Cats pull out thriller against Trojans

By Dick Sparrer

It may not have been exactly a game of inches when the Los Gatos and Milpitas football teams lined up for a key De Anza Division clash last Friday night.

After all, in football the measurement of choice is yards.

But if Friday's game at Helm Field was decided by yards, it sure wasn't very many.

The Wildcats pulled out a thrilling 18-13 win over the Trojans to remain unbeaten in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League. But Milpitas came within 2 yards--that's 72 inches--of pulling off the big upset.

Actually, the Wildcats had come within a couple of yards of blowing out Milpitas early in the game. But the Cats missed one first-period touchdown when a fumble rolled into and out of the end zone for a touchback, and they missed another when Justin Narragon was stopped just inches short of the goal line.

In the end, though, Milpitas almost came out on top when the Trojans managed to get all the way to the Gatos 2-yard-line, only to be denied by what proved to a game-winning tandem tackle by Vince Caviglia and Joey Warren.

"It was one of those kinds of games," said Los Gatos coach Butch Cattolico. "We could have won 35-0, but in the end we were lucky to end up winning at all."

Los Gatos dominated the football most of the night, but not the game. Every time it appeared that the Cats were going to take charge, Milpitas fought back to keep it close.

In the end, the Cats had a chance to close out the win simply by converting a first down--they came up 2 inches short. Then the Trojans had a chance to win it with a touchdown--they came up 2 yards short.

Milpitas faced a first-and-goal at the Los Gatos 8 with 40 seconds left to play. Three passes fell incomplete, and the outcome of the game came down to one play.

The Milpitas quarterback wanted to pass but could not find an open receiver. He scrambled out of the pocket with Caviglia in hot pursuit. When the QB turned the corner up the sideline, he was met by Warren and caught by Caviglia, who brought him down to virtually end the game.

"They're just too dangerous to let them stay in the game," said a relieved Cattolico after the win.

Narragon played a yeoman's role in the victory. The senior running back carried 45 times for 209 yards and two touchdowns.

"He ran really well," said Cattolico of his workhorse back. "He spent a lot of the night with No. 3 in his face."

No. 3 for the Trojans is Division I-bound Tab Perry, who scored both Milpitas touchdowns and accounted for most of the Milpitas yardage. Defensively, Cattolico estimated that Perry must have made 25 tackles, all on Narragon.

The Cats moved right in for a touchdown on their first possession of the night.

Derek Smith ran back the opening kickoff 37 yards, and a face mask penalty helped push the football to the Gatos 47.

Then Narragon went to work. He carried four times for 53 yards, including runs of 34 yards and 11 yards for the TD.

The defense stopped Milpitas cold, and the Cats took over near midfield moments later. An 11-yard run by Narragon and a 9-yard toss from Trent Edwards to Kevin Krug helped the Cats to the Milpitas 8. Narragon then appeared headed for a TD when he was hit at the 2 and fumbled into the end zone. The ball curled inside the pylon and out of the zone for a touchback, and Milpitas had a first down at the its own 20.

The Cats got the football back in a hurry, though. Ben Winkelman forced a fumble that Scott Soucy recovered at the 20. A few plays later Narragon pounded at the goal line, but came up inches short of the TD.

The Trojans ended up taking over on downs inside their own 1 and moved down the field. On a fourth-and-1 at the Gatos 20, Soucy and Markus Willard stopped the drive by hitting the Milpitas back for a 2-yard loss.

The Cats came driving back, but Milpitas picked off a pass deep in its own territory, and the cornerback appeared to be headed for a touchdown. But big 6-foot-5, 232-pound offensive tackle Ryan O'Gorman ran down the speedy defensive back and made a touchdown-saving tackle at the Gatos 19.

Milpitas stalled and attempted a field goal, but Caviglia shot through to block the attempt on the last play of the first half.

Gatos moved in for a score on its first possession of the second half. Edwards tossed 42 yards to Winkelman, and Narragon ended up blasting over from the 1.

Perry then made his presence known with a 63-yard TD run.

"At that point, the momentum just swung a little bit," said Cattolico.

Milpitas completed a 58-yard pass to set up a 3-yard TD run by Perry, and Milpitas had taken a 13-12 lead.

But Gatos answered right back. Caviglia returned the kickoff 12 yards to the 45, and Matt Torres tossed to Smith for 11 yards into Milpitas territory.

Narragon carried the Cats down to the 8, including a big 5-yard run on a fourth-and-2, to set up an 8-yard touchdown pass from Torres to Warren that gave the Cats the lead with 6:06 remaining.

Milpitas went three plays and a punt after the kickoff, and the Cats appeared ready to run out the clock. But Torres came up 2 inches short on a fourth-and-8, and Milpitas had one more chance with 2:50 remaining.

But that chance ended at the Gatos 2.

Narragon led the offensive attack with his 209 yards. Edwards hooked up on four of seven passes for 70 yards, and Torres completed both of his passes for 22 yards and also ran four times for 25 yards.

Winkelman had two catches for 53 yards, and Krug caught two balls for 17. Smith caught a pass for 11, and Warren caught the TD toss for 8.

John Glage and Soucy led the defensive effort with nine tackles apiece, and Nick Skrabe, Warren and Willard were in on eight each. Caviglia and Jared Allen had seven tackles apiece, Brian Edwards was in on five, Randy Reilly had four, and Winkelman added three. Allen, Winkelman, B. Edwards and Jason Rosa each forced Milpitas fumbles.

O'Gorman, Steve Smith, Mike Vyhnal, Ryan Callahan and Kyle Shaffer were also in on tackles for the Cats.

Los Gatos will take its 3-0 league record and 6-0 overall mark on the road this week to play Homestead (0-2, 2-4) in a rare Thursday game on Oct. 21, 7:30 p.m., at Fremont's Diesner Field.

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