The fate of the undefeated Palo Alto football team is now out of its hands.
After posting an impressive 21-14 victory against the Valley Christian Warriors to win the Central Coast Section Open Division title, the Vikings begin a new leg of their journey as they wait to see if they will be invited to a California Interscholastic Federation Bowl.
The Vikings had an outstanding regular season by going undefeated with a 10-0 record. They went on to the CCS playoffs as the first seed, where they proved themselves worthy of their ranking by beating three West Catholic Athletic League teams to bring home the championship for the first time since 2006. Boasting a 13-0 record, this is arguably the best Paly football team in history, but they can eliminate any remaining doubt if they can secure a state bowl berth.
“It is a great feeling to be CCS champs,” junior wide receiver Gabe Landa said. “CCS has never had an undefeated open division champion, so that makes the team feel great. Before the season, I knew we would be good, but I never thought state championship. As a team we would look at the ’06 team as the untouchable historic Paly football team that no team would ever come close to, and we did just what they did.”
The team won’t know if they will go to a CIF state bowl in Carson, Calif., until Sunday, but it continues to practice.
“In the off week we still try to maintain the usual routine,” Landa said. “We still practice after school, and practice hard. But since we do not know who we are playing it is somewhat more difficult to prepare for them because the teams run different playbooks. But we try to keep it unchanged.”
Head coach Earl Hansen keeps the players on their toes during practices to prepare them for their upcoming battles.
“[We] just try to stay sharp, throw the ball around, and run our plays in hour-long practices,” Hansen said.
Paly’s next game will be decided by a selection committee the afternoon of Sunday, Dec. 12. The CIF commissioners will pair teams from the southern regions to compete against teams from the northern regions. Coaches will also be contacted by CIF representatives after the decisions are made.
The official pairings will be announced after the meeting on the CIF Facebook page as well as the CIF website. Further updates about the selection results can be found on the Paly Voice as well as its Twitter account here.
Winning CCS made the Vikings eligible for bowl selection. They have a shot at playing in the CIF Division I bowl.
“[The] commissioners of each section [make the decisions],” Hansen said. “You have to be a section champion to be eligible.”
Despite the unclear outcome of Paly’s football season, the Vikings remain certain that they will advance.
“I’m very confident in our chances of going to Carson,” Landa said. “I feel we did everything we can to show that we are worthy of a state bowl berth. We should be going. I’m sure.”