But the Saratoga senior made the most of the experience when he picked off a Capuchino pass late in the second half that led directly to a Saratoga touchdown and helped the Falcons to a 41-21 opening night victory.

Keast's interception helped to set up John Griffin's second touchdown of the evening and sent the Falcons into the locker room at the half with a commanding 34-7 lead.

It was a cushion that even had head coach Kurt Heinrich smiling, considering that going into the game he and his coaching staff had no idea what to expect from the Mustangs.

"I thought we prepared really well," admitted Heinrich after the lopsided win. "Basically, we just covered our bases and prepared for a little of everything."

That's what Capuchino tried to throw at the Falcons—everything. Trouble was, the Mustangs just couldn't stop Saratoga's powerful offense.

The Falcons ran up 430 yards of total offense, including 350 yards on the ground. What's more, Saratoga had no turnovers in the game.

"I thought we executed very well considering we had only three weeks of practice," said Heinrich. "I was especially pleased with the way we were able to protect the football, because that was really a concern of ours."

Saratoga did more than protect the football—the Falcons ran it right down the throats of the Mustangs.

Marc Crosby led the ground assault with 130 yards on just 10 carries, and Griffin carried 10 times for 69 yards and a couple of touchdowns. Powerful fullback Shahab Vahabi pounded the line 12 times for 52 yards.

Even reserve backs Dayne McGee and Ryan Newberry got in on the fun. McGee picked up 76 yards on just four carries, and Newberry ran four times for 19 yards and a touchdown.

The Falcons didn't have to throw the football much, but when they did junior quarterback Brett Granum was on target. He hit on 4 of 8 passes for 80 yards and a touchdown.

"I was real pleased with Brett at quarterback," said Heinrich. "He's a great competitor, and he did a great job."

Granum's second-quarter touchdown pass was a beauty. He pumped once but checked off his initial receiver. Then he threw a strike to the post to hit Jonny Miroyan for 22 yards and the score.

But it was on the ground that Saratoga did most of its damage.

Griffin broke the sixth play from scrimmage 30 yards for a touchdown, and, on the third play after the ensuing kickoff, Crosby took off on a 57-yard touchdown run. Crosby dashed in for the 2-point conversion, and the Falcons were up 14-0 with 7:17 left in the first period.

It didn't stay that way for long. Senior defensive end Matt Bickenbach recovered a Capuchino fumble at the Mustangs' 30, and the Falcons were in business again. It was one of three Capuchino turnovers in the game.

Five plays later it was Vahabi crashing over from the 8, and Keast kicked the extra point to make it 21-0.

Capuchino moved in for a touchdown, but the Falcons answered back with Grannum's TD toss to Miroyan.

The Mustangs went to the air in an effort to get back in the game, but Keast picked off an enemy pass at his own 22 and ran it to the Capuchino 38.

Crosby took a Grannum pass 37 yards to set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Griffin, and Keast's kick made it 34-7 at the half.

After a scoreless third quarter that saw the Falcons clear the bench early, Saratoga closed out its scoring when McGee runs of 32 and 29 yards set up a 15-yard touchdown run by Newberry. Mark Bertelsen kicked the extra point to give the Falcons a 41-7 lead.

Capuchino scored two touchdowns late in the game, but it was too little, too late for the Mustangs.

The hit of the game came in the third quarter when a crushing blow by linebacker Brett Behnke popped the football from the hands of a Capuchino ball carrier, and Crosby caught it on the fly for the Falcons.

Behnke was the tackling leader for Saratoga with 12 stops, and Crosby was in on seven. Greg Van Hoesen and Kyle McMullin were in on five apiece.

Bickenbach, Buck Wright, Jon Anderson, McGee, Keast, Miroyan and Newberry were other tackling leaders for the Falcons. Javier Meza, Gene Lu, Chris Barrett, Tom Cummins, Paul Culbertson, Kevin Yen and John Ng were others in on tackles for Saratoga.

Tackles Barrett and Chris Kowitz, guards Van Hoesen and Anderson and center Jon Cha led the charge up front. Meza filled in for a time in the first half when Cha was sidelined with a knee injury.

The Falcons are off this week, but they'll return to the field on Sept. 20 to visit Mountain View for a non-league game.