LOS GATOS, CA—Trailing by one at halftime, Los Gatos defended its unbeaten record in the SCVAL-De Anza, as quarterback Kyle Reid accounted for seven total touchdowns in the Wildcats' 50-36 win over Wilcox.
The game seesawed, with seven lead changes in the first half, which ended with a 47-yard field goal from Paul M. Rosa to put Wilcox up 22-21.
On the first drive of the second half, Reid made the difference, as he ran for 15 yards on a fourth-down conversion, followed by an eight-yard touchdown pass to Jake Tonges. Reid reconnected with Tonges again for the two-point conversion, and a 29-22 lead in the third quarter.
The Wildcat defense then came up huge and forced the first turnover of the game, as the previously unstoppable Charger offense couldn’t convert on a fourth-and-one. The turnover on downs made the difference, as Los Gatos capitalized on its building momentum by taking a two-touchdown advantage on its next drive.
“We tried to move around our line pre-snap and fill open holes," said Los Gatos coach Mark Krail. "I don’t know if it worked great, but we were able to get one stop and that was all that we needed.”
The Los Gatos defense was led by sophomore Kyle Smith, who recorded 10 tackles.
While the Cats were stout on the fourth-and-one on that occasion, they had trouble all night stopping the Wilcox read option, as Richard Herrera added on to his 1,000-yard season with 106 more yards on 21 carries, and quarterback David Hernandez went over 1,000 yards with 161 yards on 20 carries and went three-for-seven on pass attempts.
“Obviously we run the ball a lot, we take pride in that,” said Wilcox head coach Paul Rosa. “Both of those guys deserve it (the season they've had).”
This game was a battle of offenses, with Los Gatos' pro-style attack against Wilcox’s option. Reid had three rushing touchdowns from 1, 10, and 47 yards out, as well as four touchdown passes, three to Tonges and the other to Ryan Wilcox. Hernandez also had a passing touchdown to Paul M. Rosa, complemented by two rushing touchdown of his own, as well a rushing score from Isaiah Chavez and two from Richard Herrera.
With this win, Los Gatos has sealed sole possession of the league title and is one win away from an undefeated league season.
‘’We got one more game against Saratoga, so we have to prepare, but winning the league title feels awesome,” said Reid. Reid ended the night with 88 yards on seven rushes and completed five of six passes.
Next week they host their rival Saratoga (4-4, 1-3) while Wilcox will wait for playoffs.
