They love their football in Los Gatos.
The Wildcats' flag football team (12-1) moved into the No. 5 position in the Chronicle's Metro rankings following a 40-12 victory last week over previous No. 3 Milpitas, avenging their 19-0 loss to the Trojans from Sept. 23.
Los Gatos broke open a close game last week with 20 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, keyed by the passing of junior quarterback Helena Younan (31-for-42, 409 yards, six touchdowns) to seniors Sophie Riese (10 catches, 130 yards, two TDs) and Kendall Feichtmeier (8, 125, 4).
The Wildcats join the school's tackle football team in being ranked by the Chronicle. On Thursday, the No. 4 tackle football squad improved to 6-1 with a 49-12 win over King's Academy-Sunnyvale.
The flag football team was 22-6 last season, losing 27-13 in the Central Coast Section Open Division final to Menlo School-Atherton, which is currently 10-2 and ranked third by the Chronicle. The two programs appear on another collusion course in the CCS playoffs, which are scheduled to start Nov. 2.
Riese ranks third in the CCS with 1,207 yards on 98 receptions, with 17 touchdowns. Younan has completed 70% of her 371 passes for 2,699 yards and 29 touchdowns, after throwing for 5,052 yards and 61 touchdowns as a sophomore.
Los Gatos faces Wilcox-Santa Clara (11-10) and Palo Alto (5-10) this week before finishing its regular season next week at Santa Clara (15-5), which gave the Wildcats a tough game before losing 26-12 on Oct. 7.
Top 5 teams (all records through Saturday)
1. Las Lomas-Walnut Creek (18-0, No. 1 last week): The Knights beat a tough Clayton Valley Charter-Concord squad 26-13 before a blowout over Ygnacio Valley-Walnut Creek (46-0). Las Lomas scored 13 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to beat Clayton Valley as QB Maggie Kruger passed for 189 yards and two scores, rushed for 124 yards and another score and added a game-high 10 flag pulls. Violet Keeperman added 17 catches. Next: Monday at Miramonte-Orinda (4-13).
2. Amador Valley-Pleasanton (19-2, No. 2 last week): Victories over crosstown rival Foothill (33-13) and North Coast Section juggernaut Castro Valley (19-18) keep the Dons at No. 2. Castro Valley is ranked No. 28 in the state by MaxPreps. Senior wide receiver Reese Fogarty broke triple digits in receiving with 101 for 1,299 yards and 18 touchdowns. Next: Wednesday vs. Livermore (14-7).
3. Menlo School-Atherton (10-2, No. 4 last week): Beat St. Francis at home 34-12 as Ava Allen accounted for 287 yards and all five touchdowns and added an interception on defense. Anika Shah had three TD catches and freshman Macy Kohn added two. Next: Wednesday vs. Mitty (13-7).
4. Liberty-Brentwood (21-1, No. 5 last week): Junior quarterback Elenoa Malu rushed for two touchdowns, passed for another and Alannah Lopez had 11 catches and a touchdown in a 28-6 home win over Pittsburg. Liberty's loss was by a 19-12 score to crosstown rival Heritage (14-4), which it later avenged, 14-7. Next: Monday at Antioch (4-8).
5. Los Gatos (12-1, unranked last week): After the Milpitas win, the Wildcats recorded their fourth shutout of the season with a 13-0 home win over Los Altos as Paige Purcell had 12 flag pulls and Riese intercepted her 11th pass of the season and 29th in her career. Next: Monday vs. Wilcox (11-10).
5 Players to Watch (all numbers according to MaxPreps.com)
Avery Bishop (San Marin-Novato): The senior quarterback has completed 270 of 500 passes for 3,334 yards and 53 touchdowns for the Hornets (16-2), who close out Marin County Athletic League play Monday at home against Terra Linda-San Rafael (12-7). Last week, in a 25-24 win over Redwood-Larkspur, Bishop completed 28 of 45 passes for 266 yards and four touchdowns.
Kayla Lichaa (San Mateo): Leads the Bearcats (11-6) in passing (186-for-295, 2,340 yards 27 touchdowns) but is even a bigger threat on the ground with 1,170 rushing yards on 141 carries (8.3 average) and 16 touchdowns. The senior two-sport standout (she also excels at soccer) has more than 9,000 career yards and 126 touchdowns.
Annaliese Pyle (Redwood): The sophomore quarterback has thrown for 3,071 yards, ninth most in the NCS, and 45 touchdowns and has rushed for 1,684 yards, which ranks second in the section, and 20 scores. Three times this season she has passed for more than 200 yards and rushed for at least 100.
Shelby Sousa (Livermore): The key to Livermore's turnaround season - the Cowboys are 14-7 after going 7-12 in 2025 - Sousa has 130 catches for 1,637 yards and 21 touchdowns to go along with 222 rushing yards and five scores. On defense, the junior two-sport standout - she also plays soccer - has 60 flag pulls and seven interceptions.
Zoe Tripp (St. Francis): The junior quarterback is one of the Bay Area's top dual threats, passing for 2,457 yards and 37 touchdowns, but also rushing for 993 yards and 12 more scores. She had a nifty 45-yard TD run against Menlo School last week en route to 296 total yards.
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