By: Lucy Panicacci

Editor-in-Chief

On Oct. 4, the Los Gatos High School Varsity Football Team faced off in one of their most difficult matches of the season against Pittsburg High School. Following LG’s assertive 62-6 win against Mountain View on Sept. 19, the week of Sept. 23 was a bye week, giving LG two weeks to prepare for the Pittsburg game. Varsity football did game prep in practice and watched film extensively leading to the match-up. A tense competition, the game ended with an LG loss of 20-37. 

In the first quarter, LG came out strong. With five minutes left in the first quarter, senior Justin Mazzaferro scored a rushing touchdown, and senior Jake Gerber completed the extra point, making the score 7-0. Pittsburg responded in the second quarter with two touchdowns to put them in the lead. However, following half-time, senior Scotty Brennan delivered a 36-yard pass to junior Beau Musser, who ran straight down the middle of the field for a touchdown, gaining back the lead, 16-14. “The atmosphere was great and it was really fun,” senior Francis Dudum shared. He added, “On what could have been our game-winning drive, they started playing songs [like Mo Bamba] when we were in the huddle, and the crowd was getting into it.” In the second half, though, Pittsburg began to make good offensive plays to set the game in their favor. Senior RJ Cannan stated, “We were doing good in the first half, and then in the second half, they started to move the ball a little bit…they just had so many different weapons. It was hard to take them all away.” 

Despite the loss, multiple team members recognized the LG’s impressive defensive performance. Dudum emphasized, “The defense played great. They were outstanding.” Senior Alexander Pyszczak, who completed six total tackles during the Pittsburg game, only began playing football for his final year at LGHS. Pyszczak explained, “Well, I saw it as an opportunity. I never played football, and I always thought I’d like it, and I thought the challenge would be fun, and I just really look forward to playing.” For the rest of the season, Pyszczak hopes to “just get more wins, progress in league, and build more connections with friends.”

LGHS Varsity Football kicked off its league season with an away game on Oct. 11 against Menlo-Atherton High School. Menlo-Atherton came into the game with the same non-league record as LG, with four wins and one loss. In the tight match-up, LG beat Menlo-Atherton 21-14. Cannan looks forward to the rest of league, stating, “It’s going to be really fun to play the same people we’ve played every year. Kind of see how we stack up against them.” LG football’s next home game is the homecoming game against Menlo School on Oct. 25 Be sure to come out and support!

(Source: Maxpreps)