Senior running back Dre Hill stiff arms a Gunn High School defender in Paly’s 45-14 victory over the Titans on September 23, 2011.
– Matt Ersted
[[nid:28103 left full]]The Palo Alto High School Vikings destroyed their crosstown rivals, the Henry M. Gunn High School Titans, 45-14, in their annual contest Friday night.
The Vikings started off 7-0 with a prompt touchdown 24 seconds into the game after a run and a broken tackle from senior running back Morris Gates-Mouton.
The addition of the Viking Pep Band, which made it’s first appearance of the season Friday, was quickly apparent with the fight song blaring after the first touchdown.
“Having the band out here is special,” Paly principal Phil Winston said. “We should have the band out here every week, but I know that’s not possible.”
The game was characterized by a high number of turnovers by the Titans, which had three interceptions thrown by quarterback Andre Guzman as well as three fumbles, one of which was recovered by Paly.
Paly quickly followed up a turnover with a 72-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Keller Chryst to senior B.J. Boyd less than a minute later, who completed the catch on a curl route, broke a tackle and ran untouched down the sideline.
“He [Boyd] is a freakish athlete,” Chryst said after the game. “I can’t even say anything, he’s just amazing, I’m speechless.”
The Vikings finished the first quarter up 20-0, having missed two point after attempts.
“We came out with a lot of energy,” senior Tory Prati said. “We were a little upset about the result last week against [Archbishop] Mitty. I think we came in well prepared and we played hard.”
The second quarter began with a 59-yard punt return for a touchdown by Justin Grey down the left sideline, bumping Paly’s lead to 26-0 after another failed point after attempt.
The second half was passive once Paly put in their reserves, with neither Gunn nor Paly dominating play.
“We did a little bit better in the second half, they [the Titans] wanted to do the best they could but we were outmatched by their [Paly’s] speed and size.” Gunn head coach Dan Naverro said.
At the end of the fourth quarter, Guzman threw for a 19-yard touchdown pass to Gunn reciever Kareem Farwal to make it 39-14.
On the ensuing kickoff, Paly put in its starters in for special teams. Gunn attempted an onside kick, however B.J. Boyd returned it for 45-yard touchdown down the sideline with no Gunn defender close to tackling him. The Vikings missed the point after attempt once again, bringing in victory with a final score of 45-14.
“We got to finish drives off,” Prati said. “We had 20 points in the first quarter and 19 in the third, and then sputtered in the third, we got to keep up that intensity thoughout the whole game.”
“It feels good to get a win,” Chyrst added.
Defensive coordinator Jake Halas hinted at intra-team competition after mistakes were made on the defensive side of the ball.
“There’s going to be some competition [between the defensive backs].” Halas said. “They know their spots aren’t safe and are going to work hard in practice.”
The Viking’s next game will be at 7:30 p.m. next Friday, at home, against Homestead High School.
[[nid:28107 left full]]Aaron Chum contributed to this article.