The MVHS football team came from behind to defeat Palo Alto 46-44, with the game-winning field goal being scored by senior kicker Stephen Messner on Friday, Aug. 29.
“Words can’t even describe how great I feel right now,” Messner said. He gave credit to his teammates and his faith for constantly inspiring him to improve.
The night began in Palo Alto’s favor. The Vikings opened with two quick touchdowns while holding the Spartans to a punt, though two failed two-point conversions kept the score at 12–0 after the first quarter.
Mountain View responded in the second. Junior quarterback Ishan Devarapalli connected with junior wide receiver Brady Gilbert to put the Spartans on the board, cutting the deficit to five. The teams traded scores before senior defensive back Lucas Santamaria shifted the momentum with an interception of Viking quarterback Justin Fung. That turnover set up a long touchdown run from junior running back Dominik Kristof, giving Mountain View its first lead of the night. Palo Alto, however, answered with a touchdown to head into halftime up 26–21.
The second half was a back-and-forth battle. Kristof rushed in his second rushing touchdown, only for Palo Alto to retake a slim one-point lead with a field goal. Devarapalli muscled in on a quarterback sneak to put Mountain View ahead again, but the Vikings responded with their fifth touchdown to make it 36–35.
Then, Kristof broke free for his third rushing touchdown, and the Spartans added a two-point conversion to stretch their lead to seven.
“First varsity game to be able to do that,” Kristof said. “I have to give a lot of credit to the [offensive line.]”
With time winding down, Palo Alto struck once more and converted their own two-point try, moving in front 44–43 with under a minute to play.
The Spartans needed one final drive. Devarapalli found Gilbert across the middle to push Mountain View into field-goal range. With less than ten seconds on the clock, Messner lined up for the decisive kick and drilled it through the uprights, clinching a statement comeback victory.
It feels awesome that we’re finally reaping the benefits of our work in the offseason,” Devarapalli said.
Next week, the Spartans match up against Woodside for their first home game of the season. Devarapalli and Kristof believe that the momentum gained against Palo Alto will be crucial moving forward.
“This game is all about momentum, and we got a lot of it,” Devarapalli said. “This win means a lot.”
