Panthers make a little history
By Dick Sparrer
Jake Schonig helped the Panthers make a little Los Gatos Pop Warner football history back on Oct. 15.
It was a Schonig touchdown run in the final minute of play that lifted Los Gatos from a 12-8 deficit to a 14-12 victory over the Oak Grove Revolution, the first win ever for a Los Gatos team over an Oak Grove squad.
And a thrilling win it was!
There were just 44 seconds to play when the Panthers huddled for a third-down play at their own 45-yard line.
Quarterback Kelly Peterson, with no timeouts at his disposal, went to the air, and he found Schonig. Peterson drilled a 15-yard pass to the Gatos back, and left the rest to Schonig, who broke three tackles and eluded three other defenders as he ran the final 40 yards to paydirt.
The Panthers trailed 6-0 at intermission, came through with what would turn out to be an important two points in the third period. Daniel Silva, Jeffrey DeBarr and Schonig combined to cause an Oak Grove fumble, and the ball rolled out of the end zone for a safety.
Peterson scored a touchdown that gave the Panthers an 8-6 lead in the fourth quarter. The quarterback led the locals on an impressive drive, capping the march with an 11-yard TD run with 3:14 left in the game. Peterson carried four times for 37 yards on the drive.
Oak Grove regained the lead, scoring a touchdown with 1:34 left, but the Panthers battled back for the last-minute victory.
The Panthers, now 5-2 for the year, were led by Peterson and Schonig throughout the game.
Peterson was the top passer and rusher for Los Gatos, and he was also the club's leading tackler. Schonig was the top receiver and scored the winning touchdown.
Spencer Lopes, filling in for the injured Nick Kalpin at linebacker, was singled out for a strong effort in the game and Dustin Wynne, Nick Smith, Joey Donofrio, Michael Barden and Matt Perrone were others who played well.
A day earlier, the Cougars had recorded an equally exciting victory, edging Gilroy 14-8 when Stefan Fowler ran back a punt for a touchdown in the finals minutes of play.
Fowler hauled in a punt at the Gilroy 35 with just three minutes left in the game, and he ran it back for the score to put Los Gatos on top 12-8. Richie Scudellari kicked the 2-point conversion, and the locals had enough to hold on for the victory, running their season record to 5-2.
The clubs had played to a scoreless tie in the first half, but the Browns went up 8-0 with a third-quarter touchdown and 2-point conversion.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
