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Charlie Hoke led Paly in rushing against Santa Clara. Photo taken Sept. 23, 2021 by Karen Ambrose Hickey. -
Danny Peters ran for a touchdown in addition to throwing five TD passes. Photo taken Sept. 23, 2021 by Karen Ambrose Hickey. -
Lincoln Tutor (42) and Sawyer McFarland combine for a sack. Photo taken Sept. 23, 2021 by Karen Ambrose Hickey. -
Blake Chase caught a touchdown pass and ran an interception back for another. Photo taken Sept. 23, 2021 by Karen Ambrose Hickey.
Palo Alto quarterback Danny Peters had quite a game. He threw for 321 yards and five touchdowns and completed the last 11 passes he attempted Thursday in a 63-13 win over Santa Clara.
He also ran for a touchdown, and that was the one he wanted to talk about.
“Eccentric, that was awesome,” he said. “I’m not typically known as a runner.”
His 24-yard run for a touchdown broke open what had been a close game and gave Palo Alto (3-2, 1-0) a 28-13 lead with 3:14 left in the second quarter.
And the Vikings apparently weren’t content to go into the locker room at halftime with just a 15-point lead. First Charlie Hoke and then Blake Chase picked off passes along the sideline and took them to the proverbial house to cap a 35-point second quarter and make the score 42-13 at halftime, turning the game into a full-fledged blowout.
“That’s what our defense needed, to continue to grow and establish their own identity,” Palo Alto coach Nelson Gifford said. “They’ve consistently taken the ball away this season.”
Paly also came up with three sacks, one each by Rowan Felsch, Hoke and Lincoln Tutor, and with the sack yardage factored in held Santa Clara to minus-14 yards rushing.
For Palo Alto it was a win in its SCVAL De Anza Division opener and a third straight victory since opening the season with a pair of losses to WCAL opponents St. Ignatius and Serra. It was the first loss for Santa Clara, which went 3-0-1 in non-league play.
“It feels great,” Peters said. “To start out in league, get our first win and get rid of our nervousness.”
“We played like a team today,” Brody Simison said.
Simison was on the receiving end of two touchdown passes in the first half and finished with six catches for 176 yards. His first reception was on a screen pass that he took 63 yards for a touchdown to break a 7-7 tie and give Paly a lead it would not relinquish.
The other three touchdown passes Peters threw were a 25-yarder to Chase, a 12-yard connection with Lucas Black and a 6-yard shovel pass to Brandon Escarsega-Calderon.
Chase had five catches for 73 yards and Black four for 53.
Paly also rushed for 150 yards with Hoke picking up 66 yards on 11 carries.
A running clock was in effect from the third quarter on.
“It was nice to give everyone a chance to play,” Gifford said. “The challenge with football is that there are only a finite number of snaps. This was an opportunity for guys who worked hard to get rewarded for their efforts, to come in and live the dream.”
Wow!!! Now we have THE BIG RED at Gunn and THE BIG GREEN MACHINE at Paly!
We all are hoping Gunn gets the courage to play Paly next year, will be a packed house!
The only BIG RED in Palo Alto is Stanford and for Paly to have beaten Santa Clara by such a large margin speaks volumes in terms of the Santa Clara defense.
A red-green Gunn VS Paly game would be very colorful around December.
63 points averages to roughly 21 points scored per quarter.
It must have been a long and demoralizing day on the gridiron for the Santa Clara High School varsity football team.
I am constantly being shouted down for suggesting this on here, but the solution is for Gunn and Santa Clara to swap conferences (with each other).
John
The more you talk about hs football, the more ignorant you prove yourself to be.Santa Clara and Gunn cannot swap conferences. They are already in the same conference (CCS) Technically, they’re in the Central Conference of CCS. They are also in the same League (SCVAL). They are in different divisions of SCVAL. Gunn is in the lower El Camino Division and Santa Clara is in the upper De Anza division.
They can’t even just “swap” divisions. I would assume you know all of this given the diatribes you have given on high school football. The top team from the El Camino moves up to the De Anza and the bottom team in De Anza moves down to El Camino. In 2019, I believe, Homestead was the top El Camino team, so they are playing in the De Anza division this year. I also think Fremont finished last in the De Anza division so is now playing in the El Camino division.
The historically dominant top teams in the De Anza (LG, Wilcox, Paly and you used to be able to count Milpitas), always beat up on the other teams in the league. It’s been that way for many years with little change.
The only difference by substituting Gunn for Santa Clara would be the color of the uniforms. Most everyone is well aware of that. There might be a year here and there where that might be different, but highly unlikely. Although, I don’t see a very bright future for Paly over the next couple years, especially not with the coach they have.
In 1982 Gunn Oracle denounced the merger of SCVAL and De Anza League because we felt schools like Saratoga, Lynbrook and Fremont took football too seriously and, part and parcel, had militarized marching bands.
Yes, divisions, thanks, Samuel, that’s what I meant. In 2020, Gunn won all their games, including beating Homestead 42-12. I disagree with you on Santa Clara being about the same as Gunn. You weren’t at the game last night? Gunn was supposed to play Paly and the coach chickened out. I also disagree with you on your professed skills at judging coaches. You weren’t upset when they got rid of the inferior Los Gatos guy were you, because you prefer white coaches? I would hope not. That would not be fair of you if you disliked the coach with the much better record just because of the color of his skin.
By the way, that name-calling thing you do, even worse than Morgan. Are you two friends? Not very becoming I tell you what. But if it truly brings you happiness, I would hope that the moderators don’t delete you.
Again, if.you paid attention you would know that 2020 results did not.count towards relegation/promotion.
You really should stop posting about stuff you clearly know nothing about.
But have fun at those high school football games acting like you’re important.
Paly and Gunn prep football is more along the lines of a recreational intramural sports program except that the players get to suit-up and earn block letters for being there.
In other parts of CA (i.e. North San Diego County) high school football is taken very seriously by the respective communities, even in the predominantly white upper-middle class neighborhoods.
Maybe it’s a regional mindset as various SoCal high school football teams have turned out more succesfull collegiate and NFL players than all of the SCVAL combined.
And the same applies to prep baseball.
So just let the Paly and Gunn football players go out there and have a little fun.
Life is too short.
I agree with Mr. Billings. I don’t understand the controversies here. I feel like I am very positive, posting that I like football and the response is always ‘you like it too much, you Al Bundy red-state bleep!.’ I point out that it remains America’s most popular sport, and the response is, ‘it’s dying, you liar!’ I say I like Paly and their coach (who has a much better record than his predecessor) and I am angrily told that Paly is going nowhere because of their coach.
I also like Gunn, Gunn’s coach, and Gunn’s football team. I post that last year they beat Paly’s next opponent Homestead 42-12 and they won all their games, because these things are true. I am told that Max Preps is a terrible website that has no merits, and I can’t figure that charge out either. Isn’t it a site for people who enjoy high school sports that mostly gets it right? I post that Gunn is ranked much higher than a number of teams Paly plays, including this last team, Santa Clara (#630) to Gunn (#486), and I get deleted completely.
Why? Life is too short, indeed.
Most parochial prep schools and their respective student bodies are high school football enthusiasts.
St. Francis, Bellarmine, Serra, & Sacred Heart have huge followings and perhaps this explains why their prep football teams are noticeably better than what the SCVAL has to offer.
And let’s not even get into the SoCal high school football juggernauts.
It’s a matter of community pride and perhaps this factor is lacking when it comes to following or promoting Palo Alto prep football.
A lack of community pride.
There, you said it, Mr Jeffries. That’s the most honest answer I’ve heard for being against a Paly v. Gunn annual football game.
At this point both schools are putting a competitive and successful product on the field with an increased number of players and this I understand has not always happened , so why not just enjoy it and support both as this is one community taking on others and finding success. There is an opportunity to take pride in Palo Alto as a whole and the athletes in the community from both schools. Both coaches are putting in the time and gaining all the recourses they can to be successful , don’t tear them down . The kids are all working hard and deserve the support regardless of where they live. As a resident isn’t it kind of cool to pick up the paper on a Saturday and see Gunn won 58 -0 and Paly won 60 something to something ? I would think so
“Life is short “ enjoy the ride 🙂
Why can’t scholastics and prep football go hand in hand?
On the collegiate level and with the possible exception of places like Ohio State University, Florida State University, and the University of Southern California (among others), many of the noteworthy college football and basketball universities (i.e. University of Michigan/Ann Arbor University of North Carolina/Chapel Hill, UC Berkeley etc.) also promote a strong commitment to academics.
Why can’t Gunn and Paly share both commitments… to high scholastic achievment and sports prowess?
Have the evolving demographics of our local communities altered this perspective or are kids simply too lax (or uncoordinated) to play serious prep sports nowadays?
Or do we blame the parents?
yes, DL, and last night, Cal Berkeley’s own Aaron Rogers rhapsodized about the romance of football, didn’t he? (and Berkeley is a smart person’s school, some say smarter than Stanford even…).
To DL’s question, maybe evolving demographics is correct. You would think that with modern times, comes more diversity, but that seems to be the opposite of what happened in PA with the tech. people (and their world view and preferences) selfishly in greater and greater control. Now, these people did not struggle really to get their stock options and so forth, so they…mistrust, are offended, are frightened, even angry when they see “those” people/barbarians at the gate so to speak, who appear to like a sport celebrating triumph through violence, sweat, and mass struggle.
Maybe there is also a waning interest in following prep sports (along with the admiration of certain athletic endeavors) on the part of the current female high school population?
In other words, perhaps there are no real incentives for a ‘typical’ Palo Alto/Gunn high school male student to pursue athletics.
Rock guitar heroes are also out.
In Silicon Valley, computer nerds and online gamers now reign supreme.
The incentive is community pride. The Catholic schools have it with respect for football, as TJ points out above. I’ve yet to hear a persuasive argument for an alternative.
@John B. Sails/a resident of Midtown
It is very difficult to encourage (or convince) a community to take an active interest in something they care little about.
This is not an issue in other parts of the country and/or state based on local priorities and community mindsets.
But you know, MK, over the past 10 years or so, I have observed many youth football, rugby, track and field, and wrestling communities, in and around Palo Alto, and I found LOTS of happiness and community spirit. Lots of young people who were off their devices, for several hours at a time. Maybe not so many computer nerds, but why does everything have to be about THEM? So, your argument against a Paly v. Gunn football game to build community spirit is, ‘meh, apathy, indifference, insouciance, monotony, and ennui ? I think it would be a big draw that night without you…
@John B. Sails/a resident of Midtown
No argument on my part against any cross-town high school football game.
Just saying that you cannot force the interest level if it it not there to begin with.
Okay, fair enough. We are just coming out of a pandemic where the fit don’t die but the unfit might. Football conditions kids to fitness. This is a good thing. but besides the actual football game, do you like music, MK? The Paly band is really good. They play “Butter (like a criminal undercover)” by BTS; and “Land of 1000 Dances” by Wilson Pickett; and “All Right Now” by Free, I think it was. Or dancing? They have dance performers. and cheerleaders with catchy cheers. I’ve only heard it once, but one goes “All around the world, you know this story, all around the world, this is VIKINGS territory.” See, community spirit? and at football games, students can hang out with friends, go to the concession stand for a taco or soda, even if they don’t have a driver’s license yet, etc. Why do you think you would dislike it if you went? How about I promise that if go, you can stay in the blue tribe?
@John B. Sails/a resident of Midtown
Given your enthusiasm for high school football, maybe you should consider starting a community-based booster club to promote prep athletics.
Procuring corporate and commercial business endorsements/sponsorships could go a long way towards fulfilling your advocacies.
It’s different in other parts of the country and state.
Car and tractor dealerships, hardware stores, diners etc. are often avid prep football boosters and the entire community takes an ongoing interest in these weekend sports activities.
Maybe Palo Alto could enlist a Tesla/BMW/Mercedes auto dealership to get involved along with Nieman Marcus, the Apple Store, Whole Foods, and the plethora of obscure dining establishments lining both University and California Avenues.
Palo Alto is no longer a community with any real interest in prep football.
Old-timers will recall ‘The Little Big Game’ that used to be held at Stanford Stadium between Sequoia and Paly on Thanksgiving Day.
It was a big deal back then.
° “63 points averages to roughly 21 points scored per quarter.”
More like roughly 16 points per quarter but who’s counting?
A 63-whatever football score is generally not an enjoyable football game regardless of who you are rooting for.
Like watching a 15-3 baseball game.
Boring.