For years, large crowds have gathered under the lights to watch Mountain View and Los Altos high schools battle it out on the football field. Undeniably, this year was owned by the Spartans.
The Spartans (3-1) managed to outperform the Eagles in every significant way — running, passing and defense — resulting in a final score of 21-7 at Foothill College last Friday night.
“It was frustrating for us,” Los Altos head coach Jeff Kalb said, “That was the feeling I got from the players on the bus ride back — frustration.”
Mountain View halfback Brandon Hamilton scored within the first five minutes of the game. Hamilton, a senior, has nine touchdowns so far this season, with a total of 497 rushing yards. Quarterback Jeffery Jalaba, a junior, scored with 1:34 remaining in the first quarter. A two-point conversion on the second touchdown ended the first quarter with a solid 14-0 lead for the Spartans.
The Eagles’ defensive line rallied in the second quarter. Notable performances came from returning seniors Yousef Saadeh and Robert Guadagnini. Yousef leads the team with five sacks this year — three in this game alone — while Guadagnini managed an impressive 11 tackles for a season total of 21.
But the Eagles (also 3-1) missed a critical opportunity to score, when at the end of the second quarter they failed on a 20-yard field goal attempt.
“We made some mistakes that were really costly,” Kalb said. “There were things we needed to do that we didn’t.”
Still scoreless in the second half, the Spartans revived their efforts in the third quarter with a fumble recovery at the 15-yard line by junior Shane Cooney. With 11:54 on the clock, halfback Brandon Hamilton scored, giving the Spartans a commanding 21-0 lead.
The Eagles gave fans something to cheer about when newcomer quarterback Daniel Young, who is the team’s passing leader with 416 yards this season, threw for Los Altos’ first touchdown with 11:34 left on the clock.
If there was a chance for a Los Altos comeback, it would have been in the fourth quarter, when Jalaba fumbled and the Eagles recovered the ball at the 29 yard line. But the Spartan line held strong, most notably with a power tackle from senior Leshawn James.
“They were a little more battle-tested,” Kalb explained, “and it was a wake-up call for all of us, from the coaching staff to the players.”
The longstanding rivalry has afforded both sides their share of glory, said Mountain View head coach Dan Navarro, who has been with his team for 20 years.
“In terms of the history of this game, Los Altos won for many years. Then Mountain View won for awhile, and it keeps swinging back and forth. There’s been [winning] streaks of years for both teams,” Navarro said.
Friday night at least, Mountain View’s running game was especially strong. Navarro says he expects senior Hamilton, who last year was voted De Anza Division junior of the year for rushing 1,300 yards, to have 100 yards a game this season.
But Navarro also indicated that there was room for improvement.
“We could have thrown the ball a little better, and do some better blocking.”
Mountain View has just 34 players this year, making it smaller in size compared to other teams in the division, which typically have around 50. The Spartans have been in a perpetual state of limbo over the years between De Anza and the El Camino Division, which is easier overall and where the Spartans found themselves undefeated two years ago. Navarro describes the vacillation as the basic evolution of the team.
“When we have a good team, we go back up, and then we have seniors graduate and we get beat and we go back down. It’s a back-and-forth. But we don’t have the numbers or the size to consistently compete in De Anza,” he said.
If the Spartans were to lose a player, it could spell disaster in getting to the playoffs, and the team’s health and athleticism will be critical for this season’s success.
Meanwhile, the Eagles, playing in the El Camino league, started the year with a new coach, the third in as many years. Kalb says that “as far as the team goes, the kids are learning about each other and adapting to my style. It’s a matter of trust.”
Kalb thinks the division title will come down to Los Altos and Saratoga, and the two are slated to play this Saturday.
E-mail Alexa Tondreau at atondreau@mv-voice.com
