But even with those big offensive numbers, the Los Gatos football team lost 40-21 to San Benito in the Central Coast Section Division II semifinals on the day after Thanksgiving.

"We didn't spring Danny," said Gatos head coach Butch Cattolico. "He ran hard like he always does, but we just didn't stay with our blocks."

Bates still managed to carry 20 times for 101 yards to finish the year with 2,380 yards, but the Haybalers kept the talented senior running back out of the endzone.

"They're a very good football," said Cattolico of San Benito. "They run their offense very well. But we didn't come up and make the plays we needed on defense."

"What hurt us tonight was their conversions on third downs," he added. "It was a matter of them executing and us not executing."

Still, the game was a chess match in the first half, with each team attempting and missing on field goal attempts before going in at intermission with the 'Balers up just 15-7.

But it was in the third quarter when things started to unravel for the Wildcats. The Haybalers put a 27-yard run and a 47-yard touchdown pass back-to-back to take a 21-14 lead just three plays into the second half, then minutes later picked up a Gatos fumble and rambled 13 yards for a score to make it 28-14.

Things really looked dark when the Haybalers intercepted a pass less than a minute later, but then the Los Gatos defense went to work.

Senior linebacker Ivan Batinich was in on three straight tackles as the Wildcats stopped the 'Balers cold, forcing them to punt.

Four plays later, Rollin found Martini behind the secondary for a 34-yard touchdown pass. When Nick Reimnitz added the extra point, the Cats trailed just 28-14 with 11:27 left in the game.

But that was really the last gasp for the Wildcats.

San Benito put together consecutive scoring drives to take a commanding 40-14 lead.

Los Gatos managed to battle back with a 35-yard scoring strike from Rollin to Martini, but it was too little, too late for the Cats.

Rollin led the Gatos offense, hitting on 9 of 17 passes for 195 yards and the three TDs, but he was sacked four times in the game for losses totaling 37 yards.

Martini led the pass-catching corps with five grabs for 107 yards and two touchdowns. Michael Brienzo caught a 42-yard TD pass, Batinich took a screen pass 41 yards and Bates had two catches for five yards.

Bates led the ground assault with his 101 yards. Brienzo supported with 23 yards on four tries.

Los Gatos finished the day with 284 yards of total offense, but the Cats gave up 464 to San Benito—266 on the ground and 198 through the air.

Batinich was the top tackler for Los Gatos in the game, getting in on 10 stops—most of them in the second half. Devin Scott finished with nine tackles and Derek Thomas had eight.

Vince Bellotti finished with seven tackles, one for a loss, and Brian Perin had seven stops. Devin Lopez and Chad Blanchard were in on six tackles apiece and Blanchard also blocked a San Benito field goal attempt.

Chris Cuthbert ended the day with five tackles, and Chris Danser, Omar Ellahie, Brian Bolandi and Liam Smith had four each. Martini, David Holtzman, Eric Chen, Rollin, Bates, Matt Kinser and Chris Little were also in on tackles for the Cats.

It was actually Los Gatos that scored first in the game. The Cats and 'Balers battled to a scoreless tie through the first quarter. San Benito attempted a 33-yard field goal late in the first, but Blanchard shot through to block the attempt. Los Gatos tried a 38-yard field with 2:18 left in the opening period, but the attempt by Reimnitz hit the left upright.

Los Gatos took over at its own 41-yard line with 40.7 left in the first quarter and started to move.

Bates ran for four yards, then Brienzo took an inside reverse 15 yards to the San Benito 40. After a 2-yard run by Bates and a penalty, Gatos went to the air. Rollin hit Brienzo with a 42-yard TD toss and Reimnitz converted to give the Cats a 7-0 lead with 10:57 remaining in the half.

But San Benito answered back quickly with a touchdown pass on the second play after the kick-off to tie the game.

The clubs traded punts before the Cats made their first critical mistake of the day. Los Gatos lost a fumble at its own 13-yard line, and the Haybalers scored three plays later. The 2-point conversion game San Benito the 15-7 lead that stood up at halftime.

From there, the Haybalers pulled away to the victory in the second half.

"We had our chances," admitted Cattolico, whose club finished the season with a 9-3 record. "We just couldn't capitalize."