Game Previews
Cats open at Menlo-Atherton, day game
I would like to hype this match up to generate excitement for the opener, but I don't think that's possible. The wildcats handled the Bears with ease and I predict the same this year. It is high school football however, and it is the first game of the season. Menlo could have beefed up there team to give them a fighting chance against the Cats, or maybe the Cats will be looking past the Bears to the Lancers who have had their number for several years.
Any or all of this could happen, but I doubt it. Los Gatos is a better team than Menlo, and Cattolico will make sure that his team isn't looking anywhere but at the Bears. He'll no doubt point out that the first game is the most important and it sets the tone for the whole season, or that they need to be hitting on all cylinders as they face a stretch of very good teams starting the very next week at St. Francis.
None of this will matter, as the Cats should beat the Bears unless they totally collapse, and I haven't seen that happen since the game against the Lancers when Cattolico missed his first game ever due to a medical issue. No, the Cats will beat the Bears, and then travel to St. Francis where they will meet a formidable opponent, and what will be the outcome of that match-up? I'll let you know after they beat the Bears.
Great Match-up for CCS Final
Opponent: Wilcox Chargers
Time: 7:00
Field: Westmont High School
DIRECTIONS TO WESTMONT HIGH SCHOOL
You couldn't ask for a more evenly matched game this Saturday at Westmont High School for the CCS Division II championship. The Chargers come in at 8 - 3 - 1 and have scored a total of 95 points in their two CCS playoff games. Earlier this year in league play, Wilcox beat Milpitas 49 - 26 and played the DeAnza league champion Palo Alto to a 14 - 14 tie. The low point of their season was a loss to Homestead, a game that they surely should have won.
Los Gatos came into this season with one of the best passing games in the CCS and hopes of another De Anza league title. Losses to Palo Alto 34 - 12, and Milpitas 20 - 19, took away any chance of regaining the De Anza crown. The Cats come in at 9 - 3, and beat Wilcox in league play 26 - 14. Los Gatos has outscored their opponents 93 - 6 in their two CCS playoff games.
Is the De Anza league strong? Well how about three teams in the CCS finals? Milpitas will face San Benito in the Division I final this weekend. Both Wilcox and Los Gatos cruised through their first two playoff games, but that probably won't be the case Saturday night. Wilcox will use their ground attack and try to control the ball while keeping Hirschman and his aerial show on the sidelines. Anthony Herrera #33, had some long gains in their last meeting, and you can count on him getting plenty of work. Alec Gletzer and the Cats defense will need keep Herrera in check for the Cats to be successful.
The Cats will undoubtedly come out throwing the ball with Nick Hirschman hitting all of his targets in the form of Andrew Berg, Sam Bowers, and Jake Hackman-Salazar. Wilcox was able to get pressure on Hirschman in the the first half of their loss to the Cats, and they will need to accomplish that again if they plan on stopping the Los Gatos offense.
It should be a great game, and it just might come down to a turnover or mistake, as these big games usually do. In any case, it will be fun to watch.
No Pre-season; Aragon to Meet Cats in CCS Semi-Finals
Opponent: Aragon Dons
Time: 7:00
Field: Westmont High School
DIRECTIONS TO WESTMONT HIGH SCHOOL
For years Aragon and Los Gatos opened the season against each other in non-league play. This year they did not, the two teams waited until the CCS semifinals to renew their rivalr
Aragon is coming off a 42-7 win over Mt. Pleasant while the Cats reached this game with a 48-0 win over Westmont. Aragon is led by a very talented QB #2 and feature some outstanding skill players in #1 Isaiah Harris at running back, #3 Aaron Edder at wide receiver, #34 Christian Gonzalaes, and #6 A.J. Quimson.
Aragon will play their usual style of rugged defense led by defensive ends Viliami Fukofuka, #54 and #56 Etoni Tonga as well as four outstanding linebackers in #9 Kyle Fung, #22 Conor Doiron, #20 Patrick Moore and #24 Andrew Vanisi.
Both teams are not strangers to the CCS playoffs. The last time they met in the playoffs was in the semi-finals of the open division in 2004.
Look for Aragon to run their wing T offense and the Cats to counter with their strong defense. It should be a classic battle at Westmont High School at 7pm this Friday.
Explosive Offenses Meet in Season Finale
Opponent: Wilcox Chargers
Time: 5:15 Frosh/Soph 7:30 Varsity
Field: Helm Field Los Gatos
DIRECTIONS TO MILPITAS HIGH SCHOOL
The game time this Friday night in Milpitas has been changed to 7:00pm so Comcast TV can telecast the game.
This game will pit two of the most explosive offenses in the CCS, Milpitas and Los Gatos against one another Friday night. The Cats will have their hands full with the Trojans spread offense. Wide Receivers #1 Kwanzaa Striplin, #20 Antonio Douglas, #3 Jordan Lockett and #80 Dela Harlley can all catch and run, while Milpitas has two quarterbacks who can get the ball to them in #10 Cameron Hernandez and #15 Junior Londo
The Trojans also have two outstanding running backs in #2 Ben Pomele and #25 Jon Fullbright. They are also very big up front. On defense the team is lead by big linebacker #56 Maki Musika. Milpitas held the No 1 ranking in CCS for several weeks before tough losses to Palo Alto and Wilcox. Both teams enter the game at 7-2 although Los Gatos is 4-1 in league and Milpitas is 3-2.
Both teams have already qualified for the CCS playoffs, the Wildcats for the 27th year in a row. It should be a great game as always between Milpitas and Los Gatos at 7pm in Milpitas.
Coach Cattolico
Opponent: Wilcox Chargers
Time: 5:15 Frosh/Soph 7:30 Varsity
Field: Helm Field Los Gatos
DIRECTIONS TO LOS GATOS HIGH SCHOOL
It will be Senior night at Helm Field when the Wildcats take on Wilcox. It should be a great game. The Chargers are led by running back #33 Anthony Herrera and QB #12 Kyle Johnson on offense, and feature Kasi Likio #78 on the line.
Defensively they are led by two outstanding linebackers in #55 Jeremy Souza and #9 Justin Sagote. Each team has one league loss and looks to stay in the chase of front runner Palo Alto. The Cats hope to get some healthy bodies back for this big game. Start time is 7:30 at Helm Field with Senior night activities preceding the game. Hope you can make it.
Opponent: Palo Alto Vikings
Time: 5:15 Frosh/Soph 7:30 Varsity
Field: Palo Alto High School
DIRECTIONS TO PALO ALTO HIGH SCHOOL
It seems lately, that every time Los Gatos and Palo Alto play there is a championship at stake. So the Wildcats will square off with the Vikings once again Friday night at Palo Alto, and the winner will be in the driver’s seat for the league title in the tough De Anza League.
Los Gatos sits at 3-0 while Palo Alto is 2-0-1. With both Milpitas and Wilcox each with one loss and playing each other this weekend, the winner of the Los Gatos-Palo Alto game will be sitting in a very nice position. Palo Alto has a very talented offense with three very talented receivers in Maurice Williams #3, Davante Adams #10, and Joc Pederson #6. Although they lost quarterback Christof Bono, T. J. Braff #17 seems to be filling in quite nicely as he did last Friday night in a big win over Milpitas.
Their defense is very solid and they are well coached by long time head coach Earl Hansen. Their big win over Milpitas was a high point for Palo Alto this season, but a tie with Homestead is almost certainly their low. The Wildcats beat Homestead 49-14. Two outstanding teams which met for the CCS Medium School division championship last year, and split their two meetings last season will play for first place in the league with only two weeks remaining after Friday night. It looks to be another great match up between two former DeAnza league Champions
Opponent: Saratoga Falcons
Time: 5:15 Frosh/Soph 7:30 Varsity
Field: Helm Field, Los Gatos
DIRECTIONS TO LOS GATOS HIGH SCHOOL
The fact that Friday night will be Homecoming Against arch rival Saratoga makes this a big week for the Cats. Although Saratoga has struggled the last couple of weeks, they know this is their last chance to make the playoffs, and that is even more incentive to play the game of their lives.
Both teams remember last years game when Saratoga played so well and still lost. As for the Cats this is a crucial game that was sandwiched between three easy contests and three very tough games ahead.
It is important that we stay focused and not get too caught up in the homecoming festivities, because Saratoga has some outstanding players. Running backs #22 Grant Thomas, #2 Troy Doles, #32 Jian Lee, #5 Marcus Hoffman and #7 Greg Johnson are all excellent. Both QB’s have special talents, #11 Vinne Carstens is a very good passer and field general, while #8 Kevin Smith runs the options very well.
Their defense put a lot of pressure on the offensive line and last year, and the Cats did not handle it very well. In the end, it will come down to two schools from the same district, playing for school pride and bragging rights. No one needs to remind either school that the last time Saratoga beat Los Gatos was 1987, and the last time they won a regular season game was 1981, well before any of these players were even born.
For the Los Gatos seniors it is a chance to preserve the right to say that they have never lost to Saratoga, something that many seniors have said to them in the past. Come out and see the fun, Friday night at Helm Field.
Opponent: Lynbrook Vikings
Time: 5:15 Frosh/Soph 7:30 Varsity
Field: Cupertino High School
DIRECTIONS TO CUPERTINO HIGH SCHOOL
Lynbrook will be a tough team to prepare for this week. This is the week before the Los Gatos homecoming and a game with our cross town rival Saratoga Falcons. The Vikings come in with an 0-5 record, and they lost to Monta Vista last week 33 - 7, and handled Monta Vista pretty well, so the coaches objective will be to get a look at those players that are not be starting but will be needed when they do play in the games remaining on our schedule.
Lynbrook runs a wide open offense with many different formations, some which take me back to the old days. If you have never seen the Notre Dame Box formation, you will see Lynbrook's variation of it on Saturday night. Their quarterback Billy Zamagni #2 is an excellent athlete and James Liaw #5 is a tough runner. Geran Pele #8 is a very good linebacker and tough fullback so they can offer us some challenges.
They have a small squad with a lot of players playing both ways, so our plan will be to wear them down a little. A muddy week of practice and the chance that we might be looking ahead to Saratoga worry this coach a little. This game will be a rare Saturday night match at Cupertino High School, so come out and see us play the Lynbrook Vikings if you have a chance.
Time: 5:15 Frosh/Soph 7:30 Varsity
Field: Fremont High School
DIRECTIONS TO FREMONT HIGH SCHOOL
Looking at this game week ago, it appeared to be an easy win. Homestead didn’t have a win, and it looked as if they wouldn’t pose much of a threat when we play them. What a difference a week makes. As the Cats prepare for Homestead they are well aware that last week, Homestead defeated a very strong Wilcox team 17-7.
Although the Mustangs have not been scoring a lot of points they have been giving up very little with their stingy defense. Inside linebacker #5 John Batnich is a real force on the defense as are Ryan Blodgett #59, and tackle Naveh Assaf #58. Shane Bond a linebacker #51 and defensive end Marcus Boucher #47 are also extremely strong.
On the offensive their fullback Brian Rogers #30 is an outstanding runner and Shaquille Green #7 is very quick, and throws the ball well from the QB position. It will be a game matching two team at 1-0 in league for a chance to stay undefeated in the standings.
The Cats will be visiting Fremont High School where kickoff will be at 7:30 Friday night. This should be a tougher game than many originally thought.
Time: 5:15 Frosh/Soph 7:00 Varsity
Field: Helm Field, Los Gatos High School
DIRECTIONS TO LOS GATOS HIGH SCHOOL
The Cats open the 2009 De Anza League season against a strong Mtn. View team this Friday night at Helm Field. The Spartans are 3-0 in non league and have a very strong offense led by number 34 Alfonzo Brister, a senior fullback, and a good passing attack led by their quarterback number 9, Justin Hand.
The Cats are coming off a big win over Salinas and should be ready for the challenge of the tough De Anza League. It will be Alumni Night at Helm Field and a good crowd is expected, to see a great game, and some great alumni players. This game will be a test to see if Mtn. View is as good as their 3-0 record and see if the can get rid of the bad taste in their mouth from the last time they played here.
It will be time to see which team is for real. It looks to be a real exciting league opener...as now the games really count.