The Palo Alto Vikings Football had a strong win over Santa Clara with a score of 44-31 on Friday, September 22.

The first quarter started out slow with little action from either team. However, after a Viking fumble, Santa Clara recovered the ball and was able to kick a field goal in the last few minutes of the quarter, making the score 3-0 Bruins.

In the second quarter, the Vikings offense stepped up and had 34 yard gain from running back Manny Soto (‘18) toward the Viking endzone. The first touchdown of the game was scored by Paul Jackson III (18), which built up the team’s momentum on offense. Santa Clara rebounded by after a 59 yard gain by Richard Ravenscraft, followed by a touchdown for the Bruins, Santa Clara leading 10-6. By the end of the second quarter, Jackson had scored his second touchdown of the game the Vikings leading 14-10 going into halftime.

“Our linemen worked really well, and our defense showed their presence by working on their pass protection,” said Jackson – one of the team’s star running backs, on the Viking’s defense.

After halftime, the teams took the field again and the Vikings started strong after a 35 yard gain after pass from quarterback Jackson Chryst (‘19) to David Chernyak (‘17). And yet again the Vikings scored a touchdown from junior Jackson and successfully run a two-point conversion to Jamie Cullen (‘17). After an intercepted Viking pass, the Bruins went on to score a touchdown and the extra point, Vikings still leading 22-17. After the Vikings failed to maintain possession, the Bruins scored yet another touchdown, slightly leading the game 24-22. The quarter ends excitedly after Chryst connects with wide receiver Nick Smallwood (‘17),  and the 2 point conversion is good, VIkings lead 30-24.

The fourth quarter began with a quick Palo Alto timeout, followed by a 67 yard touchdown by Sione Latu (‘18), Vikings lead 36-24. Going for the two-point conversion, Chryst carries the ball into the endzone himself, 38-24 Vikings. After back and forth possession by both team, Latu once again scores off a 29 yard run, Vikings leading 44-24 after the extra point is not successful. In response Santa Clara scores a 46 yard touchdown, the extra point being good. The game ended with a Paly successful Paly 44-31 win.

“We had a lot of mistakes though, I think we bounced back and adjusted well…We are going to work on hitting the holes hard, especially on my part,” Jackson says of next week’s game.
The Vikings next game is will be at Saratoga High School next Friday, September 30 at 7pm.