Photograph by Doug Rider
Los Gatos running back Derek Smith fights for yardage in last Friday night's 35-7 win over Wilcox. Smith scored two touchdowns in the win, one on a run and the other on a pass from Trent Edwards.
Trent Edwards tosses Cats to win
Los Gatos rolls to 35-7 victory over Wilcox
By Dick Sparrer
It was the first time this season that Los Gatos quarterback Trent Edwards has been able to see much action in the second half.
And the junior passer certainly made the most of the opportunity.
Edwards connected on 15 of 16 passes for 340 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Wildcats to an impressive 35-7 victory over Wilcox.
The victory validated Los Gatos' perfect season record. Wilcox, a perrenial powerhouse in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League, was without a doubt the toughest opponent yet on the Wildcats' schedule. And Edwards and company made short work of the Chargers.
"He really had an outstanding game," said Los Gatos coach Butch Cattolico of Edwards. But he wasn't alone.
Wide receivers Brian Edwards and Joey Warren were also impressive in the Los Gatos win, and so was running back Derek Smith. All drew praise from Cattolico for their efforts, along with the players in the offensive line, the defensive front, the linebackers... well, it was one of those nights for the Cats.
There have many such nights for Gatos this fall, but this win came against a team 2-0 in the division and 4-1 for the year.
"The team really put the whole thing together," said Cattolico. "The kids came out and played well."
Still, it was Wilcox scoring first and controlling the tempo of the game for a quarter. But from the second quarter on, it was all Los Gatos.
"That was a good one," said Cattolico of the win. "It showed the kids that they could come back and catch up."
Wilcox broke a pop pass for a 63-yard touchdown in the first period.
Gatos drove to the Wilcox 1-yard-line but fumbled the football away, then the Cats were backed up to their own 2 after a long Wilcox punt later in the quarter.
"Everything [Wilcox] did worked," said the coach. "We made some mistakes, and they didn't make any."
"But the kids picked it up and drove the length of the field," said Cattolico.
T. Edwards got the Cats more than half of that field with a 52-yard touchdown pass to B. Edwards just at the start of the second period. Anthony Frangadakis kicked the first of his five extra points, and the game was tied 7-7.
But not for long. Before the half, T. Edwards tossed a 24-yard pass to B. Edwards and "he made a really nice catch in the end zone," said Cattolico.
In the second half, it was all Los Gatos.
"Derek was just outstanding in the second half," said Cattolico of Smith, who carried seven times for 41 yards on the first drive of the third period. Smith capped the drive with a 1-yard TD blast, and the Cats were up 21-7.
"We put them in the position we wanted them in," said the coach. "They had to pass."
Photograph by Doug Rider
Turning the corner and looking for daylight, Joey Warren moves the ball up the field against Wilcox. Warren ran six times for 60 yards and caught four passes for 104 yards in the 35-7 Los Gatos win.
But the Chargers couldn't, and turned the ball over on downs to the Wildcats.
T. Edwards tossed 15 yards to Smith, eight yards to Warren and 11 yards to Warren to move the Cats down the field.
On a fourth and six at the Wilcox 18, the Chargers came with "an all out blitz," said Cattolico. "Trent just stepped aside and dumped it off to Derek."
Smith raced in for an 18-yard touchdown, and the Cats were in command 28-7.
Los Gatos capped the scoring on a 48-yard touchdown strike from T. Edwards to B. Edwards.
"Brian caught it in stride," said the coach.
T. Edwards completed 15 of 16 passes, hitting B. Edwards six times for 159 yards, Warren four times for 104 yards, Smith three times for 41 yards and Geno Gingery twice for 36 yards.
"He spread the ball around very well," said the coach.
Smith led the ground show with 82 yards on 14 carries and Warren picked up 60 yards on six carries.
The coach was very pleased with the performance of the offensive front, praising the work of tackles Casey Sargent and Nick Crafford, guards Adam Toeniskoetter and Nick McAlpine and centers Matt Benedetti and Dan Holtzman. He also singled out fullback Jason Rosa for a strong effort as a blocker.
But as pleased as he was with the offensive showing, he was equally pleased with the defense.
"They ran a lot of option at us, because we really shut down the dive," said Cattolico. "It was really impressive. We had eight guys stacked across the line of scrimmage, and their backs had no place to go."
Linebackers Mike Vyhnal and Nick Skrabe led the effort. Vyhnal led the Cats with 18 tackles and Skrabe, just back after sitting out two games with an injury, was in on 15.
"Skrabe played an outstanding game," said the coach.
Tackles Jon Espe (13 tackles) and Matt Newell (10 tackles), ends Matt Johnson (13 tackles) and Rosa (seven tackles) and noseguard Ken Heimer (nine tackles) stopped the Chargers cold all night.
Markus Willard was in on eight tackles in the win and Warren got in on six for the Cats. B. Edwards ran back a pass interception 21 yards, and he was in on five tackles.
Scott Soucy (five tackles), John Allen (three), Tony Berry (two) and Scott Cohn (two) were others in on tackles in the win.
The coach was also pleased with the showing of his club's special teams in the win.
"Three times, our kick off team held Wilcox inside the 10," said Cattolico. "That made it a long field for them most of the night."
The win pushed Los Gatos to 6-0 for the year and to 2-0 in the De Anza Division. And it came against a team the Cats seem to have trouble with every season.
"It was a very enjoyable ride home," said the coach.
The Wildcats will be home this week, hosting Homestead on Oct. 20, 7:30 p.m., in their homecoming game.
"They've got some really quick athletes on the outside," said Cattolico of the Mustangs.
Los Gatos, California Since 1881
