LOS GATOS — Wilcox senior Brayden Rosa had not won a game against Los Gatos in his high school football career.
Wilcox’s six-game losing streak to the Wildcats predated his high school tenure, going back to 2019. The Chargers had suffered a number of close losses but couldn’t get over the hump.
This time, they were on the right side of the close call. Facing fourth-and-6 at the 50-yard line up five points, Wilcox coach Paul Rosa called timeout and turned to his players.
“What do you want to do?” he asked.
Wilcox High’s Semaj Clark (7) catches a 32-yard pass for a first down while being covered by Los Gatos High’s Bryce Novinsky (20) in the fourth quarter of their football game in Los Gatos, Calif., on Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)
“Go for it,” they responded.
And they did, converting with a 32-yard pass from senior quarterback Kai Imahara to senior receiver Semaj Clark.
Three kneel-downs later, it was all over — the game, and the streak. Wilcox 19, Los Gatos 14.
“I can’t even describe how I’m feeling,” said Brayden Rosa, who rushed for all three of the Chargers’ touchdowns and forced a fumble early in the second half. “I’m not gonna lie. My whole career, from freshman year to junior year, they’ve owned me ever since I came and stepped on campus. And hard work really does pay off. Like, seriously, if you put in the work, you’re going to get rewarded, for sure.”
Wilcox (7-2, 4-0 PAL Bay) wouldn’t be denied on Los Gatos’ senior night. The Chargers took the ball first and mounted a 13-play drive that took 6:05 off the clock. Rosa, who touched the ball on eight of those plays, converted a fourth-and-1 and scored a 9-yard touchdown.
Wilcox High’s Brayden Rosa (2) gets into the endzone for a touchdown while being tackled by Los Gatos High’s Kayden Bakhtiari (23) in the second quarter of their football game in Los Gatos, Calif., on Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)
Los Gatos responded with its own lengthy drive, a 10-play affair that ended with a 8-yard TD toss from Scotty Brennan to Beau Musser. The Wildcats (7-2, 3-1) went up 7-6 on Jake Gerber’s extra point.
Wilcox retook the lead before the half on an 11-yard run by Rosa, which capped a 13-play drive that ended the first quarter and chewed up half of the second.
“It’s tiring, for sure,” Rosa said of playing on both sides of the ball during long drives. “I was feeling it on a couple of drives. But shout out to OT, our seventh-period training. We really put in the work over the summer, and it shows out here.”
In the second half, Rosa led by example on defense. On Los Gatos’ opening drive of the third quarter, he punched the ball out of Musser’s hands after a 16-yard catch, giving Wilcox the ball back in an immediate swing of momentum.
After running the ball in for a touchdown, Wilcox High’s Brayden Rosa (2) celebrates with Justin Forster (5), Semaj Clark (7), and Richard Cerecerez III (57) in the fourth quarter of their football game against Los Gatos High in Los Gatos, Calif., on Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)
In the fourth quarter, the ball was back in Rosa’s hands. Another wraparound drive that lasted 15 plays and featured seven runs by Rosa ended with – you guessed it – an 8-yard rushing score by the man of the hour.
“I don’t say a lot about him because he’s my son, but he’s been awesome,” Paul Rosa said. “I mean, both sides of the ball. He had the punch-out on the fumble there. He’s had like four punch-outs this year on defense, plus carrying the load on offense. He deserves it. He put a lot of hard work in, and he plays super hard, super tough. The whole game, doesn’t come off the field. You’ve got to tip your hat to that.”
Los Gatos, which got the ball back with 5:03 to go, had one final rebuttal. Brennan paid off an eight-play two-minute drill with a 13-yard TD pass to Musser, bringing the Wildcats within five.
The Cats attempted an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff, generating a chaotic scramble for the ball that ended with Adrian Garcia gaining possession for Wilcox.
Wilcox High quarterback Kai Imahara (11) runs for yardage before being tackled by Los Gatos High’s Gavin Jordan (12) in the second quarter of their football game in Los Gatos, Calif., on Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)
Three plays later, coach Rosa let his players make the call on fourth down. And they delivered.
“I wanted to give it up to them,” he said. “I felt good either way. First down, we catch it, it’s over. If we punt it away, we’re going to have to stop them, and they went down the field easily on us in that last drive.
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“So our defensive coordinator said, ‘Let’s go for it.’ So we all went for it, and it worked out. And the ball Kai threw to Samaj, Samaj is a really good athlete, and he’s always had potential to make plays like that. And for him to get that after all these years is was awesome too, because he deserves that.”
Wilcox laid its cards on the table with the game on the line. And everything came up Rosa.
“They deserved to win,” said Los Gatos coach Mark Krail. “They played better than we did.”
The Wilcox High football team celebrate their 19-14 win against Los Gatos High in Los Gatos, Calif., on Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)