On Friday, Los Gatos travels to Palo Alto in what promises to be an intense showdown between two traditional SCVAL powers. The host Vikings (4-2, 2-1 SCVAL-De Anza) have lost only two games, narrow defeats to sixth-ranked Archbishop Mitty (28-27) and fifth-ranked Milpitas (24-19).
“Both of our losses were to very good teams, and the games were decided on small mistakes here and there,” Palo Alto defensive back Andrew Frick said. “If we make sure that we do everything to get rid of all the mental errors, we have a very good chance to beat Los Gatos.”
Led by coach Earl Hansen, Paly rallied back to win two consecutive road games: a 55-14 victory against Homestead and a 38-12 victory against Wilcox.
“Our win against Wilcox was a great showing of how a hard week of work in practice and studying in film pay off," Frick said. "We really clicked on all cylinders to put together a well played game on offense, defense, and special teams."
Los Gatos (4-2, 3-0) also experienced a few early losses in the season: a 28-20 loss against Archbishop Mitty (4-2) and a 24-21 loss at No. 3 Oak Grove (6-0). However, under coach Butch Cattolico, the Wildcats brought home three consecutive wins from their most recent games against Homestead, Wilcox and Mountain View.
Paly quarterback Keller Chryst currently averages 231.2 passing yards per game, while running back Matt Tolbert rushes for an average of 118.5 yards per game.
On the visiting side, Los Gatos quarterback Nick Bawden has thrown for 144.8 yards per game, and Wildcat running back William Le rushes approximately 100.2 yards per game.
Even with Paly’s high-powered passing attack, Frick believes one of the team’s struggles in previous games has been providing protection for Keller and giving him time to throw the ball.
“However, our young line is getting better every day, so with a good week of practice this week, they will be more than prepared to take on the Los Gatos defense,” Frick said.
Frick believes going into the Los Gatos game, the Vikings have strengths on both sides of the ball, with an already great defense that has gotten better after each consecutive game and a balanced attack on offense that will keep the Wildcats on their heels.
“Last year, we lost to Los Gatos [17-14], just like we did in our losses this year: by executing well on almost every play but making those few mental errors and mistakes that eventually cost us the game,” Frick said. “This year, by being more prepared and making sure that none of those mistakes happen, we will be able to put this one away for Palo Alto.”
