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vol . 3 , no. 13 : december 6-12, 2023 : losgatan.com
back on the court p8 : police blotter p11 : upcoming events p16 : ny times crossword puzzle p17 Drew Penner/Los Gatan
‘CATS ARE NORCAL CHAMPS
100 YEARS ON, LOS GATOS’ TREELIGHTING STILL QUITE THE BRIGHT SPOT ON CALENDAR
LGHS football to play for State title
Downtown parade delivers festive moments
Emanuel Lee, Sports Editor
Drew Penner, Reporter
Eight days after a virtuoso performance in blasting Wilcox High to win the Central Coast Section Division I playoff championship, the Los Gatos High football team wasn’t exactly hitting on all cylinders in its CIF NorCal 2-A Championship Bowl Game against El Cerrito High on Dec. 2. The Wildcats entered halftime trailing 6-0, but it probably should’ve been worse, as they managed a meager 47 yards of total offense compared to the Gauchos’ 147. Wildcats coach Mark Krail said the coaching staff had a simple message for the players at halftime. “We said that was probably the worst [half ] of football we’ve played in two months, and we were down [only] 6-0,” he said. “I said we've got nothing to panic about. We’ve got to clean some things up, let’s go play the way we can, and we still made some mistakes in the second half. But doggone, these guys just continued to fight and got the job done.”
It’s been 100 years since Estelle Harwood McMurtry, one of the ladies of the History Club, led the charge to plant a tree in what’s now called Plaza Park, and on Friday it felt like the whole town came out to celebrate the milestone. Karen Loomis, 63, who’s lived here since 1989, was enchanted by the gathering. “It’s a lovely community tradition,” she said. Loomis said she appreciated how there were “lots of families” and “many generations all here together celebrating what we have in common.” ➝ Lighting, 6
➝ Champs, 10
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LIGHTING UP THE SEASON The Fisher Middle School Choir performs during the tree lighting ceremony at Plaza Park on Friday.
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