In the final 6 minutes, Menlo School football broke free and wrapped up a 14-0 victory over host Palo Alto in PAL DeAnza Division play on Friday night.
With the win in front of a robust visiting team crowd, the Knights improved to 2-0 league and 6-0 overall. The Knights play Hillsdale for homing Friday afternoon.

Menlo tipped the scales in the fourth quarter. To open, the Vikings drove to the Knights’ 38 before senior Bradford Tudor then leveled a sack, followed by a fumble. Palo Alto recovered the fumble but not the drive, and were forced to punt. Knights senior Brady Jung started off the Knights’ first possession with a healthy punt return. Two plays later, he would pull in a pass from senior Mikey McGrath for a 45-yard score and a 7-0 lead with 5:41 left.

Menlo stopped short any PA rally when Tudor stepped in with an interception. The Knights quickly went to work, and four plays later, McGrath connected with Jung for a 16-yard reception and senior Nicky Scacco punched it in from the 4.
“The line was working like crazy,” said Scacco, who’s also a cornerback. “The hole was wide open to run through. The boys are fired up.
“It was a really tough game. The boys played hard. At halftime, we got fired up. We talked about slowing it down and letting the game come to us. We were playing hard, but knew they were playing really hard. It was their homecoming. We just needed to up our level of game.”
McGrath completed 12 of 16 for 149 yards and a TD. Knights sophomore Jack Freehill was 11 of 17 for 62 yards. Jung finished with 7 catches for 149 yards.
From the Vikings’ opening possession, the Knights defense was en pointe. Parker Ashton tipped a pass, Palmer Riley stopped the run with a tackle for a loss and Bradford Tudor blocked a pass attempt. The teams end the quarter knotted at 0.

Knights freshman Lawrence Latu delivered a punishing tackle to open the second quarter. Menlo would venture deep into Palo Alto territory twice. The Knight defense forced the Vikings three-and-out before ending the half 0-0.
Knights junior receiver/defensive back and kicker Tyler Fernandez delivered both PATs

Menlo School 0 0 0 14 - 14
Palo Alto 0 0 0 0 - 0

Fourth Quarter
Brady Jung 45 pass from Mikey McGrath (Tyler Fernandez kick)
Nicky Scacco 4 run (Fernandez kick)