The Palo Alto Vikings were brutally defeated by the Aragon Dons on Friday night, with a final score of 47-14.

Star running back Paul Jackson III(‘18), did not play, sitting out with a pulled hamstring.

The Vikings got off to a rugged start, and starting quarterback Jackson Chryst(‘19) injured his right ankle while getting sacked in the first quarter. The star quarterback was taken out for the rest of the game, and was examined by the Paly medical staff on the sideline.

“I just got my ankle smushed, I think I’ll be back next week,” Chryst said after the game.

The Vikings were able to respond after the injury as Kyle Mostofizadeh (‘19)  stepped in and  threw a 78 yard slant to Jamir Shepard (‘20) on the ensuing drive. Shepard outran the entire Don secondary, flying down the Paly sideline. Mostofizadeh finished the game 8-14, throwing for 162 yards.

The Vikings followed the touchdown with a two point conversion pass to Wes Walters (‘19).

Palo Alto was able to close the half strong, as Shepard caught another touchdown late in the second half, dragging defenders into the endzone.

The Vikings were able to go into halftime only trailing 21-14. However, the Dons overwhelmed the Vikings in the second half, outscoring them 27-0.

The offensive line for the Dons was getting a constant push and opened holes for running back Camron Grant. Aragon pounded the rock for much of the second half and Grant had a dominant performance, finishing the game with three touchdowns.

On the other side of the ball, the Vikings could not get anything going in the second half and early down mistakes lead to many long third and fourth down attempts.

Even with a 0-4 start the  Vikings can still have a successful, as they are 0-0 in league.

“We are 0-0 going into next week,” Mostofizadeh said, “Our goal is to be 1-0 Friday night.”

With a bye next week, the Vikings look to rebound in two weeks against Homestead for the league opener.