The Palo Alto High School varsity football team (2-1) shut out crosstown rival Gunn High School (2-2) tonight by a score of 48-0 at Hod Ray Field.

The Vikings started off strongly and never looked back.

To start off the game, junior wide receiver Malcolm Davis returned Gunn’s kickoff by Ben Sampson to the Viking 20-yard line. With a little over six minutes left in the first quarter, the Vikings captured the first touchdown of the night by senior running back Matt Tolbert. Paly missed the extra point, leaving the score at 6-0.

With 26 seconds left in the first quarter, junior quarterback Keller Chryst connected on a 28-yard pass to senior wide receiver Jayshawn Gates-Mouton. The Vikings successfully scored on a two-point conversion, making up for the previously missed extra point attempt.

A Chryst run to the 10-yard line set up a touchdown pass to senior tight end De’antay Williams with less than 11 minutes until halftime. Gunn blocked the extra point, leaving the score at 20-0.

Two unsuccessful extra point attempts cannot help but give the fans a bitter sense of deja vu, as last Friday the Vikings suffered a heartbreaking loss to Archbishop Mitty High School when an unsuccessful extra point attempt in the final minutes kept the Vikings down by on point.

With less than seven minutes left in the second quarter, Tolbert ran for a touchdown, and with a successful extra point, the Vikings extended their lead to 27-0.

After another unsuccessful possession by the Titans, featuring several incomplete passes by senior quarterback Andre Guzman, Chryst connected with Davis for a touchdown with less than a minute until halftime. The point-after-touchdown was good, resulting in a 34-0 score at the half.

Coming out after halftime, the Titans continued to struggle to get points onto the scoreboard.

The Vikings, however, continued to excite spectators with another impressive touchdown by Tolbert. With eight minutes left in the third quarter, the senior running back scored his third touchdown of the night, and with a successful extra point, the Vikings continued to dominate the Titans 41-0.

Carrying this momentum into the fourth quarter, the Vikings continued to shut out the Titans. Right away the Vikings scored another touchdown, this time on a run by senior fullback Matt Crist. This raised the score up to 48-0 after the extra point, where it would remain until the clock ran out after more unsuccessful attempts to score by Guzman and the Titans.

This dominating victory makes it nine straight wins for Paly over the Titans.

The Vikings will take on the Milpitas High School Trojans at 7:30 p.m. next Friday at home.