Adrenaline was rushing, and a silence fell over the crowd, Paly was down 0-7 five minutes in to the first quarter, and the game looked hopeless.

Last week the Vikings were overthrown by the Burlingame Panthers 6-35. This week it seemed their fate might be the same after Mountain View scored a quick touchdown and then a crucial Paly fourth down failed. Halfway through the first quarter, Paly seemed like they were starting a comeback with a throw by senior quarterback Nathan Ford to senior wide receiver Matt Wisman, but the play was called out of bounds on the catch.

Suddenly, as the new stadium lights shinned down on the Vikings, there was a big turnaround. Paly got the ball back with 5:05 on the clock. The Vikes assembled at the line of scrimmage after Ford had completed a pass to senior tight end Teddy Way which had been called back due to a penalty. Ford hiked the ball, stepped back in the pocket, and threw a bullet to Wisman across the middle for an 80-yard touchdown. The extra point was missed, but the Mountain View kickoff was fumbled, and junior defensive man Nick Rosas recovered the ball on Mountain View’s 27-yard line.

"[The enthusiasm] could have been because this was our first game under permanent lights, ever," senior center and tackle Trevor Bisset said. "Not only did we have a chance to redeem ourselves [from last week’s performance] on a potentially better team, we got to play in front of the whole crowd."

After the Vikings recovered the fumbled kick return, junior full back Roger Prince had two runs, which got him in to the end zone. The two-point conversion from Ford to Wisman was complete, ending the first quarter 14-7.

"This week everybody was so pumped up," Bisset said. "Last week we were still working with an unsettled offensive line. This week we’ve made some necessary adjustments and the now the new guys are used to playing at a varsity level."

Mountain View attempted a comeback in the second quarter and sent senior wide receiver Sky Reeves in to the end zone once on a third down, but there was a penalty, and the touchdown did not count. The Spartans were forced to kick a field goal, pulling the score up to 14-10 with the Vikings still in the lead. With 1:11 left on the clock, Ford completed a pass to senior wide receiver Chris Reade for a 15-yard touchdown.

In the third quarter, Reade made another touchdown, this time running 20-yards off a pass from Ford on Paly’s third down, bringing the score to 27-10. Paly went for two but did not convert. Mountain View regained possession of the ball, and ran for 25 yards. A penalty called on Paly put Mountain View on Paly’s 25-yard line with about three minutes left in the quarter. Soon after, Mountain View junior full back Alec Nelson scored a 4-yard touchdown. The extra point was good and the score was 27-17 at the end of the third.

The fourth quarter began with a big sack by David Esquivel. On fourth down in that series Rosas sacked opposing quarterback senior Jon Warmbrodt. At the end of the fourth quarter, Paly scored a touchdown on a 24 yard pass from Ford to junior Buddy Teevens with 1:34 on the clock, leaving the Vikings with a 34-17 win over Mountain View.

The Vikings take on the Los Altos Eagles this coming Friday, Sept 24, at 3:15 p.m. at Los Altos High School.