Senior running back Morris Gates-Mouton breaks free for a first quarter rushing touchdown in Palo Alto High School’s 46-14 victory over Mountain View High School Friday night.
– Matt Ersted
[[nid:28828 left full]]The Palo Alto High School football team (5-2-0) is back on track after winning decisively, 46-14, against Mountain View High School (5-3-0) at tonight’s homecoming game.
The Vikings opened the scoring less than a minute into the game with an explosive 63-yard touchdown run by senior running back Morris Gates-Mouton.
The Spartans responded several minutes later with a 5-yard touchdown run by junior running back Marcus Jones.
The Vikings then piled on points well into the third quarter, as they went on to score 39 unanswered points.
Sophomore quarterback Keller Chryst connected with senior running back B.J. Boyd for touchdowns of 17, 58, and 63 yards. Chryst threw a fourth touchdown pass to senior tight end Austin Braff, a 17-yarder in the second quarter.
“We knew that B.J and Jayshawn [junior wide receiver Jayshawn Gates-Mouton] would be outside so they would focus on them,” Chryst said. “And Ozzy [Braff] would be down the middle so they couldn’t really guard anyone well.”
Chryst played despite a tendon strain in his leg. However, Chryst insisted that the injury did not hamper his performance.
“When I’m in the game and I drop back, I don’t really feel anything,” Chryst said. “I just focus on playing football.”
Gates-Mouton went on to score two more touchdowns in the game. In the first quarter, Gates-Mouton lined up at fullback and powered through the line for a 4-yard touchdown. In the third quarter, he took a pitch to the left sideline and outran the entire defense to the end-zone for a 68-yard score.
“Offensively I think we did really well,” senior offensive lineman Chris Ramirez said. “We had a great week of practice. We were working hard, getting our blocks down in the blocking scheme, and it payed off tonight, we played very well. The offensive line had a great game and so did the backs.”
The Spartans would tack on a final touchdown with three minutes remaining in the game to close the scoring at 46-14.
“The guys [the Vikings] have been putting in a lot of hard work and really came together tonight,” head coach Earl Hansen said. “They’re a good football team.”
Mountain View head coach Toure Carter was impressed with the support Paly had for the football team, and looked forward to the possibility of a rematch in the playoffs.
“We went out here and we came out here to compete,” Carter said. “We fought as well as we could at this particular moment. Paly is a good football team, they have a lot of tradition here. We would love to see Paly in the playoffs.”
The special homecoming halftime show featured the Paly dance squad, cheer team, and marching band. The marching band paid homage to key women figures in modern music by playing Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream,” Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way,” and P!nk’s “Raise Your Glass.”
The Vikings will play Los Altos High School (1-6-0) at 7:30 p.m next Friday at Paly.