The Wildcats seemed to do just that last week, and the Lancers pulled out a 21-10 victory in the non-league game.

Gatos head coach Butch Cattolico saw it coming. The Wildcats had a lethargic week of practice, then didn't execute well on Friday night after playing an outstanding game the week earlier in a 41-14 win over Aragon.

"We've got to work hard," said Cattolico. "We worked very hard for Aragon."

"This was a learning experience for us," he added. "We learned a tough lesson. We just have to make fewer mistakes."

Los Gatos outgained St. Francis, and the Cats ran 66 offensive plays to just 32 for the Lancers. They even had fewer turnovers than St. Francis.

"But that's the way St. Francis plays football," said Cattolico. "They play field position, they punt the ball well, they play good defense and they let you make mistakes."

The Wildcats now have to regroup in a hurry since they play a day earlier this week. Gatos heads to Cupertino on Sept. 23 for a 7:30 p.m. non-league game against the 1-1 Pioneers.

"This game has nothing to do with Cupertino," said the coach. "It's all about Los Gatos."

While the Pioneers won't present near the opposition that the Lancers did last week, the Cats are going to have to eliminate errors like costly penalties, missed blocking assignments and poor special teams play if they hope to regain the form they showed against Aragon.

The Wildcats were jumping offsides, they allowed their quarterback to be sacked six times under a heavy rush and they gave a 96-yard kick-off return for a key touchdown.

"It was one of those football games that was tough to deal with," said Cattolico. "We didn't pick up their stunts. Our backs didn't pick up the guys they were supposed to pick up."

Because of the missed blocks, quarterback Erik Rollin fell six times to sacks and was under pressure most of the night.

"We had to throw a lot of short stuff because we couldn't protect our quarterback," said the coach. "That's what killed us. We didn't pick up our blocking assignments."

Part of that, though, could be attributed to St. Francis.

"They were a little quicker than us up front, and they were getting off the ball quicker than we were," said Cattolico. "Defensively they are an exceptional football team."

Still, it was a game that Los Gatos could have won. The Wildcats went up 10-7 in the second quarter on a 32-yard field goal by Matt Boyd, but the Lancers returned the ensuing kick-off 96 yards for a touchdown.

It remained 14-10 until late in the game until Los Gatos was forced to go for it on fourth down near its own 25-yard line late in the game and turned the ball over on downs to the Lancers. St. Francis punched in a late score to make the final 21-10.

"Defensively I think we played an outstanding football game," said Cattolico, whose club didn't allow St. Francis an offensive first down until late in the third quarter. But the Los Gatos offense could never really get untracked.

The trouble started for the Wildcats on their first possession. A sack on third down led to a fumble that the Lancers recovered in Gatos territory. St. Francis took it in for a touchdown and an early 7-0 lead.

The Wildcats answered with a 13-play, 80-yard touchdown drive. Rollin capped the march with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Mike Brienzo and Boyd kicked the extra point to tie it 7-7. Rollin hit Vince Bellotti for 23 yards, Alex Ghanavati ran seven times for 30 yards and had a catch for 10 and Brian Bolandi ran for 12 yards to key the drive.

"The second quarter was the most amazing quarter I've ever seen," said Cattolico. "We ran 22 plays and they had four—two incomplete passes and two fumbles."

Still, Gatos could manage just a field goal to go up 10-7—then the Lancers ran back the kick-off for the touchdown.

"Their big thing is special teams," said Cattolico of St. Francis.

Sacks and penalties kept the Los Gatos offense from getting into gear in the second half, and the Lancers went on to post the victory.

Ghanavati had a big night for the Cats with 103 yards on 25 carries. Bolandi added 25 yards on five tries.

Rollin hooked up on 9 of 22 passes for 97 yards, hitting Brienzo three times for 24 yards and David Martini three times for 37 yards. Bellotti had the one catch for 23 yards, Ghanavati the one for 10 and Bolandi one for three.

The Gatos defense, led by linebacker Carlos Alonso, held the Lancers to just 75 yards of total offense over the first three quarters.

Alonso led the Cats defensively with seven tackles and fumble recovery.

"This kid is really going to be a good player," said Cattolico of the junior backer.

Bolandi and Chas Talpas got in on six tackles apiece and Chris Cuthbert, Jeff Collins and Bret Hampton were in on four each. Will Kapp had three tackles and recovered a fumble and Devin Lopez and Bellotti were in on three tackles each. Matt Showalter had a tackle and a fumble recovery, and A.J. Comeau was in on a tackle.

The loss left the Wildcats 1-1 in the young season, and now it's back to the practice field to prepare for Cupertino—this Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division powerhouse Wilcox.

"We have a lot of things to work on," said Cattolico.