High school football fans waking up Saturday morning to check Friday night’s scores in the CCS section were likely stunned by the 37-0 shutout by the Wilcox Chargers over the Los Gatos Wildcats. While it certainly wasn’t shocking that the defending State Champion Chargers won the game, the manner in which they dominated a high-flying Los Gatos team was, without question, a jaw-dropping sight for those in attendance Friday.
After a scoreless first quarter, one in which the Chargers only had one chance with the football, Wilcox scored on five-out-of-their-final-six drives. The Chargers turned a respectable 16-0 halftime score into a 37-point blowout with three second-half touchdowns. Los Gatos came into the game undefeated at 5-0, averaging 44 points per game.
“If you had told me that we would shut them out, I would have bet my house that we wouldn’t,” chuckled Chargers Head Coach Paul Rosa on which was more impressive, the 37 points or the zero. “I really like our defense, but those guys have been explosive on offense all year, they have rolled everyone they have played. So for sure the zero.”
There were obviously multiple defensive standouts for the Chargers, but the two most notable stars were linebacker Sebastian Davila and strong safety Okela Turituri. The first drive of the game saw the Wildcats drive down into Chargers’ territory, but Davila would put an end to it with an interception on a third-and-eleven situation. The feisty linebacker would add a clutch sack on third down later in the game to force a Wildcats punt.
“We had a great week of practice, we’ve been having slow games recently with two sad losses, but we think we deserve to be on top of our league,” said Davila. “[Los Gatos] were said to be the top-scoring offense in CCS, they thought they were going to be able to pass all over us, but the results showed otherwise, 37-0, great game from us.”
Turituri delivered a great game from a personal standpoint as well. The six-foot-two-inch tall junior ran back a blocked punt for a 40-yard touchdown after it was deflected by teammate Tyler Rowland. Not to mention Turituri came up with a big interception of his own with the Wildcats driving and looking to convert a 4th-and-five play inside the Chargers’ 30-yard line.
“Our defense, we were connecting really well even though we usually struggle against passing teams,” admitted Turituri. “We have good leaders in Davila and Roan [Poulivaati] to motivate us to push harder every day and give us a chance each and every week.”
Wilcox corner Aaron Ah Sing would also secure an interception late in the game, the fourth-and-final steal by the defense. Yet while the Chargers’ suffocating defense was the story throughout this contest, the offensive leaders arguably matched the level of their defensive counterparts come the second half. On a fourth-and-four play from the 12-yard line, quarterback Geremy McCollough scored on a play-action keeper for his second touchdown of the game. Meanwhile, tailback Paul M. Rosa would score twice in the second half, including a 61-yard jaunt to pay dirt that capped the scoring.
Wilcox will now take their 4-2 overall record and a 2-0 mark atop the De Anza League standings into a matchup at Mountain View on Friday, Oct. 11. Kickoff is slated for 3:15 p.m.
