The Palo Alto High School football team (1-1-0) is hoping to bounce back from a tough loss against Archbishop Mitty when it takes on its cross town rival Gunn  (2-1-0) at 7:3o p.m. Friday at Paly.

“It’s the best of Palo Alto,”  junior linebacker Gunnar Felt said.  “Paly has won it [the game] traditionally and we would like to continue that tradition.”

The rivalry game will be celebrated by many people in Palo Alto, and tailgating will take place at Paly before the game.  Both Palo Alto mayor Yiaway Yeh and East Palo Alto mayor Laura Martinez will be in attendance.

In addition, Paly’s new Viking mascot will make its debut (more on this soon).

In recent years, the Vikings have dominated the rivalry, winning eight straight matchups against the Gunn Titans.

In order for Gunn to pull off the upset, it will need big games from former Paly quarterback Andre Guzman and running back Marcus Moreno-Ramos.

Paly will expect continued production from junior quarterback Keller Chryst, who has already thrown for 569 yards and six touchdowns in the Vikings’ first two games according to maxpreps.

Senior running back Matt Tolbert will also play a key role.  He has run for over 300 yards and three touchdowns on the season, averaging more than 10 yards per carry.

Despite 111 rushing yards from Tolbert, Mitty edged Paly in the Vikings last game by a score of 28-27.

“We played well but we made a few mental mistakes,” Felt said.  “We need to fix that and come out and have a big win on Friday.”