The MVHS varsity football team lost 25-13 to Palo Alto in their first game of the season on Friday night.
The game, a rematch of the Spartans’ tough loss in the 2023 CCS Division IV final, was also the debut for new head Coach Rick Esparza.
The game started with a quick Palo Alto three and out, before the Spartan offense came out with senior Viliami Sekona at quarterback. This was a surprise, as sophomore Ishan Devarapalli was expected to start the game at quarterback.
“They weren’t expecting [Sekona] to go in, so we changed the game plan,” Devarapalli said.
However, one of Sekona’s passes was tipped by a Palo Alto defender and intercepted, cutting the Spartans’ first drive short.
Palo Alto then scored a long rushing touchdown. However, the extra point attempt was blocked, giving the Vikings an early 6-0 lead.
In the Spartans’ third drive, Devarapalli replaced Sekona at quarterback, with the senior switching to running back
“We don’t want to have a quarterback on the field that’s playing safety as well,” Esparza said. “That’s a lot of reps for [Sekona].”
After another unsuccessful drive, the Spartans punted the football away. On the next drive, the Palo Alto punter fumbled the snap, and Mountain View regained possession at the Vikings’ 34 yard line.
Mountain View capitalized on the Palo Alto error, with senior running back Diego Ortega-Gerow running in a 10-yard touchdown. The following successful extra point gave them a 7-6 lead.
The Vikings answered back with a quick rushing touchdown from running back Isaiah Phillips, though a failed two point conversion attempt saw Mountain View end the quarter 12-7 behind Palo Alto.
In the first drive of the second quarter, Devarapalli threw a deep pass to senior wide receiver Amir Ware, who dropped the ball deep in Palo Alto’s half. Mountain View was forced to punt back to Palo Alto.
The Vikings then connected on a long throw and run, but quarterback Justin Fung threw an interception to Mountain View junior defensive back Lucas Santamaria, relinquishing control of the ball to the Spartans.
A series of runs by Ortega-Gerow, including a fourth down conversion, set up Devarapalli to throw a pass to senior wide receiver Luke Orrock for a touchdown. The ensuing extra point was missed, handing the Spartans a one point edge going into halftime, 13-12.
“[Ortega-Gerow] played very well,” Sekona said. “Getting those yards and moving the chains.”
Mountain View started the second half with the ball, but was unable to move down the field. With Palo Alto’s first possession of the second half, Phillips scored another long rushing touchdown, racing past the Spartan defense on his way to the endzone, giving the Vikings an 18-13 lead. Palo Alto again failed to convert their two point try.
Devarapalli threw an interception on the next drive and the Spartans were unable to muster any offensive momentum for the rest of the game. Mountain View failed to convert on fourth down three times, and Palo Alto scored one final touchdown to end the game 25-13, in favor of the Vikings.
Sekona said a lot of the mistakes that the team made were mental and that they would work to fix them in the future.
“We lost by 12,” Devarapalli said, “But really that game was a lot closer than what the scoreboard said.”
