A magical season came to a disappointing end Saturday evening, as the Palo Alto Vikings fell to the favored Orange Lutheran Lancers 42-28, in the Division II CIF State Championship Game at the Home Depot Center in Carson.

The Lancers offensive attack, led by USC-bound quarterback Aaron Corp, who was involved in all six of his team’s touchdowns, proved from the beginning to be too much for the Vikings to handle.

"We made some early mistakes, and we couldn’t recover in time," said Palo Alto head coach Earl Hansen. "That was the biggest difference in this game."

Palo Alto’s troubles started on the first possession of the game when junior wide receiver Mike Scott fumbled after an 8-yard completion from senior quarterback Nick Goodspeed. The Lancers capitalized quickly when Corp faked a handoff and then ran all the way for a 31-yard touchdown.

On the next possession Lutheran forced a Viking punt, and then proceeded to dominate the game, marching 83 yards in 2 and 1/2 minutes. The Lancers capped off the drive with a 20-yard touchdown pass from Corp to senior wide receiver Austin Pettis, the first of four times the duo hooked up a touchdown.

The turning point in the first half came when the Viking defense stood tall and apparently stalled the Lutheran drive at 4th and 4 on their own 29 yard-line. But the Lancers caught the Vikings off-guard when Corp scrambled untouched for 42-yards on a fake punt (Corp also handles punting duties for the Lancers). The Lancers ended up scoring on a 6-yard catch by Pettis, who had 8 receptions for 108 yards on the day, putting Lutheran up 21-0.

With a dejected crowd and a frustrated bench, the Vikings managed to scratch out a touchdown on an 8-yard pass from Goodspeed to Scott, before surrendering yet another Pettis touchdown catch going into the half.

Despite being down 28-7 at halftime, the Vikings came out in the second half and proved why they were in the state championship game, scoring 21 points in the fourth quarter to keep the game within reach.

"It was just dead silent in the locker room at halftime. Guys were just sitting there and we knew we had to make it happen in the second half," Goodspeed said.

The Viking’s offense exploded in the fourth quarter, led by an astounding performance from Scott, who finished the day with 10 catches for 210 yards and 2 touchdowns.

"If you look at the whole playoffs, to say he’s been outstanding is an understatement," Hansen said. "He’s played so well and so hard, just making good decisions all the time."

Lutheran scored the only touchdown of the third quarter on a 15-yard pass from Corp to Pettis, but the Vikings showed their heart in a game that seemed to be over at halftime, outscoring Lutheran 21-7 in the fourth. With the score 42-28 and 4 minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Vikings appeared to have a small window of opportunity, riding a wave of momentum created by a 14-0 scoring run on two touchdowns by junior fullback Sione Matale. Yet the Vikings would need lightning to strike twice as they hoped to recover their second onside kick within the span of 3 minutes. Unfortunately, Lutheran recovered the kick, sealing their victory, and crushing the hopes of hundreds of Viking fans who traveled to Los Angeles to support their team.

The hopes of a Viking victory seemed to hinge on their ability to successfully run the football, which has been their trademark throughout the season. The Lutheran defense, however, was up to the task, holding Palo Alto to a team total of 89 yards on 32 carries, almost 50 yards less than Corp gained on his own.

"Regardless of the loss, we’ve played great the whole year," said Goodspeed, who threw for 210 yards and two touchdowns. "We won league, we won CCS, and no one expected us to be here. We didn’t play our best game today, but I’m happy with what we’ve done, we accomplished a lot."

Coach Hansen agreed, "They played with heart, they played with desire, and they didn’t quit. They showed exactly what they are. They’re champions."