By Scott Campbell

photos by r. Alan Hwang Eagle running back Jamar Watson fumbles the ball during Saturday’s game against Santa Clara High School.

Now Los Altos knows how its El Camino Division opponents must have felt all season long. A physical running game and stout defense, normally the Eagles’ recipe for success, were exactly what Santa Clara used to defeat Los Altos 10-0 on Nov. 5.

The Eagles’ loss was costly. The result knocked Los Altos (6-3, 4-1 El Camino) from a tie with Santa Clara atop the lower division, denying the Eagles the league title and the resulting automatic bid to the Central Coast Section playoffs.

“The rhythm of (our) offense was just thrown off all game,” said Los Altos coach Erik Rutgers, whose team averaged 41 points per game in winning its first four league contests, but was shut out by the swarming Bruins’ defense.

“It wasn’t the same offense that’s been out on the field before,” he said. “Nothing was clicking that well for us - timing, running.”

The Eagles’ struggles began early and continued throughout. In gaining just one first down in the opening half, Los Altos saw its first four possessions conclude in a punt, losing a fumble, a sack that led to losing a fumble and failing to convert a fourth-and-one play.

“I just don’t think we were clicking today,” said Eagles halfback Dillon Lightman, who gained 96 yards on 9 carries. “Usually we have really good chemistry, but today we were a little off. I think we came out a little nervous.”

After Bruins nose guard Nathaniel Otten sacked Los Altos quarterback Richard Rullo early in the second quarter and recovered the resulting fumble, Santa Clara’s offense took over deep in Eagles’ territory.

Four plays later, the Bruins (8-1, 5-0 El Camino) took a 3-0 lead on Daniel Dukic’s 32-yard field goal with 9:16 remaining in the half.

On the ensuing possession, Los Altos risked a 4th-down run at its own 40-yard line, but halfback Jamar Watson’s leap at the line of scrimmage was rebuffed, again forcing the Eagles’ defense into a short-field situation.

Patterson brought the Bruins to the 1-yard line with a 13-yard scamper and Santa Clara extended its lead to 10-0 after quarterback David Gurrola lunged into the end zone at the 1:21 mark of the second quarter.

With its defense effectively suffocating Los Altos’ passing game, allowing just 30 yards through the air, Santa Clara forced the Eagles into the challenging position of trying to mount a second-half comeback with only a running game at their disposal.

Though Los Altos rushed for 208 yards on the day, including 82 yards on 18 carries by Watson, Santa Clara got the defensive stops when it needed them to record its third shutout.

The Eagles had two chances within the Bruins’ 25-yard line in the fourth quarter, but an interception by Santa Clara cornerback Kevin Greene at his team’s goal line and a failed reverse on a fourth-and-five completed the afternoon of frustration for Los Altos’ offense.

“I can’t say enough about our defense,” said Santa Clara coach Rich Hammond. “They’re the heart and soul of our team.”

Not that the Bruins had a corner on excellent defensive play. In one of its finest performances, Los Altos’ defense more than held its own against an offense that had helped Santa Clara defeat its previous four El Camino opponents by a combined score of 183-32. Nevertheless, the Bruins managed to control the ball and the clock with an effective tailback tandem of Justice Patterson (25 carries for 145 yards) and Nick Brodack (19 carries for 92 yards).

“It was frustrating,” said Los Altos cornerback Adam Pittman, who recorded an interception in the first quarter, “because there’s really nothing we could do when they tried to run out the clock.”

Although the loss likely doomed the Eagles’ postseason chances, Los Altos enters Friday’s 7:30 p.m. finale against Gunn at Foothill knowing that it must win and hoping for the best when the CCS selection committee convenes Sunday.

“It’s my understanding that the only way an El Camino team can go to playoffs is if it wins (the division),” Rutgers said. “We’ll see. You never know how it turns out.”