The Wildcats battled Independence in a controlled scrimmage last Friday night, but this week is the real thing, when Los Gatos will host the Dons in the 7:30 p.m. game.

Coach Butch Cattolico was pleased with some aspects of the Gatos game last week, but there were other areas of concern that will have to be worked out before the Wildcats take on powerhouses like Aragon, St. Francis and Milpitas—their opponents in three of the first four weeks of the 2002 season.

One problem area for Los Gatos was the passing game.

"We're going to have to be able to throw the ball," said the coach. "We didn't pass block well, we didn't catch the ball well and we didn't throw the ball well."

But while the Cats faltered through the air, they looked good on the ground.

"We ran the ball very well," said Cattolico. "Our tailback and a couple of other kids ran real well."

Dennis Freeman led a pack of Cats who ran up 192 yards on 27 carries in the scrimmage.

"Obviously, that's our strong suit right now," added the coach.

Cattolico was also pleased with the defensive effort of the Wildcats, especially the play of inside linebackers Travis Howell and Eric Brown and outside linebackers Drew Hoffman and Scott Drew.

"[Howell and Brown] stuffed the run and made most of the tackles," said Cattolico.

The coach also praised the work of Hoffman, a senior who is learning the offensive tackle position. Hoffman has taken over as tackle since senior Matt Losch suffered a broken leg in an early season practice.

Los Gatos will spend the week preparing for the Dons, who manhandled Carlmont in a scrimmage last week.

"It wasn't even close," said Cattolico. "Aragon must have scored six or seven touchdowns."

"They look very big and physical," he added. "Defensively they got after it really well. And offensively they're huge upfront."

The coach said that the Dons have a running back who "hits the hole really quickly" and that their quarterback "runs really well."