After being overpowered by the Burlingame Panthers last week, the Paly Vikings stormed back and defeated cross-town rival, Gunn, 42-7, on Friday, Sept. 23.

The Vikings were pumped up as they anticipated the big game all week long in practice.

"We put a lot more energy into practices this week because of a mixture of last week’s bad loss and today’s game against Gunn," said senior backup quarterback Alex Onitsuka.

Paly athletic trainer Stacey Kofman expressed a similar attitude.

"We wanted to come out and win," Kofman said. "We really wanted to play hard after last week’s loss."

The Vikings came out of the gates strong with junior quarterback Nick Goodspeed running the ball in from two yards out and later finding senior wide receiver Cooper Miller in the endzone for a 34-yard touchdown in the first quarter.

But the Titans would rally back with two interceptions behind senior defensive back Cory Babbington and junior defensive end Stephan Campbell. Campbell’s interception led to a 29-yard touchdown run by Gunn junior quarterback Tucker Laurence.

"We just can’t afford to have a second quarer like that anymore," Paly assistant coach Steve Foug said.

That second quarter wuld only be a bump in the road however as Paly junior wide receiver and defensive back Maurice Williams came out of halftime with a blistering 85-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and would receive a 53-yard touchdown from Goodspeed in the third quarter.

Paly junior running back Will Frazier would add two touchdown runs from eight and four yards out, and the Paly second-string offense would take the field late in the fourth quarter to finish the job.

Although the game was blown open after the first five minutes of the second half, plenty of hard hitting and sacks continued throughout the game, proof that the rivalry continues to live on.

"We knew before the game that this was the time to hit," said Paly senior Cameron Savaree-Ruess, who is currently nursing an injured knee. "We knew we wanted to hit them and they wanted to hit us. We both wanted to see which team is the best in Palo Alto."

The Vikings begin league play next week on the road when they face Homestead at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30.