Vikings shine on senior night
PALO ALTO >> Seemingly in control for most of the first half, Palo Alto was intercepted just past midfield with 62 seconds left, and Los Gatos struck for its only touchdown on a fourth-down play going into the locker room.
“And they had the ball coming out in the second half, so we talked about that momentum swing and the fact that we had to come out on defense and really set the tone immediately,” Paly coach Nelson Gifford said. “We couldn’t allow them to continue that momentum. We had to put a stop on that.”
After a long halftime Friday on senior night and homecoming, the Vikings did just that in a 35-10 victory.
Paly middle linebacker recovered a fumble on the third snap of the third quarter, then two plays later wide receiver Jamir Shepard caught his third touchdown of the game as the Vikings (8-1, 4-1 SCVAL De Anza) never looked back.
It didn’t take long for the Vikings to get on the board — 19 seconds to be exact.
On the first play from scrimmage, Shepard went in motion and gathered a swing pass from quarterback Jackson Chryst. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound junior cut through the sideline for an 88yard touchdown.
With 5:09 left in the half, Shepard blew the top off the defense for a 70-yard TD and finished with three catches for 195 yards.
Los Gatos (6-4, 3-3) couldn’t keep pace on offense, as it managed only 24 yards from scrimmage and a 34-yard field goal by Trent Huesby until going for broke late in the second quarter. On fourth-and-13 after an interception by none other than Huesby, quarterback Jack Lewis Miller hit Gian Lagemann for a 29-yard TD with 23 seconds left to get within 14-10 at the half.
Chryst celebrated senior night by going 18 of 26 for 373 yards with five touchdowns. San Ramon Valley’s Tristan Sinclair (6) runs for the winning touchdown in the final seconds as the Wolves upset Monte Vista 17-10 on Friday night.