SAN FRANCISCO — Los Gatos and Archbishop Riordan met last season in the opening round of the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs, a game the South Bay school won by two touchdowns.
This year was supposed to be different. Riordan had caught fire after a 2-4 start to its 2024 season, winning five consecutive games. Plus, the Crusaders would host the Wildcats at home in San Francisco this time.
But sometimes, things don’t change in an expected fashion. Riordan, which put up 41 points in its opening-round win over Soquel, was held down just enough by Los Gatos’ defense. And when a late fumble opened the door, the Cats pounced.
Senior quarterback Scotty Brennan found senior tight end Owen Panu for a 17-yard touchdown pass over the middle, and Los Gatos fended off a last-second Hail Mary to seal a 35-28 win.
“Amazing,” Panu said. “Never had a better feeling in my life.”
Los Gatos (10-2) nearly scored on its previous possession, but Brennan’s attempted pass to Blake Thomas was broken up by Chris Lawson. But the Cats got another chance when Riordan fumbled three plays later, setting Los Gatos up with a prime opportunity to win the game.
The Wildcats cashed in.
“It’s a mindset on our defense that we want to swarm the football and create opportunities,” Los Gatos coach Mark Krail said. “It’s been two weeks in a row. Going back to last week, I don’t think anybody outside of our town gave us a chance, and I know nobody outside of our town gave us a chance today. I couldn’t be more proud. We got another week together, and that’s such a blessing with these guys.”
Both teams came out of the gates scoring quickly. Riordan (7-5) struck on its first drive with a 2-yard TD run by Jeremiah Jones to cap a drive that took just 1:50 off the clock.
Los Gatos countered with a 19-yard TD pass to Panu, but Riordan retook the lead with a 7-yard pass from Mike Mitchell Jr. to Judge Nash.
That capped the scoring in the first quarter, and as it turned out, the first half. But Los Gatos didn’t take long to strike back in the second half.
A 44-yard kickoff return by Beau Musser set the Wildcats up at Riordan’s 46-yard line, and Grayson Doslak capitalized five plays later on a 2-yard TD run.
Riordan responded with a 5-yard run by Adonyae Brown, stretching its lead to 21-13. Then Brennan made the throw of the game, a perfectly placed deep shot to Musser for a 73-yard TD.
“We knew it was going to be a battle going into it,” Brennan said. “Riordan’s a really talented team. They’ve got a really talented squad of guys over there, but we were able to make big plays.”
The Crusaders’ talent was on display one play later. On the next snap from scrimmage, Brown ran up the middle on first down, going 80 yards untouched for a score.
But Los Gatos had another punch to throw. Grayson Doslak ran in a 25-yard delayed handoff, bringing the score to 28-26. On the two-point conversion, Brennan found Panu in the back of the end zone, tying the game.
The action was far from over. Riordan drove the ball to its 45-yard line, then opted to attempt a fourth-and-5 in minus territory. Mitchell’s pass was completed a yard short of the sticks, and Los Gatos took over on downs with 6:09 to go.
The Wildcats drove the ball down to Riordan’s 24-yard line and faced a fourth-and-2. With the wind in their face, Krail opted to go for it, but Brennan’s pass was batted down by Lawson.
No matter. Three plays later, Los Gatos forced its second fumble of the game to set up a storybook finish.
It was the second consecutive week that a forced fumble helped the Cats earn an upset win on the road. A late fumble recovery in its win over Serra gave Los Gatos a similar opportunity.
“Got to give props to our defensive coaches,” Krail said. “Coach (Heath) Clark is an amazing defensive coordinator to put our guys in the right spot.”
But the offense had to come through too. And in his senior year, Brennan continues to shine with the game on the line.
“Scotty played great today,” Krail said. “Running game was physical against a bigger defense. That’s been the story all year with these guys. They just refuse to wilt. They just go, and that’s all you could ever ask.”
Brennan deflected praise after the game, noting how many different Los Gatos players had a crucial role in the victory.
“We were able to make big plays on defense,” Brennan said. “Leon Sarashki with like three PBUs. Oh my goodness, that pick from Bryce Novinsky In the beginning. Henry Masters flying around, making tackles. Same with RJ (Cannan).
“All our guys balled out today. People on the D-line, (Aurelio Valdez), Franklin (White), all them dudes. Alex Pyszczak. They were all just working. Offensively, we were able to execute and capitalize off the great work our defense did.”
For Riordan, the loss brings an end to a season of great promise. The Crusaders looked to have turned a corner in the final weeks of the season, knocking off West Catholic Athletic League heavyweights Serra and St. Francis in back to back weeks.
Maybe they still did. But this was not the way Riordan planned on ending its season.
“It was hell of a game,” Riordan coach Adhir Ravipati said. “Credit to them. In the end, they made the plays to win. I can’t take anything away from them. They’re a well-coached, great team. We knew we were going to have our hands full, and we didn’t play clean enough. Turnovers ended up resulting in points for them, kick return coming out of the half.
“We got some stops. We just couldn’t consistently make the plays when we needed to.”
Los Gatos’ season will continue in the CCS Division I championship game against St. Francis on Friday at San Jose City College.
“It’s hard to explain. It’s like everything we worked for comes down to this, and to see us prevail, it’s just the most pride,” Panu said. “We come out, we’re physical. We don’t care who we play. They could be freaking 7-foot, 400 pounds. Don’t care. We’re gonna come out and do our brand of football, and we’re gonna win or lose, but we’re gonna have fun.”
