Coming off of its first league loss in the 2008 season, the Paly Vikings (5-3, 2-2) came up short for the second week in a row, this time to the Milpitas Trojans (7-1, 4-1). The Trojans barely held off the Vikings in order to keep their first place spot in the De Anza Division, 16-6.
With this loss, Paly will not be able to compete in the “Open Division” of the Central Coast Section playoffs. However, if the team wins its next two games, it has a very good shot at qualifying for the “Medium School Division” in the CCS playoffs.
Friday night’s game at Milpitas was all about cashing in on opportunities, which the Vikings, in the end, could not accomplish.
“We had our opportunities to win,” head coach Earl Hansen said. “We had a lot of heart, and they were a tough team.”
The Trojans got on the board right off the bat. After Viking senior running back Sam Tompkins-Jenkins fumbled on Milpitas’ 16-yard line, the Trojans drove to Palo Alto’s 25-yard line, a drive highlighted by a 30-yard pass from Trojan quarterback Cameron Hernandez to senior wide out Gerome Rogers. With 6 minutes, 4 seconds left in the first, Milpitas successfully kicked a 35-yard field goal.
Senior cornerback and special teams player Paul Brown had the one highlight for the Vikings. After the Trojans increased their lead to 10-0 on a five-yard touchdown run, Brown came right back at them with a spectacular 85-yard kick return which exhibited great blocking by Paly and Brown’s fantastic agility. However, Milpitas blocked Viking senior Will Holder’s point-after attempt.
With regular quarterback Will Brandin out with a partially separated shoulder, sophomore T.J. Braff got the start. Braff was just four of 10 in the air for 52 yards and no interceptions. Three of his incomplete passes were on target, but glanced off of receivers’ hands. Braff also hooked up with fellow sophomore Maurice Williams for a huge 37-yard completion at the start of the second quarter. According to Hansen, the offense got better every day this week while practicing with a different quarterback. However, Paly could not adjust to its backup quarterback quickly enough to combat the Trojan scoring power.
The combination of a strong defensive line for Paly and numerous penalties committed by the Milpitas offense helped limit the explosive Trojan backs to 217 yards on 39 carries and just two touchdowns. Trojan running backs Ben Pomele and Jaron Ioane each had a five-yard touchdown rush.
“Our defense was awesome,” Viking defensive coordinator Jake Halas said. “We couldn’t stop the run at the end, but other than that I’m very happy with the way our defense played.”
Brown and junior Scott Witte also contributed on the defensive side of the ball, adding a fumble recovered and an interception, respectively.
In the second half, the offensive line became tired and Braff was sacked four times, three of which occurred in the last seven and a half minutes of the game.
“We needed to finish,” Hansen said. “We didn’t finish.”
Braff agreed that Paly needed to finish but was still in it until the end.
“The difference tonight was that they [Milipitas] finished a little better than us,” Braff said. “We got close, but we could not finish as well as they did. That’s what mattered in the end.”
Brandin came in with two minutes remaining for one final shot at scoring. Hansen said earlier that Brandin only had five throws in his arm for the night. Brandin was two of four passing for a total of seven yards. After an incomplete pass to senior Steven Gargiulo on fourth and three with a minute and a half left in the fourth quarter, the Trojans simply had to take a knee three times, and the victory was theirs.
“It was very frustrating to have to watch from the sideline, to say the least,” Brandin said. “T.J. [Braff] did a good job. They [Milipitas] also played well, and you have to give them credit.”
Brandin and Braff were side by side when Braff was not in. When Braff was in the game, Brandin coached him from the sidelines.
“Will Brandin really helped me,” Braff said.
“He [Brandin] would have gotten the ball off faster,” Hansen said, referring to the last two times Braff was sacked on Friday, when asked about what difference Brandin would have made.
Nevertheless, the Vikings will take on Mountain View on Friday, Nov. 7, at Paly. Mountain View was 0-3-0 in the league coming into Friday.
“Will [Brandin] will be ready for next week,” Hansen said.