Los Gatos defense, second-half push leads to first NorCal title, state-title game berth

Storied Central Coast Section program gets over the hump with defensive stand, timely offense in 13-7 Division 2-A NorCal championship win

LOS GATOS, CALIFORNIA — When Los Gatos head coach Mark Krail sent his punt team onto the field at El Cerrito’s 33-yard line, with his offense just four yards away from clinching the game, it prompted much of the packed home stands to second-guess his decision.

But Krail has been coaching nearly 40 years. He knows his defense and he knows what he's doing. And, with how well his defense had played all night, it worked.

The Wildcats, who only allowed a touchdown on the game’s opening drive, allowed the Gauchos to reach their 40-yard line but get no further, with Nate Goldsbury’s interception on fourth down clinching a 14-6 victory in the Northern California 2-A Championship Game and the storied program’s first state championship appearance.

“Credit to Coach (Heath) Clark, our defensive coordinator, and our players,” Krail said. “They were able to slow them down a little bit.”

El Cerrito (12-2) drove 80 yards on 12 plays to start the game, but never scored again. The Gauchos punted five times, knelt once to end the first half and missed a 27-yard field goal before getting the ball one last time at their own 28 with 1:39 left. Quarterback Michael Vanhook Jr. guided his offense across the field with a completion to Zion Shelton, but Los Gatos (12-2) forced three straight incompletions before Goldsbury’s interception with 11 seconds left.

Los Gatos quarterback A.J. Minyard and coach Mark Krail in a win earlier this season over Riordan :: File photo: Ethan Barnickel/LNN Designs

“It’s just playing as a team,” Goldsbury said of the defensive effort. “No one man can win a football game.”

A.J. Minyard threw an 11-yard touchdown to Jaylen Thomas with 1:55 left in the third quarter after a crucial defensive holding penalty and Sam Pearman converted the go-ahead extra point. Boxer Kopcsak-Yeung scored on an 11-yard run with 6:50 remaining in the game, though Los Gatos opted to kick the extra point instead of going for two to try to take a two-score lead.

Kopcsak-Yeung was dropped in the backfield on the play before his touchdown, but El Cerrito was called for a personal foul after the tackler threw him to the ground with a suplex.

“We just hurt ourselves with penalties,” Gauchos head coach Jacob Rincon said. “Being undisciplined just hurt us at the end.”

Penalties piled up for El Cerrito in the second half, none more critical than a defensive hold on fourth down that negated a Richard Siaki sack. Two plays later, Thomas got Los Gatos on the board with his 13th receiving touchdown of the season.

“If we get that sack and there’s no holding, the momentum changes,” Rincon commented. “That kind of changed the whole game.”

The kickoff after Kopcsak-Yeung’s touchdown went into the end zone for a touchback, but the Gauchos had to start the drive at their own 10 after a personal foul. They then got flagged for a pair of false starts and punted with 2:54 left after Goldsbury and Lyndon Bailey combined for a coverage sack.

It looked like the Gaucho offense wouldn’t get another crack, but Dashaun Gordon and Sione Fanaika stopped Kopcsak-Yeung for no gain on third-and-4. The defense didn’t give into a hard count on fourth down, and after a timeout, Krail sent out the punt team.

“We had visions of putting them inside the 10,” Krail said of Thomas’ punt, which only traveled five yards. “Our defense bent, but didn’t break.”

Most coaches probably wouldn’t have punted in that situation. But it worked. Los Gatos, a program that’s racked up 16 Central Coast Section titles, will play in its first state championship game next weekend against Central Valley Christian.

“It means so much to every one of us,” said Goldsbury, whose older brother kicked for the Wildcats and graduated in 2022.

Scott Garwood (7) embraces with teammate earlier after big win playoff win over Riordan :: File photo: Ethan Barnickel/LNN Designs

The moment wasn’t lost on Minyard, who let his emotions pour out at midfield following the trophy presentation. Saturday night marked his final game at Helm Field, and next Saturday’s championship against Central Valley Christian (14-1) will be his last in a Los Gatos football uniform.

“I’ve known all these kids since kindergarten,” said Minyard, who completed nine of 21 passes for 75 yards. “I’ve been a part of the Los Gatos program for the last 10 years. I was a ballboy. There’s nothing like this town. There’s nothing like this community.”

Nicholas Hobson caught four of Minyard’s passes for 38 yards, while Thomas caught three for 27. El Cerrito limited Kopcsak-Yeung to four rushing yards in the first half, but he still managed to rack up 54 for the game across 15 attempts.

Vanhook Jr. completed nine of 20 passes for 70 yards, including a 14-yard touchdown to Washington State commit Kamani Jackson on the first drive. Jackson caught four passes for 35, while Vanhook also ran five times for 32 yards. Micah Avery led El Cerrito with 82 yards across 18 rushing attempts and Ziare Eastman ran four times for 40.

Eastman ran for 23 yards on a second-and-18 late in the second quarter, the longest pickup of a 14-play drive, but the Gauchos failed to score as they missed a 27-yard field goal to the left with 48 seconds left in the opening half, keeping it a one-score game.

“That (second quarter) was probably the worst quarter of football we had played in two months, and we were only down 6-0,” Krail said. “These guys continued to fight and obviously got the job done.”

Ethan Kassel is one of Northern California's most respected, prolific and insightful prep sports journalists. His latest episodes of Bay Preps Insider can be heard on Apple Podcasts. Read his writings on Substack and follow him on Twitter/X @KasselMedia 

More Los Gatos celebration :: File photo: Ethan Barnickel/LNN Designs