Backed by Paly’s superior special teams’ blocking core, senior running back B.J. Boyd returns a kickoff for 80 yards and a touchdown in Paly’s 42-13 victory over Wilcox High School Friday night. Boyd added two touchdown receptions on the night in Paly’s rout.

– Matt Ersted

The Palo Alto football team (4-1-0, 2-0-0) continued to add to its successful season with a dominating win tonight over visiting Wilcox High School (1-3-1, 0-1-1), 42-13.

Wilcox took an early lead on a 60-yard touchdown pass from senior Andrew Aguilar to senior Keenan Gates two minutes into the game, however Wilcox struggled to score after their initial score.

“On one of the first plays they took it to our house,” sophomore quarterback Keller Chryst said. “That was a nice play, but we picked it up from there and scored 42 unanswered points.”  

Paly quickly answered on an 80-yard return for a touchdown by senior B.J Boyd on the ensuing kickoff.

“Boyd is amazing,” Paly head coach Earl Hanson said. “When he gets that ball he’s dangerous, that’s his fourth kickoff return, he’s not surprising anyone anymore I would think.”

Paly took the lead minutes later on a 56-yard touchdown run by senior Morris Gates-Mouton. Gates-Mouton took the hand-off and cut back to the right at the line of scrimmage.

Paly continued to pile on the lead with three touchdowns in the second quarter. With seven minutes left, senior running back Dre Hill ran 69 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown. Chryst threw two touchdowns to Boyd. On the first, a 36-yard pass, Boyd ran a streak route down the right sideline and made an easy catch when the defender fell down. On the second, a 48-yard pass, Boyd caught the ball on a slant route and broke several tackles before running to the end zone.

At halftime, Paly led 35-7.

“We came out good,” Wilcox head coach Dan Brown said. “We were doing what we wanted to do. [Paly] made a couple of big plays. Obviously number nine [Boyd] is an outstanding athlete.”

Two minutes into the fourth quarter, Chryst found junior Jayshawn Gates-Mouton on a slant route for a 41-yard touchdown.

Wilcox tacked on a final touchdown with 6:45 left in the game on a 40-yard pass from Aguilar to junior Mo Iese.

“[Wilcox] is a tough team, we saw film on them every day,” Chryst said. “We just came out and played our hardest.”

The Vikings benefited from strong play from their defense. Hill blocked a field goal attempt in the second quarter. Seniors Michael Lyzwa, Austin Braff, Morris Gates-Mouton, Nathan Hubbard, and Tory Prati all had sacks for the Vikings.

“Tory,our front line, the front four guys on the line did a great job,” Hanson said. “They [Wilcox] really struggled to run the ball against us and they are a running team.”

“This week we have Gatos,” sophomore defensive back Malcolm Davis said. “Gatos is always a tough team. We’re going to work hard this week and get ready for Gatos.”

The Vikings will play Los Gatos High School (3-0-1) at 7:30 p.m. next Friday at Los Gatos.