LOS ALTOS, CA - It’s a script that’s been played out hundreds of times. The kid from the scout team gets a chance to play at the end of a game and score a touchdown. His teammates mob him in celebration and the opponents show good sportsmanship by letting him reach the end zone.
When Michael Linney capped off Saratoga’s 41-12 win over Los Altos with a 64-yard catch-and-run, it wasn’t just a heartwarming moment for the typical reasons. It was also the perfect cherry on top for Saratoga’s first and only win of the season.
The Falcons are among a difficult crop of teams. They’re too strong for the El Camino Division but not quite on the level of the De Anza League juggernauts. Saratoga also played a rugged nonleague schedule, lost four one-score games and had the misfortune of playing both Half Moon Bay and Milpitas, two of the section’s three unbeaten teams.
“Our guys never, ever gave up,” said coach Tim Lugo. “They come to practice beat up on Monday, but by Thursday they’re ready to play football. There’s something about the game of football that’s unique for teenage boys. Yeah, you lose a game and you feel bad, but by the next week you also know you’re playing for something bigger. You’re playing for your school, and by that next Friday you’re ready to strap up and try it again.”
The Falcons saved their best for last, pulling away in the fourth quarter to beat Los Altos behind 344 yards and five touchdown passes from Nikolas Rositano.
None meant more than the last of those touchdowns, the 64-yard score by Linney. Linney dropped Rositano’s first attempt, leaving just three seconds on the clock. The second one hit him square in the numbers, and he was off and running.
“It felt very special to me,” said Linney, who was still beaming and catching his breath ten minutes after.
“Awesome,” said Lugo. “Michael comes to practice every day, he’s a member of the scout team, and to watch what football’s done for his life since he joined his sophomore year, you can’t even describe it.”
It was a feel-good day all around at Los Altos. Even when Eagles tight end Vincent Colodny got rocked on a big hit, the type of play that can start a skirmish for two teams at the end of a difficult season, he patted the opposing player on the helmet, shook his hand and the two returned to their respective huddles.
It was a clean, hard-fought game. Saratoga committed just one penalty and Los Altos (2-8, 0-6 SCVAL De Anza) committed only two.
“I’d say the key word out here is character, and our players have a lot,” said Los Altos coach Trevor Pruitt. “When we get a chance to go after each other like that, it’s a good thing, but we always end up with mutual respect after.”
The 6-3 Colodny finished his high school career on a strong note, hauling in six catches for 110 yards and a touchdown. That touchdown, a 50-yard reception from Rocky Hidalgo (12-20, 192 yards), cut the score to 21-12 with 10:42 remaining, but Saratoga pulled away from there.
Rositano connected with Quinn Dozier just over two minutes later on a 25-yard score and Pranay Bettadapur followed with the first of his two fourth-quarter interceptions.
In all, Saratoga’s defense, which had entered the game allowing over 45 points per game, forced four turnovers.
“That double-wing’s tough for us,” said Lugo. “We’re a little smaller than most teams, so when theams go foot-to-foot and try to bash us we struggle with that. I thought our guys answered today.”
Saratoga (1-9, 1-5) led 21-6 into halftime, but struggled in an attempt to stay on the ground and control the clock. Letting Rositano go back to the air proved to be successful for the Falcons.
“We were confident heading into the game knowing that we could throw the ball,” said Rositano, who completed 25 of 35 passes.
Though the five touchdowns went to five different receivers, Harrison Fong was his top target on the day, with seven catches for 167 yards, including a 71-yard catch-and-run for the game’s first score.
For a team that slogged its way through a grueling schedule, a win to close the season was a perfect way to ride off into the sunset.
“Most of these guys will never put a helmet and shoulder pads on again,” said Lugo.” It was important to them to go out with smiles on their faces, and we can sing on the bus on the way home. That’ll be their last high school memory, and as a coach, that’s all you can ask for.”
