The Palo Alto Vikings (9-2-0) overcame Leland High School (9-2-0) in the first round of the Central Coast Section (CCS) playoffs this Friday at Paly.
The team had a slow first quarter, and although quarterback Keller Chryst (‘14) was able to connect with both Jayshawn Gates-Mouton (‘13) and B.J. Boyd (‘12) the Vikings were unable to come up with any clutch plays. The first quarter was a defensive struggle for both sides. Late in the quarter, Chryst threw a pass intended for Ja. Gates-Mouton which was intercepted by the Chargers outside line backer, Peter Vassallo (‘12) who ran the ball 60 yards down the field.
Leland capitalized on this offensive chance, securing a 40 yard field goal and closing out the first quarter of play with a 3-0 lead.
The second quarter was just as dry offensively for the Vikings as the first. Chryst threw three interceptions by the end of the half, and was sacked minutes into the quarter. With the Chargers taking possession, Leland lined up and secured a 20 yard field goal, gaining their lead to 6-0.
The Chargers continued to shut the Viking offense down and efforts from Ozzy Braff (‘12), Dre Hill (‘12) and Morris Gates-Mouton (‘12) were not enough to compensate for the mistakes that were being made on the wet, slippery field.
A zero on the scoreboard at the end of the half for Paly saw the frustrated squad heading into the locker room.
Head coach Earl Hansen attributes Leland’s success in the first half of the game to a solid game plan and a good work ethic.
“They had a good game plan for us in the first half,” Hansen said. “You have to give credit to those guys. They played hard and are a really good football team.”
The Vikings stepped out in the second half searching for a turn around. The third quarter started the same as the first half with incomplete passes and numerous penalties called on both sides. Right as the crowd began to worry, Chryst was able to turn around his first-half slump and complete a 47 yard touchdown pass to Boyd to close out the third quarter. For the first time in the night, Paly took the lead 7-6.
“It was the first playoff game of his [Chryst’s] life, maybe we asked a little bit too much of him,” Hansen said. “But that is probably on us, he [Chryst] showed character and poise in the second half and did what he had to do.”
Finally, in the fourth quarter Paly found its rhythm. With a quick opening interception by Matt Tolbert (‘13) the Vikings had the ball in their possession.
An offensive steady drive highlighted a reverse to Ja. Gates-Mouton for a gain of 20 yards and technical fouls committed by the Chargers assisted the Vikings in ramping up the attack. Their efforts were finally rewarded when Chryst scrambled the ball to Braff for an eight yard gain and the team was at the fourth down with one yard separating them from an additional six points. Hill completed the touchdown and the score elevated to 14-6, Vikings.
The Vikings’ defense started off the fourth quarter with many key stops forcing the Chargers to punt, once again.
After some miscommunitcations on the Paly offensive line the vikings had to cover an extra 10 yards. With a strong run up the middle by Hil,l the offense disregarded their mistakes and capitalised. Chryst threw a pass to Boyd that was slightly underthrown and almost caught by a Charger, but Boyd ripped the ball out of the defensive backs hands and ran it 42 yards home for six more points.
With the game nearing the end, the Vikings did not want to stop playing. The Palo Alto defensive stood strong with clutch plays by Brennan Miller (‘12), Tori Prati (‘12), Malcom Davis (‘14), Gabe Landa (‘12) and Tolbert. On fourth down the Leland quarterback Jason Habash (‘12) tried for a final drive but was brought down hard by a by outside line backers Braff and M. Gates-Mouton on a double outside linebacker blitz.
With the ball now on the Leland 39 yard line, the Viking offense wanted to get one more touchdown in. The ball was moving up the field at a rapid pace with catches from Boyd and Braff as Paly accelerated towards the endzone. A drive into the endzone by Hill was called back for a holding penalty.
Leland regained possession and did as much as they could to push towards the end zone. Their success was short lived as an overthrown pass fell into the hands of Boyd who was close to scoring another six for Palo Alto but did not make it in.
The Palo Alto Fooball team will play St. Francis High School next Friday. The Lancers, seeded last in the Open Division, upset the number one seeded Oak Grove, 20-17.
