FOOTBALL: Sloppy Paly Tops Spartans

The Score: Palo Alto 42, Mountain View 20.

The Star: Palo Alto High running back Dre Hill tallied 160 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries, including runs of 49 and 54 yards. The junior's 54-yard TD run on the hosts' first possession of the second half put the non-league game out of reach for Mountain View.

The Turning Point: With Mountain View trailing 21-8 early in the second quarter, the Spartans pushed the ball into Palo Alto territory but then their drive stalled. Palo Alto's Maurice Williams returned the ensuing punt 87 yards for a touchdown and a commanding 28-8 lead with 10:28 left before halftime.

The Quote: "If we beat Monta Vista, we have a shot (at the Central Coast Section playoffs). I'd be very proud to take this team to the playoffs." —Mountain View coach Dan Navarro, on the implications of next week's regular-season finale.

What's Next? Both teams return to league play on Friday to wrap up the regular season. Mountain View looks to finish second in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League's El Camino Division by winning its 2:45 p.m. game at Monta Vista. And Palo Alto visits Saratoga at 7:30 p.m., gunning to complete an undefeated run through the SCVAL De Anza Division.

The Bottom Line: At 9-0, Palo Alto is on a surge that should put the Vikings into the Central Coast Section's elite Open Division. That would be a supreme challenge. But the Vikings have excelled in the Open in the past—winning the West Catholic Athletic League-heavy bracket in 2006. Meanwhile, Mountain View has work left to do if it wants to qualify for the postseason. A strong showing against Monta Vista next week would improve the Spartans' hopes of receiving an at-large bid.

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Turnovers and mistakes plagued the undefeated Palo Alto High football team, but the Vikings overcame their six turnovers to beat visiting Mountain View 42-20 in a non-league game Friday night.

"We've had pretty good weeks of practice," said Palo Alto quarterback Christoph Bono. "Past couple of (games) have been sloppy."

A big part of that sloppiness came from an inexperienced offensive line. The Vikings' first- and second-string centers are injured, so Palo Alto is doing things by "trial and error," said Bono.

Despite the mistakes, Palo Alto took a 14-0 lead after only five minutes of play. The first score was set up by a 49-yard run by Dre Hill, placing the Vikings on Mountain View's 20.Bono followed with a 9-yard TD pass to T.J. Braff.

Then Hill (160 yards on 10 carries) recorded a 6-yard TD run, and the game looked to be getting out of hand early.

But then Mountain View rallied.

After Dylan Auerbach intercepted a Bono pass and returned the ball into Palo Alto territory, Spartan running back Marcus Jones ran for a 39-yard score. Quarterback Mike Butler's two-point conversion run made it 14-8.

Jones finished with 139 yards and one touchdown on 21 carries.

But it did not take long for Palo Alto to answer back. Before the end of the first quarter, Bono threw a 39-yard TD pass to Davante Adams for a 21-8 lead.

Mountain View started to charge into Viking territory, but the Palo Alto defense held. Then Palo Alto's Maurice Williams put the game out of reach by returning the ensuing punt 87 yards for a score.

Most of Palo Alto's mistakes came in the first half. The Vikings fumbled four times, losing two. Bono also threw two interceptions, one of which was thrown as he was hit.

Bono finished 8-of-13 passing for 194 yards, with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

This was also the final meeting between long-time head coaches Dan Navarro and Earl Hansen. Mountain View's Navarro will step down as the head man for the Spartans after 30 years.

"We talk almost every week," said Hansen. "Except for this week, of course."

They also joked about one of Navarro's former players, Stanford head coach Jim Harbaugh, and how Navarro had the best of Hansen until the future NFL quarterback graduated.

"We're good friends," said Navarro. "I'll miss it later when I realize it's done."

There is still work left to do for both of these teams, more notably for Mountain View.

Mountain View (7-2, 4-1 SCVAL El Camino) has one more league game against Monte Vista on Saturday, Nov. 13. That result could mean the difference between being in or out of the CCS playoffs.

With Los Altos having clinched the lone automatic CCS berth from the El Camino Division, Mountain View hopes depend on securing an at-large bid.

"If we beat Monte Vista, we have a shot," said Navarro. "I'd be very proud to take this team to the playoffs."

Palo Alto (9-0, 5-0 SCVAL De Anza) is intent on extending its undefeated run through the playoffs. That will be a stiff challenge, as the Vikings seem ticketed for the rugged Open Division bracket.

But history says a top Palo Alto team can not only play with but can also beat the best the CCS can offer. The Vikings won the Open Division in 2006.

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MV   8   6   0   6 --  20

PA   21  7   7   7 --  42

PA – Braff 9 pass from Bono (Bono kick)

PA – Hill 6 run (Bono kick)

MV – Jones 39 run (Butler run)

PA – Adams 39 pass from Bono (Bono kick)

PA – Williams 87 punt return (Bono kick)

MV – Hughes 24 pass from Butler (Kick failed)

PA – Hill 54 run (Bono kick)

PA – Gates-Mouton 43 run (Bono kick)

MV – Roy 11 run (Kick failed)

Rushing:  MV: Jones 21-139, Butler 3-(-9), Roy 7-62, Hughes 1-(-4), TOTAL 32-188.  PA: Hill 10-160, Gates-Mouton 9-74, Williams 4-37, Bono 5-(-11), Glazier 2-7, Chin 4-13, Braff 2-0, TOTAL 36-280.

Passing:  MV: Butler 7-21-0-137.  PA: Bono 8-13-2-194.

Receiving:  MV: Hughes 4-96, Halsted 3-41. TOTAL 7-137.  PA: Braff 2-24, Williams 4-101, Adams 1-39, Hill 1-29, TOTAL 8-194.

Fumbles/Lost:  MV: 2/1. PA: 6/4.

Records:  Palo Alto 9-0.  Mountain View 7-2.