For the first time this season, the Los Gatos High football team found itself in uncharted territory—with an opponent that kept things close several minutes into the fourth quarter.
However, the Wildcats passed the test with flying colors, literally running away from Wilcox for a 41-18 win on Sept. 24 in a Santa Clara Valley League De Anza Division opener. Los Gatos only led 21-18 with about five minutes left in the final quarter when Caspian Bailey ripped off a 40-yard touchdown run coming off tremendous blocking from the offensive line.
On the first play of the ensuing Wilcox possession, Landon Heard returned an interception 59 yards for a TD to essentially ice the outcome.
“Within a span of 30 seconds, it went from a three-point game to a 17-point game,” Wildcats coach Mark Krail said. “I know it’s a cliche, but the final score didn’t reflect the tightness of the game.”
Krail was proud of the players for remaining calm and sticking to the process in the team’s first major test of the season. Although Los Gatos has knocked off some quality teams, its previous four opponents were not able to make things interesting entering the fourth quarter.
“Our guys weren’t panicking; they just continued on what they were doing,” he said. “They knew the defense was playing well, so they took comfort in that.”
Krail said middle linebacker Jake Ripp and outside linebacker Luke White have been stalwarts on defense, along with Heard at free safety. Ripp, White, Luchi Casale and Jack Saul combined for 43 tackles. Krail credited defensive coordinator Heath Clark for having the defense lined up well and the players for being disciplined and sticking to their jobs.
“When you’re competing against Wilcox, it’s really important the players are assignment perfect because Wilcox thrives on getting you to do things that aren’t necessarily your job,” Krail said. “That’s when they hit you with big plays—when guys are getting out of scheme. They did a good job of staying within the framework of what we were trying to do defensively and every man taking care of their own responsibility. Heath had a great sense of the flow of the game, and I thought he called a great game on defense.”
Krail said the defense had to play well to limit Wilcox’s top running back to “under 80 yards.” Boyd completed 9-of-16 passes for 141 yards, including a 13-yard TD pass to Ripp. The team’s potent run game went off for 228 carries on 32 rushes, or 7.1 yards per carry.
Emiliano Mejia led the way with 108 yards on 16 carries, including a long run of 50 yards, and Bailey had 77 yards on six carries. Quinn Merritt led the receiving core with four catches for 70 yards. Ripp and White also play a lot on offense, too, and Krail commended them for their durability and toughness in going both ways.
“We put a lot on their plate on both sides of the ball,” Krail said.
Wilcox took seven minutes off the clock on a first-quarter drive, which slowed down the Wildcats by limiting their possession time. However, Los Gatos eventually made some adjustments, hit on some big plays and wore down the Chargers as the game went on.
“As we were watching the film on Saturday, we had some sore bodies but a lot of smiles in the room as well,” Krail said. “It was a very physical and hard-fought game.”
