The Bears destroyed the Palo Alto Vikings 41-14 on Friday night.
Winning the coin toss, the Bears decided to kick to begin the game. After a pair of runs from Paly resulted in no gained yardage, the Vikings elected to punt on fourth down.
A lackluster first possession also ended in the Bears being forced to punt quickly. However, following a missed catch on the punt by the Vikings, M-A quickly regained control on the Vikings’ 37-yard line. Strong runs by senior running back Evaimalo Ama eventually led the Bears to take an early 7-0 lead with 4:13 left in the first quarter.
The Bears’ impenetrable defense forced the Vikings to punt yet again, returning the ball back to M-A. However, their offensive possession was short-lived as a deep throw on the first play resulted in a Paly interception. This concluded the quarter with the Bears leading 7-0.
Going into the second quarter, the Bears maintained their defensive consistency by stuffing the Vikings’ runs and almost intercepting a pass on third down. During the Vikings’ punt, a bad snap followed by a great recovery from junior linebacker Julian Gonzales put the Bears in a prime position for another touchdown at the Paly six-yard line. Soon after, senior running back Monty Turner found his way into the end zone to increase M-A’s lead to 14-0 with 11 minutes left in the half.
Despite a disappointing start for the Vikings, they finally managed to have offensive success and gradually marched down the field to score their first touchdown with just over four minutes left.
Following a missed extra point attempt, the Bears regained possession of the ball. Senior quarterback Teddy Dacey launched the ball to senior receiver Matthew Kwon for a three-yard touchdown, extending the Bears’ lead to 21-6.
A great pass deflection by freshman cornerback Spencer Ama brought the Bears into halftime with the score at 21-6. “It was good for the team to get ahead at the start of the game, and just carry it out. It set the tone for the rest of the game,” Kwon said.
The Bears started with the ball going into the second half. They continued their dominance thanks to multiple strong runs by Turner and an incredible scramble by Dacey at third and 19, which set up a first down. Kwon followed up soon after, catching his second touchdown of the night to bring the score to 28-6.
Throughout the game, senior kicker Anthony Perez was exceptional, scoring all but one of the extra points. “Teddy and all the offense did the work to put six on the board, and I would go out there and make it seven. That’s all I could do,” Perez said.
A holding call on the kick return put the Vikings deep in their own territory. They attempted to throw a quick first down, but the pass was batted up, giving Gonzales his second big play of the night as he secured the interception and returned it 19 yards for an electric touchdown.
Soon after, a long touchdown run for the Vikings was called back due to another holding call. The Bears made sure not to let this second chance go to waste, and S. Ama got an interception to return possession to the Bears.
As M-A continued their defensive master class, Bears E. Ama rushed for his second touchdown of the night, ending the third quarter up 41-6.
With the game all but decided, the fourth quarter remained uneventful.
Following a Vikings touchdown and a cheap shot on Bears junior safety Lucca Keighery during the punt, the referees called the game a minute and 45 seconds early to seal the Bears’ victory 41-14.
“We were just playing with more energy,” Dacey said. “We practice hard and then we play hard.”
“We definitely got out here and put out our max effort,” Gonzales said.
The Bears will challenge the Los Gatos Wildcats away next Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
