Panthers, Cougars slip to 4-2 with new losses
By Dick Sparrer
Who knew at the time?
But when a Panthers drive stalled at the Oak Grove 2-yard-line as time ran out in the first half, it would turn out to be the difference in the game for the Los Gatos Pop Warner Football team.
The Panthers ended up dropping a 20-13 heartbreaker to the Oak Grove Redcoats to fall to 4-2 for the year.
Jake Schonig scored on a 55-yard touchdown run in the first period and ran in for the extra point to give the Panthers an early 7-6 lead.
The Redcoats rallied for a TD in the second quarter to go up 14-7, then stopped the Panthers at the 2 late in the half.
Oak Grove scored again in the third to up its lead to 20-7. Gatos answered with another Schonig score, but could get no closer than 20-13.
Jeff DeBarr was in on nine tackles, including a quarterback sack, and recovered a fumble to lead the defensive charge for the Panthers. Schonig and Patrick Downey also figured among the tackling leaders.
Chief Schafer was the top passer in the game for the Panthers and Spencer Lopes was his top receiver.
A week earlier, the Panthers had blanked Santa Cruz 26-0.
Schonig scored three touchdowns in the win, following a key block by Nick Kalpin for his third TD.
Brett Kundtz returned a pass interception 50 yards for a touchdown, his second interception return for a TD this year.
Matt Perrone booted a 2-point conversion to round out the scoring for the Panthers.
Cougars
The same day the Panthers were falling to the Redcoats, the Los Gatos Cougars were losing a 35-8 decision to Oak Grove Red Devils.
The Cougars are also 4-2 for the year.
Richie Scudellari tossed an 18-yard touchdown pass to Thomas Watkins for the Cougars' only score of the day. Scudellari kicked the 2-point conversion to make the final score 35-8. A pass from Scudellari to Brandon Clark, who then pitched the football to Jefrey West, was good for 20 yards and set up the touchdown.
Jacob Whitaker led the running attack for the Cougars, and Marty Mullins was the club's top tackler.
A week earlier, the Cougars had beaten the Santa Cruz Seahawks 26-12.
Stefan Fowler blasted for runs of 12 and 15 yards before Scudellari followed a block by Brennan Barker for the Cougars' first touchdown of the game.
The Seahawks tied the game, but the Cougars battled back with three touchdowns: a 3-yard run by Fowler, a 10-yard run by Whitaker and a 12-yard run by Sean Harris.
Fowler was the top tackler for the Cougars in the win. Barker, Mullins, Kevin McCarty and Justin Foard led the charge in the defensive line and Louis Santaro, Nick Harris, Chad Bannan, Jeff West, Bryce Bird and Evan Galt played well in the secondary.
Tigers
The Tigers pulled out a tight 7-6 win over the Santa Cruz Sea Lions to push their season record to a solid 4-1-1.
The club's defense, which has given up just one touchdown in 24 quarters this season, stopped the Sea Lions cold on their first two possessions of the game. And it was a solo tackle by linebacker Paul Politi on a key fourth-down play that gave the Tigers the football at the Santa Cruz 20-yard-line early in the game.
Alex Estrada took advantage of the good field position with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Van Amburg. Christian Walker ran in for the extra point, and the Tigers were up 7-0.
The Lions returned the second-half kick off for a touchdown, but Sam Scudellari made the tackle on the extra-point attempt and that would prove the difference in the game.
Scudellari, Scott Day, Jeffrey Pepper, Jake Vilaubi, Nick Scudellari, Estrada and Robbie Comeau were defensive stars in the win.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
