Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to help the Wildcats dig out of a huge hole, and Gatos lost a crucial 41-38 decision to the Pioneers in the first dual match of the year in the De Anza Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League.

It may have been just the division opener, but Los Gatos and Cupertino, along with Fremont, were rated as the league title favorites heading into the campaign. So the league championship was literally on the line for the Cats and Pioneers in the season's first match.

And when Cupertino opened up a 36-0 lead with wins in the first six straight matches—four by pin and two by forfeit—things really looked dark for the Wildcats.

The Cats came scratching and clawing their way back, though, and cut the margin to 36-26 with three bouts still to wrestle, and Los Gatos was within striking distance.

But Brett Haraguchi pinned in the second round at 140 pounds, and that gave the Pioneers an insurmountable lead.

"In a sense, I'm real proud of the kids," said Los Gatos coach Scott Downs. "Down 36-0, for them to come back like that ... it was a great match."

Cupertino pinned at 160 and 171, won forfeits at 189 and 215 and pinned at 275 and 103 to take the big lead.

Bryan Ceglio won by forfeit at 112 to get Los Gatos on the board in scoring, then Miguel beat Cupertino standout Mitch Conley 11-8 at 119.

"He's the real deal," said Downs of Miguel, who is now 10-1 with nine pins. "They wrestled a toe-to-toe match. It was great."

Holden Groves pinned with a minute left to wrestle at 125 pounds, then Adam Morganthaler pinned 47 seconds into the second round at 130. Matthew Nudelman won by fall with 16 seconds left in the first round at 135, and the Cats had cut the lead to just 10 team points.

Haraguchi ended all Gatos hopes with his win at 140, but Bobby Pease and Wysuph answered with individual wins nonetheless.

Pease pinned with two seconds left in the first at 145 and Wysuph pinned with two seconds left in the match at 152.

"We've got to come back now and go undefeated, then win the tournament," said Downs of his team's title hopes. "It was a tough way to start the season."

"That was a huge win for us," countered Cupertino coach Jay Lawson. "We have a lot of respect for Los Gatos."

Winning out won't be easy for either Cupertino or Los Gatos, though.

"This is a very tough league," said Downs. "I'm real excited about our league."

Los Gatos traveled to Scotts Valley last weekend for the Coast Classic. Nudelman placed fourth at 135 pounds, Pease fifth at 145 and Jeff Oleson sixth at 160.

"They all wrestled really well," said Downs of the Wildcats. "This is the toughest I've seen the Coast Classic in 10 years."

"We're disappointed with the outcome, but very pleased with the effort," he added.