After an offseason full of preparation, the Palo Alto Vikings Football team is set to kick off their season at home this Friday night, August 26 against Patterson High School.

This will be the Viking’s first regular season action under new head coach Danny Sullivan, who noted that Patterson is a tough matchup.

“It will make things interesting, especially for a home opener,” Sullivan said. “There’s definitely some big time excitement I can feel around campus, and I know the kids are feeling it too.”

Coming off of a sub-five hundred record, the Vikings are embracing the change.

“Most importantly we are making the kids a lot more accountable in terms of being on time. It’s our number one goal to help them for the future,” Sullivan said.

The players are proud of their work put in this offseason to prepare for a season full of new opportunities. Senior Captain Troy Henderson (‘17) said that the preparation started with early morning workouts and conditioning during the summer and strict dedication to learning the new offense that Sullivan has introduced.

Sullivan has a lot of experience in the De Anza Football League as both a quarterback and coach at Los Gatos High School. In fact, there are a total of four Los Gatos graduates on the Palo Alto Football coaching staff. When asked whether this will have any effect on their approach to that game, Sullivan said, “not at all.”

Palo Alto will take on Los Gatos in their homecoming and Senior Night game, which will make for a matchup full of headlines. Henderson mentioned that this will be their toughest matchup of the year.

“Knowing that it’s our senior night and homecoming game, it’s going to be crazy but I’m confident in the team,” Henderson said.

Some notable seniors that left last year include wide receivers Eli Givens (‘16) and Riley Schoeben (‘16). The Vikings look to compensate with a bold running game revolving around running back Paul Jackson III (‘18), who ran for 1,034 yards and 10 touchdowns last season.

The Vikings also lost senior quarterback Justin Hull (‘16) with Jordan Schilling (‘17) poised to take over the role

“Jordan Schilling has filled the QB position really well,” Henderson noted.

On defense, The Vikings will rely on seniors Peter Snodgrass (‘17) and Christian Rider (‘17).

“If the two of them are playing great we are going to have a good year,” Sullivan said of the two seniors.

This tight-knit team is ready to take the field. Henderson concluded, “Our team chemistry is great, and we love to play football, so this year is going to be a lot of fun”