The Santa Clara varsity football team defeated Gunn High during Friday’s Homecoming game with a score of 60-7.

The Bruins now hold a record of 7-1, while Gunn’s Titans are 0-8. The only game SCHS has lost was against their rivals the Wilcox Chargers, who are in a higher league than the Bruins.

The Bruins anticipated that the game against Gunn would be an easy win. “We knew that we were going to beat this team, so we just played at our level, but higher,” wide receiver Pako Vehikite said. By the end of the third quarter, the Bruins had shut out the Titans with a score of 47-0.

However, during the fourth quarter, the Titans scored a touchdown, putting 6 points on the scoreboard next to the Bruins’ 47 points. The Titans’ small victory was short-lived, as free safety Erik Ketton and wide receiver Pako Vehikite each scored a touchdown during the last quarter to end the game with 60 points for SCHS.

In the beginning, wide receiver Marquise Shields set the positive tone for the game by scoring two touchdowns in the first quarter. However, he was rushed away by emergency medical technicians after getting kneed in the head while making a tackle.

“He’ll be fine and he’s just going to work back at it,” inside linebacker Caleb Liu said.

Shields will not play during next week’s game, even if he is cleared by a doctor, coach Hank Roberts said.

Despite Shields’ injury, Roberts said that the Homecoming victory has boosted the confidence of the team, as they believe they can be league champions this year.
The Bruins play their next game next week against Lynbrook High on Nov. 6.