For the Titans, the 2007 season will be a memorable one. From starting the season with an upset over the defending San Francisco City Champion Lincoln Mustangs to pulling off two shutouts against San Mateo and Cupertino (27-0 and 18-0 respectively), the players of the class of 2008 will definitely be able to cherish some incredible memories of their senior season.

Unfortunately, Senior Night will not be so memorable for the 14 seniors leaving the football team, as their cross-town rivals, the Palo Alto High School (Paly) Vikings, defeated them in front of a packed home crowd. “Emotions were high as we were struggling in our last game as a team” senior running back Josh Lee said after the game.

Gunn could not pull off any big plays to slow down the Palo Alto Viking’s momentum either on offense or defense in the first half.

By the end of the first quarter the Vikings had amounted a 27-0 lead, scoring points on offense with the occasional help of Gunn’s turnovers. The Titans then fumbled on a running back toss leaving Palo Alto eight yards away from six.

The Vikings scored immediately into the second quarter to bump their lead 34-0. Paly then recovered a fumble on the Titan’s 23-yard line on the next possession.

Titan senior Efren Tabalno briefly slowed the Vikings with a tackle for a five yard loss, but Paly nevertheless continued to drive the ball. Senior tight end Don Powell caught a touchdown pass to push the Vikings 40-0, still in the first half.

After a Titan punt, Paly’s oversized lineman pushed a hole large enough for senior running back Sione Mataele to walk into the end zone. The half time score was 47-0.

“Unfortunately, we had a lot of key injuries going into the game and that really hurts against a good team like Paly,” senior quarterback Stephen Strnad said. “I had a shoulder problem all season and I aggravated it against Saratoga, so I was unable to play quarterback.”

Lee, normally a running back, started as a quarterback for the first and the last time against his toughest opponent of the season. Lee had seen his only other action as quarterback in the previous game when he took over for injured Strnad in the final minutes of the game.

“Josh was put in a tough position for his last game,” senior defensive and offensive lineman Stephen Salazar said. “He had a little bit of practice at quarterback in the offseason and preseason when Steve’s shoulder was bothering him then, but he really showed tremendous resilience in the game to do this.”

Senior Matt Walkup also showed resilience during the game as he suffered a serious knee injury at halftime but decided to play the rest of the game.

In the third quarter the Vikings slowed down while Gunn remained inert. Senior running back Nate Burpee returned the opening kickoff to the 36-yard line, but Paly’s defensive line repeatedly pressured Lee before he found any open receivers. The score remained 47-0 going into the final quarter.

Then the Vikings opened the second half with a safety to go up 49-0 after a bad snap from junior AJ Tabalno flew out of the back of the end zone. Gunn found few flaws in Paly’s defense and struggled to score, while the Gunn defense held the Viking’s offense off for a scoreless second half.

The game ended with a 49-0 loss. However, while the seniors on Gunn’s offensive unit will try to remember the higher points of the season, the defense can still feel proud that it denied the Vikings, now 8-2, any second half touchdowns.

The Titans finished the 2007 season with an El Camino League record of 1-5, 3-7 overall. Though only a one game improvement from last year’s 2-8 overall record, the Titans are already working for next season as the rest of the team that hasn’t graduated will still be attending advanced fitness for the rest of the year until summer workouts begin.