Los Gatos frosh-soph team beats Homestead High

By Dick Sparrer

Scott Downs figured his Los Gatos frosh-soph football team was in for a tough game.

After all, Homestead had run up a pretty impressive 5-1 record in the first six games of the season, and all five of them wins were by shutout. So Downs was looking for a tough game on Thursday night. And it was pretty tough, though the final score certainly wouldn't indicate it.

Los Gatos rolled to a 24-7 victory over the Mustangs to remain unbeaten in the 1999 season. The Cats are now 7-0 for the year and, more importantly, 4-0 in the DeAnza Division of the SCVAL.

"They were legitimate," said Downs of the Mustangs. "It was a real well-fought ballgame, and it was a good win for us."

But as big as that game was, an even bigger game faces the Wildcats this week. The Cats will host unbeaten Wilcox on Oct. 29, 5:15 p.m., in the game that will decide the division championship.

"The only team that had scored on [Homestead] was Wilcox," said Downs. The Chargers handed the Mustangs their only loss--now it's up to Gatos and Wilcox to determine which team will win it all.

Charlie Clark and Chris Willard helped put the Cats in position to play for the title this week. The two backs combined for 265 yards rushing in last week's win over Homestead. Clark led the attack with 19 carries for 133 yards, but Willard was right there with 132 yards on 16 tries, including a 48-yard run. The two worked behind an offensive line that won the battle of the trenches in the game.

"Our line hammered 'em," said Downs. "They just moved them right off the ball."

The coach praised the work of Nick Crafford, Evan McDonald, Ben Miller, Tyler Wilson, Ryan Johnson and Tom Ferguson for their work up front.

Clark handled all of the scoring for the Cats. He took a screen pass from Steve Sweeny 55 yards for a first-quarter touchdown, then had touchdown runs of 26 yards in the second and 14 in the fourth. He also kicked three extra points and a 25-yard field goal.

Sweeny completed two of seven passes for 60 yards, hitting Clark with the 55-yarder and Matt Cooke for five yards. Peter Kiszka supported on the ground with two carries for 19 yards.

As good as the offense was in the win, the defense was equally impressive.

"The defense just really did a job," said Downs. "We were all over them. The defense has been playing very aggressive football."

Josh Inman was in on seven tackles, including a couple of quarterback sacks.

"He had a real good game," said Downs of Inman. "Those sacks were big."

Chris McMorrow was in on 13 tackles to lead the Cats defensively. Travis Howell was in on 11 tackles, Brandon Brigham 10, James Furlo eight and Kenny Heimer six.

Reserves win, too

The Los Gatos reserves remained unbeaten with a 36-20 Saturday morning win over Homestead.

Anthony Paglia tossed a 24-yard touchdown pass to Nick Kay, and Patrick Michaelsen, Zac Tabb and Dennis Freeman also scored touchdowns in the win.

David Hasson, Ryan Cormac and Matt Losch were other key players in the victory.

Police Report

It's an offer Pocket Dwellers shouldn't refuse

Surveys show that drug use at LGHS remains high

Elemental Arts Gallery features local artists

Picture From the Past

Sports Briefs

Cats come back for win against Mustangs

LG frosh-soph team defeats Homestead

Wildcats take second at Mt. Sac Invitational

Basketball registration now underway