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Everyone dreams of going out as a winner. But Palo Alto encountered a dirty little secret Friday. The odds are stacked against that happening. The plain reality of playoff football makes it much more likely for a season to end with a loss rather than with a win.
“Out of 40 teams only five go on,’’ Palo Alto football coach Nelson Gifford said in reference to the five eight-team divisions in the Central Coast Section playoffs.
And of course those five CCS champions could easily have their seasons end with a loss in the state playoffs. It’s a long-shot to go out on a winning note.
Paly’s season ended Friday in a 40-36 loss to Oak Grove in the CCS Division II semifinals.
It was an emotional ending for a group of players, many fighting back tears after the game, who invested so much over the past 11 months and wanted so badly to have their season extended at least one more week.
“I’m sad that I won’t be able to hang out with these guys any more,’’ Gifford said.
A couple of standout seniors went out in a blaze of glory. Wide receiver Jamir Shepard, who earlier in the week learned that he was named Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division offensive MVP, scored two touchdowns — on pass plays of 83 and 80 yards. On both occasions he caught a short pass near the line of scrimmage and turned on the jet gear to go all the way,
The 80-yarder came right after Oak Grove (10-2) had opened a 10-point lead with five minutes left to apparently put the game away. Shepard’s bolt out of the blue gave Paly fans hope, but Oak Grove picked up a couple of first downs on the ground to run out the clock.
“What he did was legendary,’’ Gifford said. “People will talk about that for years to come.’’
And Kevin Cullen, the De Anza Division defensive MVP, blocked a punt in the first quarter, sending the ball back into the end zone, and went flying after the ball, wrestling it away from the Oak Grove punter for a touchdown.
Then on Oak Grove’s first offensive play afterward he intercepted a pass to set up a 31-yard field goal by Alex Wang to cap off a 24-point first-quarter explosion.
“He just plays so hard on defense, I don’t think he knows what 99 percent effort is like,’’ Gifford said.
The game could not have started off much worse for Palo Alto (7-5). Oak Grove drove for a quick touchdown on its first possession and then intercepted a pass and ran it back for another touchdown and a 13-0 lead just 3:20 into the game.
But Palo Alto was hardly daunted by the early two-touchdown deficit, striking back with a 7-yard TD pass from Danny Peters to Josh Butler on an all-sophomore pass and catch, and then with the 83-yard touchdown pass to Shepard.
Cullen’s blocked punt and recovery and Wang’s field goal made it 24-13, still before the first quarter had ended.
Oak Grove took a 26-24 lead at halftime after scoring two second-quarter touchdowns, the second with just six seconds left in the half.
The Vikings went back ahead one more time when Butler scored on a 1-yard run with 8:13 left in the third quarter. That touchdown was set up by Max Giovannotto’s 13-yard run on a fake punt, followed by a 46-yard completion from Peters to Junacio Henley.
But the Vikings were never able to shut down the Oak Grove ground game. With standout back Mailque Sumler carrying 26 times for 198 yards and two touchdowns, the Eagles totaled 354 yards rushing. After Paly took that 30-26 lead, Oak Grove went heavy to the run behind its big offensive line and put the game away with two more rushing touchdowns.
“They were big up front but no excuses,’’ Gifford said. “They played better than we did. Would it have been helpful if we had (injured players Alberto Ruiz, Lou Passarello, Colin Giffen and Jackson Bundy)? Sure, but we played with these guys last week and beat Palma on the road. We just ran out of juice at the end. We had four sophomores starting most of the game on offense. It’s kind of shocking that they were able to do as well as they did.’’
Well – the better team won and didn’t see much from the team this year that led me to believe they would go far. Not a fan of Gifford saying things might have been different with our missing players – don’t make excuses. Every team has injuries and probably saved us an embarrassing loss to Los Gatos which looks very tough and beat up the boys in the first game. Coaches needs to look in the mirror as this team underachieved big time. Hoping the ship gets a retrofit for next year – the boys played hard and did a great job, they can hold their heads high.
Coach says, “no excuses” and then goes on to make excuses.
Typical PAUSD employee
SOS. Seems like the thing Gifford consistently does in the post game interviews is pump his players to get them recruited.
Everything ties to the college admissions game, even post game interviews. Let’s be real it’s just a bunch of kids playing football.
such uh immature comments, inaccurate too. pumping up for college recruitment? Passarello is already bound for Colorado, Shepard for Fresno State. If you missed seeing these great players at Paly, it is your loss. Of course not everything ties to the college game, most HS players don’t go on, but will remember playing together on a really good HS football team for the rest of their lives. Wonder what RTB remembers?
I really don’t see so many excuses Samuel L: Coach bottom lined it: ‘they played better’ didn’t he? The other thing about PAUSD employees sounds like you have a different reductionist complaint unrelated to a football game.
Edgar, I think if you decide not to attend Paly Football games next year, to show your, uh, conviction? protest? I will not miss you most of all. Los Gatos did not ‘beat up’ Paly, it was a close game on their turf and there were unusual circumstances and partisan seeming referee calls involved. Had they played again, it would have been on neutral turf and Paly would not have been ‘killed’. By the way, I listened to the ‘better team’ last night and their coach before the game, exhorting them to ‘shock the world’, and they did, by yes, playing better but being benefitted by many many turnovers. Some of their players were small, but deceptively good. Props to Oak Grove, but saying they were the better team, just sounds kind of like some sour Edgar pines for a former Paly coach from Los Gatos who…was not very good and produced multiple losing seasons before Gifford.
The team had a very good if less than great season. It’s not a small thing or an excuse to point out just how many 10th graders were contributing big-time on both sides of the ball including at QB, RB, TE, and on defense. Why pretend this is ‘every team’ when it’s not? Further, football hating parents in Palo Alto have non-sensically discouraged their kids from tackle football so their numbers have really been compressed. That’s why, so many underclassman, even 9th graders were suited up for the Varsity this year. This again was not every team. Some places, perhaps more working class/less PC/less knee-jerk bitter? had the advantage of more tackle football support. Gifford should be thanked for all his earnest and talented efforts!
Congrats to Paly for a fine season, they never had much depth so injuries finally caught up to them. All their loses were close including to some of the best teams in CCS, Los Gatos, SI and Wilcox.
Public school coaches have a tough job, lots of time involved for little pay and then have to put up with petty comments from people like those on this chain.
Rusty. He does say “they played better”. Then he goes on to say it was at least in part because they had injuries. Why not leave it at that.
In your diatribe, you make excuses for the LG loss blaming “unusual circumstances” and, of course, the refs.
Parents have “nonsensically discouraged their kids from playing football”? Yeah, who needs science.
Very entertaining. Thanks Rusty.
Hi Rusty! You cover about every thing a person who makes excuses covers, so not much room to dig into your “homer – we got screwed” post.
Some great players on the team and they all played their hearts out in the loss to Oak Grove. They would have been steamrolled in the next game – with the key players they were missing (is outlined by Coach Gifford), how could they stand a chance?!?! Or is it because the enrollment numbers for just PA are down because PA is the only school who is being hit with orients wising you about the long term effects football can have on a player?
It’s tiring to hear from folks like you who make excuses for everything that didn’t go your way. Samuel was spot on – the coach made a compliment then cried about his players not being 100% I am sure every team they play has an unfair advantage with both health and the refs you mention in Los Gatos). How about focusing on the needless personal foul penalties they had against Los Gatos?
End of the day – season is over, just like Rusty’s mindless comments about the wrongs to the team.
Good season boys – pick it up next year…
Rusty – Thanks for the humor this morning!!!
Congratulations Paly Football on a hard-played and heart-played season! Thanks also to all the fans and students that came out for the home game. Best of luck seniors!
Wingo! Did you guys just see the tribute to (Devonte Adams and) Paly football on Sunday Night Football? Pretty cool, I tell you what.
You’re very welcome, Edgar. Humor is very important in life–I try. I don’t think you are #18 Edgar, my Paly JV MVP vote this year.
I did not say Paly was the only town with parents who overreacted. No, not to science, life is dangerous, other sports are dangerous too. But overreacted to a motion picture entertainment by Will Smith, and when one nice guy named Jr. Seau combined mental illness with many years of PRO football and decided it was the same thing. It wasn’t and it’s not.
Let’s put it this way, Palo Alto parents overreacted MORE than your average town’s parents. Certainly more than parents in Texas and Oklahoma and Alabama and Louisiana and Florida—-where they still have middle school tackle football but overreacted less. Isn’t that safe to say?
Paly football numbers are way down, our JV gets rolled with a running clock vs Wilcox and Los gatos. I remember when we had a freshman team, no more. A Los gatos parent told me they have 90 kids split between their JV and freshman teams, how are their numbers so high, do their parents disregard science? Just doesn’t look good going forward when compared to Wilcox and Los gatos are two rivals in the division.
obvious from many of the negative comments.
NO FORMER ATHLETES or COACHING EXPERIENCE THERE….
Or would know how difficult it is to be a varsity
athlete, student, and successful at both.
Congrats to the Paly Football team and Coach staff.
Long season, played and coached your hearts out…..
Haters hate…. Non athletes and non coaches, just are ignorant sadly.
With no experience, but in typing.
III