ago 26-14. Colorado-bound quarterback Nick Hirschman threw for 282 yards and three touchdowns in Los Gatos' loss to Milpitas. He has 28 touchdown passes, while throwing for 2,217 yards and completing 70 percent of his passes. The Wildcats play host to Westmont at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Wilcox tied Palo Alto in its regular-season finale last week. Senior running back Anthony Herrera had his fourth 200-yard rushing game of the season in the win, finishing with 217 yards and two scores. He has 1,729 yards and 21 touchdowns for the season.
The Chargers (6-3-1) play host to Sobrato (8-2) on Friday at 7 p.m. "We've got a great offensive line, led by Kasi Likio and Mitch Castro," Herrera said. "When those guys get it going, they make my job a lot easier. "We aren't looking past any opponent, but of course we'd like to get another shot at Los Gatos in the title game."
Los Gatos rallies past Wilcox 26-14 in De Anza division football
Showing no ill effects from a hairline fracture suffered two weeks ago, Los Gatos quarterback Nick Hirschman was in top form Friday night while leading the host Wildcats to a 26-14 De Anza division victory over Wilcox.
After sitting out a league loss at Palo Alto last week, Hirschman returned wearing a plastic molding to protect his left lower leg, where he hurt his fibula in a win against Saratoga. Hirschman picked up where he left off, continuing his torrid season by completing 16 of 24 passes for 212 yards and three touchdowns. He has 25 scoring passes without an interception on the year.
"It's a different team with our leader back out there," Los Gatos coach Butch Cattolico said.
On the first drive of the game, Hirschman led the Wildcats (7-2, 4-1) 57 yards in nine plays. The Colorado-bound senior found Andrew Berg three times on the drive for 48 yards. Berg ran a precise crossing pattern catching the ball on the 5-yard line and dragging a tackler across the goal line for a 32-yard score.
"It was great to have Nick back, he's got the best arm, and he is the most accurate quarterback out there — nobody is better," said the Harvard-bound Berg, who had nine catches for 134 yards and two scores.
Wilcox answered quickly as senior Anthony Herrera broke loose around the right end for a 30-yard gain on his second carry. Facing a fourth down and 11 on the Wildcat 29-yard line, Wilcox quarterback Kyle Johnson rolled out of the pocket to buy time and fired a 23-yard strike to Conor Dunn. Johnson scored on a sneak three plays later to tie the game.
In the second quarter Hirschman hit Jake Hackman-Salazar (five catches for 73 yards) on an 11-yard scoring pass across the middle to give the Wildcats the lead. On the ensuing kickoff, Dunn faked a reverse and sprinted 52 yards to the Wildcat 34-yard line. It took the Chargers just five plays from there, with Herrera accounting for 20 yards, including a 6-yard scoring run — his 21st touchdown of the year — to give the Chargers a 14-13 lead at the half.
But Los Gatos dominated after that, in large part because of senior Cory McDowell, who started the season as the third-string running back and had the game of his life. McDowell carried 25 times for 131 yards and a score. "Cory came of age tonight, he ran as hard as he could for the whole game," Cattolico said. The Wildcats did a good job containing the explosive Herrera, who rushed for 106 yards in 22 carries. Linebacker Alex Gletzer and safety Hackman-Salazar had 14 tackles each, while linebacker Shane Smith added 10.
"We talked at halftime and stressed to play the game like it was 0-0," Hirschman said. "Everyone from our linemen to our running backs, defense and receivers came out and played their best in the second half," Hirschman said. "This was a total team effort and I couldn't be prouder."
| Scoring, Los Gatos 27 Wilcox 14 | |||
| Palo Alto | 5 Hirschman to 15 Berg, Impey PAT | 32 yard pass |
7 - 0
|
| Los Gatos | Johnson 1, Duenas PAT | 1 yard run |
7 - 7
|
| Los Gatos | 5 Hirschman to 89 Hackman-Salazar, PAT failed | 11 yard pass |
13 - 7
|
| Los Gatos | Herrera, Duenas PAT | 6 yard run |
13 - 14
|
| Los Gatos | 7 Cory McDowell, 2pt PAT failed | 2 yard run |
20 - 12
|
| Los Gatos | 5 Hirschman to 15 Berg, Impey PAT | 2 yard pass |
27 - 12
|
Turnovers, Penalties, Kill Cats
Nick Hirschman did not play in Friday nights loss to Palo Alto, but that is not why Los Gatos did not win. They didn't win because they made too many mistakes, and Palo Alto took advantage. It sure would have been nice to have Hirschman on the field, let's face it, he's a nationally ranked quarterback, but the Cats still could have won this game if they didn't keep handing it to Palo Alto.
It looked as if it was going to be a real battle as the two teams left the field at halftime separated by only a point, with Palo Alto leading 7 - 6. The defense was playing well, and Hayden Hibberd was doing a good job at QB. They had shown that they could move the ball, and Jake Hackman-Salazar was eating up the Viking secondary. He just seems to be getting stronger each game, as it always takes more than one tackler to bring him down, and he seemed determined to step up his game to keep his team close.
Palo Alto scored first on a pass from T.J. Braff to #6 Joc Pederson. The pass was nearly intercepted by Andrew Berg as they both seemed to catch the ball at the same time falling to the turf where Pederson came away with the prize. The cats came back in the second quarter when Hibberd hit Hackman-Salazar on a short pass that turned into a long gain as Hackman-Salazar ran over and around Palo Alto defenders for a 43 yard gain to the Viking 34. The Cats then worked their way down to the five yard line on short gains by Andy Heimer and Andrew Berg. The drive was capped by a five yard pass form Hibberd to Hackman-Salazar, but the Cats missed the PAT and the score was 7 - 6 at the end of the first half.
Los Gatos came out in the second half and looked to take the lead when Hibberd hit Hackman-Salazar for a 30 yard gain to the Palo Alto 35. A couple of plays later Hibberd hit Hackman-Salazar again down to the Viking 20. Cory McDowell was able to to move the ball down to the 2 yard line on consecutive plays and the Cats were in great shape to take the lead. On the very next play the ball was snapped and never made it into Hibberds hands, it hit the turf and was recovered by Palo Alto. This would be the turning point of the game as two plays later, Palo Alto QB T.J. Braff hit Maurice Williams on an under thrown ball that he ran in for a 95 yard touchdown.
Palo Alto would get the ball again when Joc Pederson intercepted a Hibberd pass that was intended for Andrew Berg. It looked as if the Cats might get back in the game when they held Palo Alto to a field goal try that missed the mark, but a roughing the kicker penalty gave the Vikings a first down, and they would score when Braff took it in himself inside the one yard line. The Cats would not recover and ended up losing 34 - 12. Palo Alto would score again on a 50 yard reverse to Maurice Williams and a 49 yard pass to a wide open Joc Pederson, who didn't even have a defender within 10 yards of him when he caught the ball.
The Cats would score one more time as Cory McDowell took it in from a yard out. The Cats need to rebound quickly as it won't get any easier next week when they play host to the Wilcox Chargers, who would like nothing better than to give Los Gatos back to back losses. Wilcox is coming off a big win against Milpitas who the Cats will face on the 13th. Both Los Gatos and Wilcox are a game behind the league leader Palo Alto Vikings.
| Scoring, Palo Alto 34 Los Gatos 12 | |||
| Palo Alto | 17 T.J. Braff to 6 Joc Pederson | 31 yard pass |
7 - 0
|
| Los Gatos | 2 Hayden Hibber to 89 Jake Hackman-Salazar | 5 yard pass |
7 - 6
|
| Los Gatos | 17 T.J. Braff to 3 Maurice Williams | 95 yard pass |
21 - 6
|
| Los Gatos | 3 Maurice Williams | 50 yard run |
27 - 6
|
| Los Gatos | 7 Cory McDowell | 1 yard run |
27 - 12
|
| Los Gatos | 17 T.J. Braff to 6 Joc Pederson | 49 yard pass |
34 - 12
|
Cats Roast Birds at Homecoming.
As I walked on to the field Friday night, I looked up at the scoreboard and noticed that the all the lights were illuminated with the exception of the digit indicating the score for the guest team, it was dark. I wonder now after seeing this game if Saratoga should have noticed this and taken it as an omen to get back on the bus and go back home, because as it turned out, those lights would not be needed as the Cats rolled their second league shut out.
If you like the air game, you liked this match as their were six touchdowns through the air. Nick Hirschman had a stellar campaign throwing for 413 yards and five TD's, and this was in just a little over two quarters of football and on a bum ankle that he rolled up on after being tackled from behind by #85 Kyle Keating after he saw nobody open and broke from the pocket. "I think the only way Nick would have come out of that game was if he broke his leg!" said Butch Cattolico after the game. "He's sore, but he'll be ready for Palo Alto, he really wanted to beat Saratoga after last year's near loss."
That was evident, I'll take a beat Hircschman over most of the healthy quarterbacks in the state. For most of the game it looked like passing practice with teammate Andrew Berg who set a record with 247 yards receiving and four touchdowns. Two scores were classic Berg as he looked as though he would be tackled, and then just broke free to the surprise and dismay of Falcon defenders. Hayden Hibberd and Dionte Cook connected for another TD by air, and Hibberd ran one in from three yards after recovering a miss fired snap.
There were more Cats hitting the turf for injury time outs than I can remember, fortunately, most were not severe, with the worst probably being Sam Bowers, who was sidelined with a bad ankle. Beat up or not, the Cats were relentless against Saratoga, including a monster defensive effort that held the Birds scoreless.
Joey Vizussi had another fantastic night leading the team with 18 tackles, just ahead of teammate Alec Gletzer with 14. The Falcons were able to get a couple of drives going but the Cats stopped them on key third and fourth down plays, or forced turnovers. Charlie Zweng recovered two loose balls and Luke Hollander had one.
It looked as though the biggest game of the year would be the Cats last against Milpitas, who was unbeaten until a loss this week to who else...Palo Alto. So, the biggest game of the season this far will be next Friday night in Palo Alto as the Cats will fight the Vikings for first place in the League. A win and Los Gatos is in control of their own destiny and would take the league championship with wins against Wilcox on November 6 and Milpitas November 13, but that's looking a little too far ahead as Palo Alto would like nothing better than to send the Cats home with a loss. I guess they'll just play them one week at a time.
| Scoring, Los Gatos 47 Saratoga 0 | |||
| Los Gatos | 5 Nick Hirschman to 15 Andrew Berg | 49 yard pass |
7 - 0
|
| Los Gatos | 5 Nick Hirschman to 89 Jake Hackman-Salazar | 52 yard pass |
14 - 0
|
| Los Gatos | 5 Nick Hirschman to 15 Andrew Berg | 69 yard pass |
21 - 0
|
| Los Gatos | 5 Nick Hirschman to 15 Andrew Berg | 69 yard pass |
28 - 0
|
| Los Gatos | 5 Nick Hirschman to 15 Andrew Berg | 13 yard pass |
34 - 0
|
| Los Gatos | 2 Hayden Hibberd | 3 yard run |
41 - 0
|
| Los Gatos | 2 Hayden Hibberd to 3 Dionte Cook | 10 yard pass |
47 - 0
|
No Suspense, No Surprise, Cats Dominate Lynbrook
I would like to be able to write in a little drama from last Friday night’s game with Lynbrook, but there just wasn’t any. In a word, predictable. The starters came out and basically moved the ball at will against Lynbrook, and the defense pretty much shut them down with the exception of one 40 plus yard run by Lynbrook’s Shohei Hirota that led to a Viking 27 yard field goal.
It was a night where the Los Gatos reserves would get most of the playing time, and a night in which seven different Los Gatos players entered the endzone. Hirschman and Bowers started things off with a 32 yard post pattern that Bowers caught just before the goal line. Andy Heimer had another good night scoring two touchdowns, a 15 yard sprint in the first quarter, and 12 yard run in the second quarter.
Andrew Berg caught a 16 yard pass from Hirschman with 6:19 left in the first quarter giving the Cats a 21 - 0 lead. Then Hirota had his long run that set up Ben Zatz for a Lynbrook three pointer making the score 21 - 3. Jake Hackman-Salazar took a short crossing pattern and broke it down the right sideline for a 69 yard touchdown, and Cory McDowell had a 29 yard run giving the Cats a 34 - 3 lead with 1:44 still left in the opening quarter.
The Cats would score three more times in the second quarter giving them 54 points in half a game. Andy Heimer had a 12 yard run, Hayden Hibberd hit Andrew Tjon for a 6 yard TD pass, and Cusella scored the final Los Gatos points on a 55 yard run with 1:11 left in the half. Wesley Wang had a great run with seconds left in the half. Los Gatos was expecting pass, but Lynbrook faked the pass and gave the ball to Wang who banged his way down to the two yard line with no time on the clock.
Lynbrook would score a touchdown in the second half as Wang ran it in from 5 yards out about 2 minutes into the fourth quarter. The reserves had some good plays in the second half, Dylan Johns had a nice 27 yard run, and Trevor Williams and Pat Sgarlata both had some good running plays.
This game ended just as expected no suspense, no surprise as the Cats dominate Lynbrook.
| Scoring, Los Gatos 54 Lynbrook 10 | |||
| Los Gatos | 5 Nick Hirschman to 12 Sam Bowers | 32 yard pass |
7 - 0
|
| Los Gatos | 25 Andy Heimer | 15 yard run |
14 - 0
|
| Los Gatos | 5 Nick Hirschman to 15 Andrew Berg | 18 yard run |
21 - 3
|
| Lynbrook | 50 Ben Zatz | 27 yard FG |
27 - 3
|
| Los Gatos | 5 Hirschman 89 Hackman-Salazar | 69 yard pass |
34 - 3
|
| Los Gatos | 7 Cory McDowell | 29 yard run |
40 - 3
|
| Los Gatos | 25 Andy Heimer | 12 yard run |
47 - 3
|
| Los Gatos | 17 Andrew Tjon | 6 yard pass |
54 - 3
|
| Los Gatos | 22 Cory Cusella | 55 yard run |
54 - 3
|
| Lynbrook | 20 Wesley Wang | 5 yard run | 54 - 10 |