The Los Gatos High School football team was looking to become just the second public school in Central Coast Section history to beat three West Catholic Athletic League teams and win a playoff championship.
It wasn’t meant to be.
After a pair of riveting wins over Serra High and Riordan High to open the postseason, the Wildcats finally met their match in a 27-7 loss to St. Francis High in the Division I championship game on Nov. 29 at San Jose City College.
Even though the season ended with a defeat, Los Gatos High coach Mark Krail will remember this group for their determination and ability to come through in clutch situations.
Beating two stalwart programs from the vaunted WCAL—arguably the best sports conference in Northern and Central California—is nothing short of spectacular.
“I’ll remember their resiliency,” Krail said. “I’m so lucky the kids we get to coach. This was a group that was close-knit, fought for each other and played the way you would want them to. Fine young men. That’s what I’m going to remember.”
The No. 5 seed Wildcats (10-3) edged No. 4 seed Serra 14-7 in the quarterfinals and No. 3 seed Riordan 35-28 in the semifinals en route to the championship contest. However, No. 2 seed St. Francis proved to be too tough, as it rode a power running game and rock-solid defense to victory. Los Gatos High didn’t execute well enough to win and any time it seemed to gain traction, it was undone by a penalty.
The most glaring example came when the Wildcats had a touchdown called back due to an ineligible man downfield on a screen pass midway through the fourth quarter. The flag-happy officiating crew issued 28 penalties—14 on each side—a somewhat alarming statistic for a championship game.
“St. Francis is a tough enough team and when you’re getting 15 penalties called against you, that just takes away from the rhythm of the game,” Krail said. “It’s just hard to get any flow and execute. Some of it was our doing, and I felt like some of it was … I don’t want to say too much. I don’t want to make excuses. They deserved to win. We felt like it was just a grind uphill the whole night.”
The Wildcats scored their lone touchdown on a Grayson Doslak 8-yard run with 1:18 left in the first quarter to make it 7-7. However, the Lancers reeled off 20 consecutive unanswered points to win going away.
The Los Gatos High receiving corps showed up in a big way, as Max Thomas (six receptions for 120 yards), Beau Musser (8-57), Owen Panu (5-57) and Cam Thomas (2-46) made acrobatic catches throughout.
Quarterback Scotty Brennan established career highs in completions (22) and yards (385). Although St. Francis connected on some big plays, Krail praised the Los Gatos defense for coming up with key stops and keeping the game within striking distance until the fourth quarter.
Cross Country
Wildcats senior Aydon Stefanopoulos finished fifth in the CIF State Championships’ boys Division II race at Woodward Park in Fresno on Nov. 30.
Stefanopoulos was aiming to win back-to-back titles, having captured last year’s race in 14:58.4 at the 3.1-mile course. While not establishing a personal record, Stefanopoulos ran a time that was 14th fastest overall among five divisions.
