On Saturday, Menlo’s varsity football team defeated Palo Alto 27-14 on the Knights’ senior day. Before the game, the team’s 14 seniors were recognized: Kc Chavinson, Jack Earnhardt, Jack Enright, Raj Keswani, Tyler Fernandez, Jamie Forese, John Floyd, Brett Frauenhofer, Ryan Jabal, Brady Kagan, Kyle Mahaffey, David Mhatre, Benjamin Salama and Carter Techel.
Menlo started strong with a 27-0 lead after three quarters, but the Vikings did not let up, scoring 14 points in the final quarter.
Late in the first quarter, a pass from junior quarterback Jack Freehill to junior Chuck Wynn put the Knights in position fo their first touchdown. A few plays later, Freehill ran the ball in for a rushing touchdown. After a blocked kick, Menlo was up 6-0 heading into the second quarter.
Remarkably, a low snap that Freehill recovered and chucked to Fernandez in the endzone resulted in the Knights’ second touchdown. Salama, the backup quarterback, threw the 2-point conversion to Frauenhofer, bringing the score to 14-0.
In the third quarter, a rushing touchdown by Enright was taken back for a holding call and unsportsmanlike conduct. Stacked penalties resulted in the Knights being pushed far from their end zone, but just moments later, Freehill threw a touchdown to Forese. After the Vikings successfully blocked the Knights’ extra point for a second time, the score was 20-0. A pick-6 by Chavinson right after their third touchdown and a successful kick brought the score to 27-0 going into the fourth quarter. Despite their early success, the Knights were scoreless in the fourth quarter, while the Vikings scored two touchdowns.
The Knights, now 6-3, broke their three-week losing streak this weekend. “We came out really strong and bounced back on offense from a few rough weeks,” Chavinson said. The team faces off against Sacred Heart Prep in the annual Valpo Bowl on Friday. “We need to make sure we play all four quarters next week because we know Prep’s going to give us their best.”
