by Craig Wentz
Over the years, the annual crosstown matchup between Palo Alto and Gunn has meant nothing more than bragging rights in a series of games with little at stake for both teams. But this year's tilt still has some meaning to it. Gunn was seeking its first winning season since 1971, while Paly needed to continue its winning ways in preparation for the Central Coast Section playoffs.
Playing without the services of top running back Chris Cupak, the Vikings still had little trouble in disarming Gunn, 21-0, in a nonleague contest Friday at Paly, leaving Palo Alto (7-2) heading into its regular-season finale Friday at 1 p.m. against visiting Los Gatos.
Gunn (4-4-1), still one win shy of a winning season, will visit SCVAL El Camino Divison champ Mountain View on Friday at 2:45 p.m.
Palo Alto head coach Earl Hansen played everyone against Gunn except Cupak, who has had recurring problems from a concussion sustained a few weeks ago. He sat out Friday's game as a precautionary measure.
"The physician thought it would be best that I didn't play this week", Cupak explained. "The CAT scan was negative and I'll return (Friday) against Los Gatos."
Cupak's presence against Los Gatos is of the utmost importance for the Vikings, if they want to finish in second place in the SCVAL De Anza Division. Wilcox leads at 5-0, followed by Los Gatos (4-1). Paly is third (3-2) with Saratoga fourth (2-2-1). Even if the Vikings lose Friday, Hansen said the division probably will send five teams to the CCS playoffs.
"The only team for sure that won't go is (winless) Milpitas," Hansen said.
While the outcome of Friday's game won't keep Paly from the postseason, Hansen still wants to finish on a positive note.
"Winning is always crucial," he said. "And I don't like to lose to Los Gatos. They've embarrassed us the past two years. But I think we can physically play with them this time."
While Cupak needs to be a factor against Los Gatos, he wasn't needed against Gunn. The Vikings ran the ball effectively by gaining 170 yards using a variety of runners. The Paly defense, meanwhile, once again was the differnce in the game.
Paly allowed the Titans only 121 total yards of offense by shutting down Gunn's aerial game, while yielding the Titans just 2.2 yards per carry on the ground.
"We knew defensively we had to stop (Peter) Su and (Josh) Waldorph," Hansen said. "We played emotional football today."
Su, the Titans' leading rusher, gained only 27 yards on seven carries, while Waldorph (the Titans' leading receiver) caught one pass for 18 yards.
Gunn's inept offense did manage to drive inside the Viking 30-yard line twice in the first half, but came away empty on fourth-down conversions. The closest Gunn got to the end zone was on its second possession of the game, when the Titans reached the Paly 24.
"Our offense lost the game for us," Gunn coach Mike Johnson said. "If we could have made any offensive threat, any at all, it could have been a contest."
Paly took advantage of its opportunities in Titan territory by scoring two touchdowns late in the second quarter to hold a 14-0 lead at halftime.
Peter Hansen connected with Errol Johnson on a post pattern for a 28- yard touchdown pass with 4:27 remaining in the half and a 7-0 Viking lead. Paly made it 14-0 with 17 seconds left as Hansen lofted a 24-yard touchdown to Brandon Springer in the right corner of the end zone.
Paly controlled the ball for only 3 1/2 minutes of the first quarter, but had possession for 30 of the game's final 36 minutes by using a variety of fresh ballcarriers and throwing high percentage passes.
"It seemed like they had the ball forever," Johnson remarked. "Our defense plays well, then our offense gives the ball away."
The Vikings recorded four sacks on the day and held Titan quarterback Shawn O'Neil to just four completions in 16 attempts for 72 yards. Two of O'Neil's completions were to Su on swing patterns for 50 yards in the first half.
Paly ended the scoring on Steve Togersen's two-yard run with 9:11 to play to give the Vikings a 21-0 advantage.
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