A lot is at stake Friday night when Wilcox travels to Los Gatos as the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League-De Anza Division will be on the line.
Legendary coach Butch Cattolico and one of his prized products, Miami Dolphins linebacker Kiko Alonso know full well about the implications of a typical Los Gatos-Wilcox game, never mind one with a league championship on the line.
Milpitas was thought by many to be the favorite in the SCVAL-De Anza, but both Wilcox (5-4, 4-1 SCVAL-DA) and Los Gatos (5-3, 4-0) managed to knock off the Trojans, setting up the battle for the league title.
“Wilcox and Los Gatos were the two most consistently good teams in their division,” recalls Cattolico, who was at the helm of the Los Gatos program for 36 years. “They originally got moved into our division because everyone was so tired of Wilcox and Los Gatos beating them, so they thought to move them into our division."
Similarly, Alonso, a Los Gatos graduate product who played under Cattolico, remembers their matchups vividly.
“I remember one play where I came across the middle,” Alonso recalled. “I got absolutely crushed, I think the guy who hit me was Turituri.”
Alonso recalled correctly, as the player who hit him was Juju Turituri, who went on to play at De Anza and East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma. Currently, Wilcox has only two wins against the 'Cats in the 14 times the teams have squared off,
“(We) never lost to Wilcox in my four years, freshman, junior varsity, or varsity,” Alonso recalled.
Wilcox has to focus on stopping an electric Los Gatos offense, which has averaged 30 points per game this year, while Los Gatos has to focus on cutting off Wilcox’s option.
Los Gatos needs a second big game from safety/reciever Caden McCloughan, who had two interceptions and a touchdown last week. Wilcox, meanwhile, is led by running back Richard Herrera, who enters the game with 1,021 yards and 21 touchdowns rushing. Quarterback David Hernandez has added 997 yards on the ground.
The teams face off Friday night at 7 pm at Los Gatos.
