The Vikings knew coming in that it would be a tough way to start the season, but the Los Gatos Wildcats came out with an even bigger bang than expected. The Cats rushed non-stop on the ground, pounding the Viking defensive line and shredding their way through to a 42-7 victory on Friday.

“We were in it, but their line was just unbeatable,” Paly senior running back Chris James said after the game.

In a game primarily dictated on the ground, the Vikings just couldn’t manage to contain the steady pounding of the talented Wildcat offense.

Los Gatos scored six touchdowns, five of which were long-gainers on the ground, while Paly converted on one touchdown drive late in the game to break the Wildcat’s run of 42 unanswered points.

“They’re a very good football team,” Paly head coach Earl Hansen said of Los Gatos. “They’ve won three CCS titles, and are looking for a fourth [this year].”

The Wildcats rushed for 205 yards, while Paly only managed to scramble for a total of 43 (35 of which came from senior fullback Sione Mataele on 11 carries). The Vikings didn’t fare much better in the air. Junior quarterback Will Brandin was 6 for 13, passing for a total of 80 yards, and was sacked four times. Brandin left the game late in the third quarter after an especially brutal tackle by a Los Gatos linebacker.

“I just took a bad hit while I was throwing it,” Brandin said. “I’ll definitely be back next week.”

Senior Jeff Wilson replaced Brandin as quarterback for the remaining 20 minutes. After fumbling and losing the first snap, Wilson composed himself and managed to put Paly on the board with a 33-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Brook Seaman.

Hansen commented that Los Gatos set the tone of the game early on: “They were very physical, more so than us.”

Los Gatos took it straight to the Vikings in their initial drive. On the second play of the game, Wildcat senior running back Nick Kalpin broke through the Paly defensive line for a 51-yard touchdown run. Only one minute into the game, Los Gatos was already setting the high-scoring pace, and led, 7-0. The Cats added another seven with a scramble into the end zone to give them the lead at halftime, 14-0.

After a short pep talk, the Vikings returned with spirits renewed. As they charged out onto the field, the air was full of Paly cheers of encouragement.

But the spark wasn’t enough to get the Viking fire going. Even though Paly was initially able to hold its own, a 30-yard completion with five minutes left in the third quarter for a touchdown extended the Wildcat lead, 21-0. Then they tacked on two more scoring drives to cap off the third quarter to an oppressive 35-0.

And the Cats didn’t stop there.

A final blow midway through the fourth quarter found the Vikings down 42-0.

In a determined attempt to get on the board, Paly put together an impressive scoring drive with under four minutes remaining in the game, culminating in a long completion for the score.

The final score reflected Paly’s hard-fought loss, 42-7.

The Vikings will return next week, facing Mountain View in an away game Friday.