Spectators who blinked at the start of the annual De Anza Division showdown between the Wilcox Chargers and Los Gatos Wildcats might have missed a pair of touchdowns. For stragglers attending the Friday, Oct. 17 contest, they might have walked in with the score already 14-0, Los Gatos. The Wildcats took the opening kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown. After a quick stop on defense, Los Gatos got the ball back and quickly moved down the field to the tune of a touchdown drive and a 14-0 lead less than four minutes into the game. 

Given the Chargers are built predominantly on a clock-churning rushing attack, one could understand if the Wilcox supporters were worried about their team’s ability to come from behind. The squad isn’t necessarily built to play from behind. However, after falling behind by two touchdowns, the Chargers got back to playing Chargers football. Wilcox dominated the time of possession in the first half and eventually tied the score at 14-14.

“We felt like we could push them around at that point,” noted Chargers quarterback Kai Imahara. “Coming back from down 14 early in the game, that should give us the momentum into the rest of the game.” 

Unfortunately for Chargers fans, that momentum would dissipate to end the first half. The Wildcats would take a 21-14 lead into the break. At that point, though, it seemed like the teams were evenly matched. The Chargers would receive the second half kickoff, and it felt as if a 21-21 tie was imminent. After the game, Chargers Head Coach Paul Rosa acknowledged that the drive coming out of half was a big one. 

“The big possession for us was coming out of half,” noted the head honcho. “We got a good kick return, we ended up getting a big run, but then we stalled down here on the 20. If we can tie it up right there, then the pressure is back on them a little bit. That was a big possession for us.” 

After that drive ended, Los Gatos would build upon its lead to the tune of 28-14, and eventually, 35-14. Wilcox would manage a late touchdown, for a final score of 35-21. Unlike the past few weeks with blowout victories, the Chargers have a better idea now of where the team needs to improve as the season heads into the final stretch. 

“Take this game and look at the film, look at what you need to work on,” noted Imahara. “The past few games, we really haven’t seen what we need to work on since they have been blowouts. But in this game, we can definitely see what the problems are and figure out the solutions.” 

“I hate to say it this way, but I’d rather lose a really hard game than blow somebody out,” remarked Coach Rosa. “You learn way more when you are playing tough teams, and you get better as you play those games. You play full games too. The last four games, our starters didn’t play the whole game. [Los Gatos] played in three really tough, close games. You could tell that kind of helped them out in this game. We haven’t really had that since week two. Hopefully, we can learn from this and move forward, and I think we will.”

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