Football tries to make playoffs

Football tries to make playoffs

The Palo Alto High School football team has continued its season with mixed results following its first few league games. The Vikings carried on with an average performance, receiving two league wins and two league losses.

On Oct. 9, the Vikings headed to Milpitas High School to play their second league game. They were led by senior quarterback Justin Hull and faced former teammate Oliver Svirsky. Svirsky played for Palo Alto until after his junior year, when he transferred to Milpitas.

The following week, the Vikings played against the Fremont High School Firebirds on Oct. 16 in Sunnyvale, winning 40-13.

“It was a fun night in Fremont,” junior left guard Sean Romeo said. “Especially coming after the loss against Milpitas, the game gave us the push we needed to get us in the right mindset for the rest of these league games.”

The Vikings played Los Gatos High School at their Homecoming football game on Oct. 24. Both the Vikings and the Los Gatos Wildcats came into the game with two league victories and one league loss.

Los Gatos took the lead with a touchdown only 21 seconds into the game. Shortly after, the Wildcats intercepted a pass from senior quarterback Justin Hull intended for junior running back Paul Jackson III. Three minutes into the first quarter, the Wildcats extended their lead to 14-0 with another  touchdown. Ten minutes after that, they intercepted another pass and scored, increasing their dominating lead to 21-0.

The Vikings’ first touchdown came in the second quarter with a pass from Hull to senior Riley Schoeben, although the Wildcats managed to block the point after touchdown. With the score at 21-6, Paly struggled to pull ahead. Both teams scored at the end of the second quarter, raising the score to 28-13. The third quarter saw both teams score again, with senior Eli Givens returning the kickoff for a touchdown. Los Gatos scored the final touchdown off a 30-yard pass at the end of the fourth quarter, leaving the final score at 42-20.