Publication Date: Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Paly's revenge will have to wait
Paly's revenge will have to wait
(December 07, 2005) Loss to Los Gatos in CCS finale has Vikings pointing toward 2006
by Nathan Kurz
Losing to Los Gatos has become quite the nasty habit for the Palo Alto football team. But this latest defeat was perhaps the most frustrating of all -- it came with a section championship on the line.
In their second trip to the Central Coast Section title game in three years, the Vikings lost their 11th straight game to their CCS De Anza Division rivals, 27-6, in the CCS Medium School Division finale last Friday at Foothill College..
"It would have been great to beat (Los Gatos), since we've never beaten them since I've been here," senior wide receiver Cooper Miller said. "But now I have to go home with a bitter taste in my mouth. I don't like this feeling."
The margin of defeat was pretty much par for Palo Alto, which had lost each of the past 10 league meetings -- including a 63-28 debacle in early November -- by an average score of 31-8. The Vikings' last win over Los Gatos, exactly a decade ago, secured Palo Alto a second-place league finish and propelled it to the school's first and only section title.
It was arguably an accomplishment in of itself for the Vikings to advance this far without standout junior quarterback Nick Goodspeed, who was lost for the season over a month ago after separating his right shoulder. Goodspeed led the Paly frosh-soph team to a 10-0 record in 2004 and league championship. That included a win over Los Gatos, which sets the Vikings up for next season with all the majority of the team returning.
With an impressive turnover margin, a resurrected running game and a stout defense, Palo Alto survived South San Francisco and surprised Terra Nova to get back to the title match this season.
But as coach Earl Hansen preached all week, the Vikings would have to strictly adhere to this formula if they were going to have any chance to snap the horrid losing streak.
They couldn't.
A mismanaged handoff exchange between senior quarterback Jon Koepfgen and junior running back Will Frazier on Palo Alto's fourth play of the game resulted in a fumble, which was recovered by Los Gatos at the Viking 46. Less than three minutes later, the Wildcats went ahead 7-0.
Two drives later, Koepfgen threw an errant pass over the middle that was picked off by A.J. Comeau and returned 40 yards for a touchdown.
Those two turnovers put Palo Alto in a hole from which it was never able to recover.
"We made too many mistakes,," Hansen said. "But no one laid down. I'm proud of the guys for that. Los Gatos is a good football team."
The Vikings, who had averaged 193.5 rushing yards in each of their two playoff wins, managed only 103 yards on 34 carries as their best playmaker was held in check.
Frazier ran for only 23 yards on 15 carries and it was apparent that his bum right ankle, which he twisted almost a month ago against Milpitas and then re-injured last week against Terra Nova, bothered him all night.
Just as problematic, Los Gatos' scheme baffled Palo Alto's protection coverage. The Wildcats seemingly blitzed inside nearly every play and moved quicker off the ball up front. As a result, for the first time in weeks, Palo Alto was thoroughly dominated at the line of scrimmage.
"They had guys coming at all angles," Frazier said.
Added Miller: "They're really well-coached and have players who know how to play defense."
Unlike their last meeting, the Vikings were able to disrupt Los Gatos' passing game. Wildcats quarterback Danny Sullivan threw for only 66 yards on seven completions, but Los Gatos rushed for 253 yards on the ground. Comeau racked up a game-high 148 yards and added a 17-yard touchdown run late in the fourth to seal the victory.
Looking forward, Palo Alto loses 19 seniors, including two-way starters like Miller and Roger Prince, but returns the core of its team.
Frazier, Goodspeed, wideout Maurice Williams and sophomore running back Sione Mataele figure to give the Vikings plenty of weapons on offense. Fred Koloto, along with 6-foot-4 tackles Will Elmore and Uly Morales will give Palo Alto one of the most imposing lines in the section.
"I never want to feel this way again," Frazier said. "We've got all juniors on our team. The seniors taught us how to do things. Now it's our turn to lead."
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