“Although the teenagers in the city are split into their own schools, the students from Gunn and Paly used to be mixed throughout elementary and middle school,” Gunn Junior Eda Ertas said. “I believe knowing people from the opposing school who used to be part of your childhood circles makes the rivalry all the more fun, and our sense of community in Palo Alto is strengthened even more when Gunn and Paly students find events to attend together, setting aside rivalry.”

Ertas illustrates one of the ways this rivalry contributes to the Palo Alto community: helping to forge connections and friendships between students of neighboring schools. During its time, this rivalry has sparked spirit and energy in the student body. But how did this long-time rivalry begin, and how has it evolved to become what it is today?

The Viking-Titan feud began in 1965, when the two teams first faced each other on the football field, with Paly beating Gunn 34-13. This game marked the beginning of a rivalry that has since been rooted in Palo Alto athletics for the past 60 years. Over time, the rivalry has flourished, bringing the two schools together in countless clashes across multiple sports. Although Palo Alto schools are better known for its competitive academics, Paly has had its fair share of athletic achievements. CCS titles, State Championships, and successful athletes are an important part of Paly’s history. 

Peter Diepenbrock, current P.E. Instructional Lead, began working at Paly in 1997. During his 14-year tenure coaching boys’ varsity basketball, Diepenbrock led the team-featuring Paly alumni and former NBA star Jeremy Lin-to a 2006 state Division II championship win and two consecutive Norcal Division I finals. Coaching gave Diepenbrock a front-row seat to the fierce energy that fueled rivalry games against Gunn. 

“I started here in 1997, and there was a vibrant, healthy, fun rivalry between the two schools,” Diepenbrock said. “I can tell you that my first year, it was my first or second game ever against Gunn — a completely sold out gym, you couldn’t fit another person in that gym, and it was the craziest ending to a basketball game of all time.”

With Paly ahead by one in the closing seconds, Gunn managed to score a last-second basket off a rebound, winning the game in thrilling fashion.

“They won by one, and it was the most deafening roar I’ve ever heard — To this day, I just remember, in the moment going, ‘I can’t remember ever hearing anything that loud before,’” Diepenbrock said.

Diepenbrock’s anecdote is one example of how the cross-town rivalry has stirred competition and adrenaline, with both teams fighting until the very end. Rivalry games should be action-packed, with spirited students excited about attending and rooting for their school. 

Football, too, has fostered a deep historic rivalry between the Vikings and Titans. Stephen Foug, a Paly history teacher, who both played on and later coached the Paly football team, remembers the intensity of the games during his time.

“When I was a student, there was only one middle school, so everyone went to JLS and then split to the two high schools, so the student bodies knew each other more, which definitely impacted the rivalry,” Foug said. “Football at that time – both teams were pretty bad since the schools were small. They were undisciplined, and there was an unfortunate incident in 1990 between the two teams, when I was on the team.”

In that infamous 1990 rivalry game, a late hit on the Paly quarterback sparked a bench-clearing fight between Paly and Gunn, with physical altercations between both players and coaches. With Paly holding a 12 point lead and about 4 minutes left in the game, tensions began to rise, ending in violence and a lasting mark on the rivalry. The fallout was significant, with both coaches being fired, and remains a legendary moment between the two schools. Afterward, Earl Hansen was then hired as head coach, whom the Viking Stadium was renamed in 2023. While this shows a blatant example of how rivalry causes harmful conflict, it also reflects the deep passion that fuels such historic matchups and was once present between the two schools. Within these conflicts, there still is a fair share of positive memories as well.

“In 2002, when I was coaching, both teams were good at the time, and we played Gunn at Stanford Stadium — it was called the ‘Little Big Game,’ and it was super cool,” Foug said. “Police came and blocked off El Camino, and the team just walked across in our cleats, played Gunn, it was a lot of fun, which kind of showed how a cross-town event like that can be, just as an event,” Foug said.

As the years passed, however, the energy surrounding the classic cross-town rivalry has changed. Diepenbrock, Foug, and athletes alike have noticed a widening gap between the two schools in terms of athletic performance, which in turn has impacted the intensity of these matchups, and the spirit of the rivalry overall. 

“When I started coaching here in the 90s, it was good — Gunn had some good teams in ‘97 and ‘98, so it went back and forth a little bit, but then it just kind of separated again…and you need fair matchups,” Foug said. “The rivalry is definitely less intense now.”

One notable change has been the absence of football matchups, one of the major sports that traditionally is the centerpiece for high turnouts and spirit. After 1965, the two schools kept the rivalry spirit alive, playing each annually for 47 years, with Paly holding a series record of 34-13. However, after Paly’s 48-0 victory in 2012, the teams stopped playing each other for the ensuing decade.

“To be honest, I think it’s embarrassing that they don’t play us in football… it’s really a shame, in my opinion, that we don’t play them in football,” Diepenbrock said.

The two schools stopped playing each other due to disparities in league standings and level of play. Assistant Principal Jerry Berkson elaborates on the reason the two schools no longer meet on the football field. 

“There was an imbalance of level of play…that year we were up by a ton of points, even at halftime, and it just wasn’t a good matchup,” Berkson said. “It’s not good for Paly, and it’s not good for Gunn, because no one wants to not be competitive in a game, so it just wasn’t realistic to keep playing them.”

But, after a 10-year hiatus, the football teams met again in the Fall of 2022, when football games were restarting after COVID. Sadly, this brief revival was short-lived. In the fourth quarter, the game was canceled as a result of student misconduct and rowdiness, a well-known memory for many current students. With a few minutes left, Paly students began to flood out of the stands, rushing toward Gunn’s student section in a frenzy. This resulted in intense crackdowns on behavioral expectations for future events.

“That was embarrassing on our end,” Berkson said. “It was interesting how so many students thought it was alright to walk by administrators and just do what they wanted to do – just a total embarrassment.”

From a student perspective, however, this incident may have felt more like an act of rivalry spirit. Many students were caught up in the heat of the moment, or also just confused on what was going on.

“I remember the game, and I think a lot of students in the Paly section didn’t have any idea what was going on — it was a mob mentality— everyone just kind of excitedly followed people that were running, so most the students that ran did it for no reason,” a Paly student who chose to stay anonymous said. “I think there were discrepancies between how the students and the players view the situation because multiple people at Gunn didn’t think it was that big of a deal…everyone kind of thought it was funny besides school officials, and it didn’t seem like that big of a deal.”

Going forward, the school’s football teams will likely not face each other again for a while. Despite these challenges, the rivalry continues to thrive in other sports, and the schools have been able to maintain spirit while avoiding any issues like this one. While no great rivalry is short of conflict, Paly has shown great improvement. 

“When I first started—we’re talking 19 years ago—I remember kids almost wanting to fight, and it varies year to year, era to era,” Berkson said. “Recently, for the most part, it’s been positive, and at the end of the game, it’s a big kumbaya between the two groups. There’s been a few issues, but I think that would be no different than any other sporting event where there’s tons of students there.”

In basketball, for example, the rivalry has stayed fierce. Gunn never fails to bring the heat when facing Paly, remaining competitive despite fielding statistically inferior teams. 

“You see basketball, you know, I feel like even if the teams are at different levels, it always seems like that’s an area where the rivalry still comes out a little bit hotter,” Foug said.

Just last year, during the 2023-24 basketball season, Gunn narrowly defeated Paly 65-63 with a last-second game-winning basket. Paly reasserted dominance in their most recent matchup on January 11, 2025, taking down the Titans 63-50 on their home court. Senior Jorell Clark played a key role in the game.

“We know that even though Gunn is typically pretty low in the league standings compared to us, they always bring their best when they play us, as they don’t have much else to play for,” Clark said. “But this rivalry is something that has become personal so we’re prepared and ready for their spike in effort.”

While football may no longer be the centerpiece, other sports continue to fuel the rivalry. In addition to basketball, Paly and Gunn compete across 30 different sports, leaving plenty of room for close competition and rivalry spirit, especially in lacrosse, swimming, and water polo.

“Something that gets lost a lot is that their [Gunn] tennis team kicks our butt, you know, their swim team, their water polo teams, all beat us,” Diepenbrock said. “There are many sports that they do very well against us.”

For example, the Gunn boys swim team beat Paly for the number one spot in CCS, which Paly won the year prior. When asked about competition against Gunn in other sports, many athletes vocalized how it remains competitive. Junior Keerthi Raj plays for Paly lacrosse and explains how the rivalry games are some of the most challenging.

“For girls lacrosse, they take us down every year,” junior Keerthi Raj said. “They just have stronger players, and something else they have that we don’t is a better connection…they worked so well together and therefore played a lot better and dominated.”

No matter what sport, rivalry matchups can also affect the mindset of athletes. Going against a long-term rival can sometimes add distraction or increased aggressiveness, but it can also positively increase focus, and adrenaline, and give a different sense of purpose than a typical league game. Many athletes feel a special motivation when facing their cross-town opponents. 

Ertas, a Varsity Water polo and Swim team athlete highlights the intensity of the Paly-Gunn rivalry, particularly in swimming, where both schools excel and many athletes compete together in club teams.

“This cross-town rivalry fuels my desire to perform my best during games and meets,” Ertas said. “During the days prior, I practiced with more intensity and prioritized my sleep and nutrition to set myself up to be in the best shape. Teachers and friends always make sarcastic comments like ‘don’t let the Vikings beat you!’ which has always put the win at a higher stake.”

A special aspect of this rivalry reaches beyond the scoreboards and records, fostering connections between schools. Junior Jayden Ishihara recently transferred to Paly from Gunn, and has experienced rivalry from both sides. Ishihara is now trying out for the Paly lacrosse team after previously playing for the varsity Gunn team. 

“I definitely have a lot of friends and teammates over there that I still talk to, so I think that if we play them in lacrosse, it’d be really fun to see my old teammates and play against them and compete with them,” Ishihara said. “I would definitely go in making sure first and foremost to have a lot of sportsmanship throughout the game…I think that at the end of the day, we all live in the same area, and we’re all in the same community which is why I think that sportsmanship should be the number one priority.”

Though there are many friendships across the two student bodies, every rivalry can come with unsportsmanlike conduct and even hostility in the heat of competition, especially in high school settings, which is apparent in past events. That is why it is crucial that students are reminded to treat each other with respect whilst in competition to avoid getting out of hand. Going forward, the Athletic Department and administration all make a collective effort to encourage sportsmanship while maintaining entertainment. Gunn and Paly administration collaborate on expectations and behavior. Jenny Crane, Athletic Director, has been in the position for almost 3 years now.

“It’s a delicate balance between fostering an electric atmosphere and ensuring everyone feels welcome and respected, but with proper planning and communication, we aim to make each event positive for all involved,” Crane said. “We also increase the presence of staff and administrators at these events to monitor and be proactive with addressing any potential issues.”

Crane highlights how rivalry games attract large crowds, not only students and parents but also alumni and members of the broader community. 

“These events are often seen as marquee moments in the athletic calendar, and the energy and support from fans reflect that,” Crane said.

Paly and Gunn have had their fair share of conflicts, but that conflict and tension is what brings excitement and fire to any notable rivalry. At the end of the day, within the chants and ridicule, it seems these opposing schools bring the community together with their competition. Students that would usually be at completely opposite sides of the city during the school day, come together on Friday nights to enjoy an exciting display of athletics, passionately rooting against each other.