PREP FOOTBALL: Palo Alto needs to be focused

After escaping with win, Vikings can't overlook Homestead on Friday

by Craig Wentz

It's the worst nightmare of a coach with a winning record and a shot at the postseason: a struggling football team lurking in the cellar with nothing to lose.

That's what Palo Alto coach Earl Hansen faced last weekend when his Vikings took on Monta Vista in an SCVAL De Anza Division test at Cupertino High.

The co-division leading Vikings had everyone to lose while the Matadors had everything to gain. While that's often the recipe for an upset, it wasn't to be.

Paly (3-0, 6-1), the section's No. 7-ranked team, received a major scare last weekend, but held on for a 15-14 win over hungry Monta Vista (0-4, 1-6). The win was the Vikings' sixth in a row, and it came with a few important lessons.

Emotionally charged by a homecoming crowd, the Matadors took Paly to the limit before Vikings' sophomore placekicker Andy Hnilo kicked a game-winning 38-yard field goal with 3:34 left for the narrow victory.

Palo Alto can't afford to pull the same pranks it did last Saturday when it faces another struggling team, Homestead (1-2, 2-5), on Friday at 2:45 p.m. in Paly's homecoming game.

Homestead whipped Monta Vista two weeks ago, 27-0.

The Vikings played perhaps their worst half of football in the first 24 minutes against Monta Vista, turning the ball over four times. That directly led to a pair of Matador scores and a 14-6 Monta Vista halftime lead. And what did Hansen tell his troops at half?

"Nothing, we just lost our composure and poise in the first half," said Hansen. "I think the kids overlooked Monta Vista."

Paly may have had an eye on its final two regular-season games against division co-leaders, Wilcox (Nov. 7) and Los Gatos (Nov. 14) instead of Monta Vista. Good thing Hnilo was ready when counted upon.

"Everyone was talking about Wilcox and Los Gatos and we got sidetracked," said Viking standout John Klotsche. "We thought it would be easy and we didn't concentrate."

Hnilo missed an extra point in the first half and was bypassed on a fourth-and-goal situation from the Matadors' 7-yard-line in the second quarter, in which Paly came up empty. But Hnilo delivered with the game on the line.

On a fourth and nine from the Monta Vista 21, with three minutes left, Hansen sent in Hnilo to save the night. The kick barely topped the crossbar.

"I didn't have a fourth-and-nine play so I went with the field goal," said Hansen. "I don't think I have ever won on a game-winning field goal in all my coaching."

Trailing by eight at half, the Vikings went to their patented running game out of the locker room and marched 64 yards in 11 plays in 4:32 that ended on a Klotsche 1-yard run to cut the margin to 14-12. Klotsche led Paly with 138 yards rushing as the Vikings gained a sub-par 219 total yards.

The Viking defense again came up with some clutch stops down the stretch and yielded just 56 yards in the second half and 163 for the game.

Steve Torgersen scored Paly's first touchdown to tie the game at 6-6 early in second quarter on a 5-yard run and ended the contest with 85 yards on 21 carries.

The Monta Vista win was only Paly's second close win of the year--Palo Alto beat Logan 19-13 on Sept. 27--and though it was sloppy, it will boost the confidence of Hnilo and the Vikings, knowing they can win the tight games.

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