How sweet it would have been for Palo Alto’s junior varsity football head coach Dave Duran to spoil his old team’s homecoming with his first win against Milpitas. Everything was heading in that direction until 4th quarter dramatics put the Trojans on top of the Vikings 14-10.

With under a minute to go in the game, the Vikings held the ball deep in their own territory, facing a 4th and long situation. Duran called on sophomore wide receiver Buddy Teevens to punt, but a fired up Milpitas defense blocked the kick, recovering it for a touchdown.

The Vikings would get the ball back with enough time to score, and threatened to regain the lead when sophomore quarterback John Keopfogen pitched the ball to freshman running back Evan Warner, who then hurled it 30 yards to a wide open Teevens. On the next play, Keopfogen threw an interception, sealing the game for the Trojans.

"The loss was not Keopfogen’s fault," Warner said. "The game should not have come down to that situation. It was a result of a bad week of practice."

Despite several setbacks, the Vikings seemed to be in control of the game until they turned the ball over for the fourth time with Keopfogen’s interception.

On the first play of the game, sophomore Viking running back Roger Villanueva took the ball 20 yards over a gaping hole in the left side. However, the Vikings committed one of their many mistakes of the afternoon when sophomore fullback Roger Prince fumbled the ball on a dive up the middle.

The Vikings would get the ball right back when freshman strong safety Kevin Dexter knocked the ball loose. "Kevin Dexter had his best game at strong safety yet," Duran said.

On a drive highlighted by a 20-yard reverse to Warner, the Vikings threatened to score until Keopfogen threw the first of two interceptions, returned 60 yards to the Vikings’ 45 yard-line

The two teams went into the second quarter with an intense 0-0 tie.

The Vikings’ defense stiffened in for the rest of the game, as Prince jumped on a loose ball, returning it to the Vikings.

An offensive lull then followed, as Milpitas and Palo Alto exchanged punts, until Milpitas coughed up the ball for the third time, giving the Vikings excellent field position.

Paly could not put the ball in the end-zone, but got on the scoreboard when Teevens hit a field goal from 25 yards out.

The Vikings would score again right before half when Prince took a dive up the middle for 25 yards and the score, putting the Vikings up, 10-0.

This set the stage for the fourth quarter fireworks, when the momentum shifted drastically, and two quick Milpitas scores would give them the game.

Sophomore Trojan receiver Brendan Short had a big day for the Trojans, hauling in clutch catches in crucial situations.

"This was the first game with no personal fouls, yet with all the set backs [4 turnovers and 8 false starts], we were not good enough to win," Duran said.

After the game, Duran spent an extra moment being consoled by his ex-pupil Mark Torillo who is now on the coaching staff at Milpitas. Duran coached him in wrestling and football in 1997-1999. "I’ve known him since the 7th grade," Duran said, making the demoralizing loss to Milpitas especially hard to bear, according to Duran.

As the Vikings next travel to the dominating Los Gatos squad at 5:30 p.m. on Friday at Los Gatos High School. They will look to exploit weak spots in the Wildcat’s defense and pound the run, according to Villanueva. JV football will return to Paly when they are tested again on homecoming, Oct. 30 against Wilcox at Paly.