Clark, Cats run to victory over Milpitas frosh-soph

By Dick Sparrer

There's never a dull moment when the Los Gatos and Milpitas frosh-soph football teams get together. And last Friday night was no different.

Charlie Clark scored three touchdowns to lead the Wildcats to a 21-6 win over the Trojans, but it was a victory that certainly didn't come easy.

"We've never lost to them," said Gatos coach Scott Downs, "but it's always a tough game. We just can't quite look good."

The Cats beat the Trojans 12-0 last year and 17-15 the year before, and it was another close one on Friday night.

"It was a good game," added Downs, "but we just couldn't break away."

The clubs played to a 0-0 tie through a period, but Clark took over in the second quarter.

The sophomore speedster raced 40 yards for a touchdown to break the scoreless tie, then scored from the 8 later in the period and ran in for the two-point conversion to make it 14-0 at the half.

Clark's pass interception just before intermission helped keep Milpitas from scoring before the break.

The Trojans threatened in the fourth, marching to the Gatos 12. But Matt Cooke picked off a pass and ran it back to the Milpitas 24.

The Cats didn't score on that possession, but they did moments later when Clark made a 45-yard touchdown run. Derek Tam converted, and the Wildcats held a 21-0 lead.

Milpitas managed to score a TD late in the game, but Kenny Heimer broke through to block the extra point attempt.

Clark led the Cats with 175 yards on 19 carries, and Chris Willard supported with 34 yards on 10 tries.

Steve Sweeny completed four of 11 passes for 42 yards, hitting Cameron Fee twice for 19, Clark once for 15 and Willard once for eight.

Matt Rose, Nick Crafford, Evan McDonald and Nick Russell led the effort in the offensive line for the Cats.

Cooke was the defensive leader. The sophomore had 13 tackles to go with his interception. "He had a huge game," said Downs of Cooke. "He gets better every week."

Heimer finished the night with 12 tackles, Brandon Brigham had nine, and Eric Brown had six tackles and knocked down two passes.

Downs also praised the work of defensive tackles Josh Inman and David Fencl, who combined for seven tackles. "They really did a job," said the coach.

The young Cats, now 3-0 in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League and 6-0 overall, will head to Fremont on Oct. 21, 5:15 p.m., to take on a tough Homestead club.

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