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Published on 09/15/1999 All articles from this issue

Los Altos opens football season with a disappointing loss to Irvington

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By Pete Borello / Town Crier Staff Writer

It's a good bet those students walking around Los Altos High this week complaining of ringing in their ears and sore muscles are on the varsity football team.

That's because coach Ron Moser and his staff are probably giving the players a few tongue lashings and some extra conditioning work as a result of what transpired on their field last Saturday. While the score of the Eagles' season-opening loss wasn't bad - Irvington beat them 28-20 - their play was.

The Los Altos defense missed too many tackles - several of which led to big plays - and players were often out of position. The offense committed three turnovers, didn't block well and failed to take advantage of some golden opportunities.

"(Irvington) looked like they were in mid-season form and we looked like we were playing our first game," Moser said. "We had concrete legs and weren't at full speed. We were looking and guessing out there and weren't as intense as we needed to be. We made too many mental errors."

When also considering the fact the Eagles were out-gained 350 yards to 214, it's a mini-miracle the game was so close. Under-manned Irvington, however helped keep things interesting with four turnovers.

The last of these miscues came with just under four minutes to play and nearly cost the Vikings the victory. Quarterback Jake Stone's errant pass at the Eagles' 5-yard line landed in the hands of linebacker George Ruano, who returned the ball to his 25.

Halfback Verdine Baker gave Los Altos more reason to be hopeful on the next play, slipping an ankle tackle at the line of scrimmage and then darting 17 yards before getting hauled down at the 42.

The next three plays netted just eight yards and put Los Altos in a fourth-and-two situation at mid-field. With the clock winding down to one minute, Moser called upon Baker to keep the drive alive. The senior ran off right tackle and appeared to have the first down, but then he took a step backward in attempt to avoid a defender and was dropped by another Irvington player. The ball went over to the Vikings, who ran out the clock.

"That's a play where you need to make sure you get the first down and not dance," Moser said. "But I don't want to isolate that one play, because there were a lot of other things we did wrong."

Quarterback Sai Pela, playing his first varsity game, tossed back-to-back interceptions in the fourth quarter and fumbled away a snap in the second. He finished 7-of-13 for 121 yards and a touchdown.

To be fair, Pela didn't get a lot of help from his supporting cast. His long pass in the second quarter looked like a sure score until the ball bounced off receiver Jeff Belcher's chest. And the offensive line permitted Irvington to get some good licks on Pela, including two sacks.

"Sai's a big, tall quarterback who can really throw it, but he just needs to fine tune it," Moser said. "He also got blitzed and took some hits. We really need to work on our pass blocking."

Tackling is another area the Eagles are probably working on this week. Irvington halfback Lewis Jackson escaped tacklers like a greased pig at the county fair. On his first carry the 5-foot-6 senior appeared to be caught for a loss by Wes Battle, but Jackson broke free for a 17-yard gain. He wound up with 215 yards and three touchdowns.

The Vikings threw just three passes, the only completion a halfback pass by Rick Conti that resulted in a 47-yard touchdown strike to Tommy Peters. The extra point gave Irvington a 21-6 lead with 49 seconds left in the first half.

"That killed us," Moser said.

At halftime, Moser urged his team to "just get better," and the Eagles responded in the third.

Linebacker Scotty Hamilton got the Eagles going on the third play of the half, prying the ball out of the hands of Irvington fullback Sean McGuire and rumbling 35 yards for a touchdown. Pela hit Steve Holloway for the two-point conversion to put Los Altos within 21-14.

Andy Pattison and Vernis James squelched the Vikings next drive, sacking Stone on fourth-and-five at the Eagles' 30.

Baker, who earlier had a 1-yard touchdown run, opened the Eagles' next series with a 22-yard burst. Three plays later, Joe Lucky turned a screen pass into a 45-yard touchdown. The extra-point try was botched, though, and Los Altos trailed 21-20.

Irvington answered back with a 33-yard scoring run by Jackson.