Since the 2019 season, the Los Gatos High School-Wilcox High School football game has decided the league championship.
The Wildcats entered their Nov. 1 showdown with the Chargers having won five straight in the series, including a resounding 49-14 victory in last year’s Central Coast Section Division I championship contest.
However, Los Gatos’ impressive win streak against its arch-rivals came to a disappointing end in a 19-14 loss in the penultimate game of the Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division season. The Wildcats (7-2 overall, 3-1 league) can still earn a share of the league title if they beat Palo Alto as expected and Wilcox (7-2, 4-0) loses to a competitive Menlo-Atherton squad in their respective season-finale.
Wildcats coach Mark Krail wasn’t thinking about that scenario because, in everyone’s mind, Wilcox was the game to win.
“It would be a tie, but we’re going to try to go over to Palo Alto and play a great football game and get our momentum back, so when we go in the playoffs, we’ll feel a little better than we do now,” he said. “I told our guys we get up in the morning, we get better because of this and see what the rest of the season holds. It’s all we can do.”
Outside of a couple of plays, the Los Gatos offense never got in sync, scoring its fewest points against Wilcox since the team absorbed a 37-0 loss to the Chargers in 2019.
Los Gatos totaled just 110 yards of offense in the first half, a byproduct of having only three possessions, due to Wilcox’s huge time-of-possession advantage.
“We were allowing them to do what they like to do—which is control the ball, control the clock and shorten the game. And that’s what they did,” Krail said. “We were alright stopping the run on the big plays, but we gave up a couple of passes that hurt.”
None more than when the Chargers completed a 32-yard pass on a fourth-and-five from the 50-yard line that effectively ended the game with 2:30 remaining.
“We didn’t deserve to win,” Krail said. “I mean that’s the bottom line. We were the second best team today. They deserved it. They executed when they had to, and we didn’t.”
Wilcox’s vaunted ground game amassed 234 yards rushing. More notably, the Chargers’ defense made key stops and never allowed Los Gatos to get in rhythm. Wildcats quarterback Scotty Brennan completed 13 of 17 passes, for 185 yards and two touchdowns to Beau Musser (who finished with six receptions for 72 yards).
Max Thomas continued his outstanding season with four receptions for 92 yards. However, Los Gatos’ potent run game was limited to a season-low 95 yards. RJ Cannan, a hybrid defensive lineman/linebacker, expressed confidence that the team will finish the season with a flourish.
“We’re going to take this and really learn from it,” he said. “We’ll keep our heads high, and I think it’ll pay off in the future.”
Cannan is part of a strong defense that includes linemen Aurelio Valdez, Franklin White III, Jake Gerber and Alex Pyszczak–just to name a few. Cannan said fellow senior linebacker Henry Masters lifts the team with his play and words.
“Our leaders are really good, especially Henry Masters,” Cannan said. “He really brings us together as a team and we all appreciate him.”
Cannan had a breakout junior year in 2023, helping Los Gatos to a historic season that culminated in a CIF State Championship Bowl Game appearance. He returned this season stronger both physically and mentally, inspired by former teammates and the current coaching staff.
“I’ve grown a lot as a player from seeing my role models like the seniors that just graduated and these coaches who really care for us,” Cannan said. “It’s great to see, and hopefully I can be like that one day.”
No matter what happens the rest of the way, Cannan said the friendships he’s made on this team will far outlast his football career.
“The defense is such a close group,” he said. “We all hang out on the weekends, and it’s really awesome to see. I’ve been on teams before where you don’t really hang out—other than practice. So, we’re just really close and learn from each other.”
