Palo Alto head coach Earl Hansen knew Bellarmine would run the ball when his Vikings took on the Bells in the first round of the Central Coast Section Open Division football playoffs on Friday night. Hansen just didn't know how well.

As it turned out, it was too well. The No. 5-seeded Bells piled up 445 yards on the ground and ran away from the No. 4 Vikings, 34-6. Bellarmine will take a 9-1-1 record into next week's semifinals while Paly finishes at 7-2-2.

Palo Alto did hold Bellarmine to just 35 yards passing, but the Bells aren't a passing team and Hansen knew it. Bellarmine dares teams to stop its run game. On Friday, Palo Alto couldn't.

Bellarmine's Kyle Olugbode ran for 207 on 15 carries and scored a touchdown. He got 100 yards in each half. Bells' quarterback Mike McGovern added 139 yards on 16 carries with three touchdowns, one more than Olugbode.

The Vikings forced a punt on Bellarmine's opening drive after a junior lineman Kevin Anderson came up with a sack on third down. The Bells, however, drove 80 yards on their next possession with McGovern scoring on a two-yard run with 8:51 left in the half. Bellarmine recovered the ensuing kickoff and Olugbode scored just seven seconds later from nine yards out for the eventual winning touchdown.

Palo Alto closed the gap before halftime when Paly junior quarterback T.J. Braff found senior Joc Pederson for a 44-yard scoring reception and it was 13-6 with just 2:47 left in the half.

Hansen would have been happy to take that into intermission, but it didn't happen as McGovern ripped off a 72-yard scoring run on a quarterback draw with 2:06 remaining to play. That was the stake in Paly's heart.

Olugbode opened the third quarter by breaking a 66-yard run on the third play from scrimmage for a 27-6 game. The Bells then made it 34-6 by scoring on a 72-yard drive with 4:59 to go in the third quarter.

Braff, who needed a huge game to give the Vikings any hope, completed 11- of-26 passes for only 127 passing yards with no interceptions. The key number was six, the number of times he was sacked. The other negative number for Paly was 41, its total number of rushing yards.

Bellarmine outgained Palo Alto, 480 to 168 while running 63 offensive plays to Paly's 43.The Vikings, who eventually wanted to avenge an earlier loss to Mitty, wouldn't have had that chance even with a victory Friday. The No. 2-seeded Monarchs fell to No. 7 Valley Christian, 22-17.

CCS OPEN DIVISION
First round
Bellarmine 0 20 14 0 — 34
Palo Alto 0 6 0 0 — 6
B — McGovern 2 run (kick failed)
B — Ky. Olugbode 9 run (Dazzi kick)
PA — Pederson 44 pass from Braff (run failed)
B — McGovern 72 run (Dazzi kick)
B — Ky. Olugbode 66 run (Dazzi kick)
B — McGovern 8 run (Dazzi kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Bells, Kyle Olugbode 15-207, McGovern 16-139, Crawley 6-41, Krist. Olugbode 4-16, Winnike 6-13, Parelius 3-12, McHugh 2-6, Cole 2-4, Jauch 1-4, Russo 1-3. Palo Alto, Glazier 4-19, B. Williams 1-12, M. Williams 1-6, Anderson 2-5, Ibarra 1-2, Braff 8-(minus 3). Totals: Bellarmine 56-445; Palo Alto 17-41.
PASSING: Bells, McGovern 3-7-0 35. Palo Alto Braff 11-26-0 127.
RECEIVING: Bells, Kris. Olugbode 1-19, Robitaille 1-12, Demerritt 1-4. Palo Alto, Pederson 4-64, Adams 3-30, Jones 2-13, M. Williams 1-10, Cullen 1-10. Toals: Bellarmine 3-35; Palo Alto 11-127.
Records: Bellarmine 9-1-1; Palo Alto finishes 7-2-2

-- Palo Alto Online Sports