SARATOGA, CA - With less than 10 minutes to play, it looked as though host Saratoga was going to find its first win of the season, but Leigh’s Martin Olson had other plans.
The Falcons had control with the ball in their own end up six points when senior quarterback Nikolas Rositano slung a ball down the middle of the field. It was overthrown, and Olson intercepted it from the outside linebacker position to take it 30 yards to the house, giving the Longhorns the lead and eventual pathway to a 28-20 road victory.
“It was about execution,” said Leigh head coach Kyle Padia. “It took three and a half quarters to figure out, and have the guys go in the right direction.”
With the win, Leigh keeps its record tidy at 3-0, while the Falcons fall to a disappointing 0-4 start right before league play begins.
Leigh had been struggling for much of the game in finishing drives and making the right plays. However, down the stretch, the Longhorns were able to find a rhythm and overcome a two-score deficit to steal the game.
The Longhorn offense was led by junior quarterback Kyle Albert, who totaled 208 yards on 11 of 26 passing for the night. Albert had one rushing score and two huge passing touchdowns in the game, including a 63-yarder on the second play of the game and a 48-yarder that sparked the fourth-quarter comeback.
He also had two interceptions, but Albert’s ability to make the big plays at the right time to overcome the mistakes.
“In the first quarter, we felt like we had it,” said Albert. “But we really weren’t executing like we were supposed to. When we knew we needed it, we executed.”
On the ground, 5-4 junior Eric Elizondo led the charge, racking up 97 yards on 18 carries for a 5.4-per-carry average to match his pint-sized frame.
As for Saratoga, its star quarterback put up quality stats once again as Rositano threw for 345 yards on 36 of 52 attempts, carrying the weight of the offense as usual. Yet, similarly to the home game against Silver Creek two weeks prior, one costly interception set up the inevitable loss.
“We didn’t finish,” said Saratoga coach Tim Lugo. “All details matter, we have to fix the details within the scheme of things. We’re a passing a team, so we feel good when teams spread us out."
Leigh had to make a crucial comeback to win the game, but at the beginning it was a different story. On the second down of the game, Albert threw a bomb down the right sideline into the outstretched arms of senior wideout Mason Peterson, who took it 63 yards to the end zone.
The lead would be short-lived, as Rostiano connected with dual threat William Turpin on the following Toga drive for a 16-yard score to make it 7-7.
The scoreboard wouldn’t change up until the third quarter, but both teams had their fair share of missed opportunities.
Midway through the third, Rositano broke the tie when he found his favorite target, Harrison Fong, for a 10-yard catch-and-run for a Falcons touchdown.
Saratoga extended the lead with another Fong touchdown catch, this one from 26 yards out just before the third quarter expired.
With Leigh struggling to finish drives, and Albert throwing inconsistently from the pocket, it looked as though the Falcons were going to get their first win of season. The fourth quarter was almost a completely different game. Albert completed his second touchdown of the game with 10 minutes left with a 48-yard bomb down the middle to Niklas Cooper.
Just a minute later, the pick-six by Olson gave the Longhorns the lead. Leigh closed out the rest of the game with multiple clutch defensive stops on Rositano and the powerful Falcon offense, while Albert added insurance points with a 11-yard keeper with just over a minute remaining.
“We just gave it all we had,” said Albert, on the late surge.
Rositano made his best effort at a heroic play nearing the end, but there just wasn’t enough time left.
The Longhorns look to keep their hot streak alive going into the league play, when they travel to Santa Teresa (1-2) next Friday.
“The mindset now is to hit reset button,” said coach Padia. “It’s great to be undefeated, but now the real work begins.”
Saratoga will try to recover from another disheartening loss with a road game at Milpitas (4-0) next Friday, in what figures to be a very difficult opener to SCVAL play.
