Coming off of two hard-fought games to open up their season, a 47-46 loss to Marin and a 17-10 win over San Jose City College, the De Anza Dons hoped to stick their heads over .500 by beating the West Valley Vikings. West Valley was no pushover, and De Anza’s 30-0 loss to the Vikings seemed to prove only two things: that the Vikings are fully deserving of their #15 ranking in the COA Sports Northern California poll, and that the Dons still need a lot of work to ensure a winning season.

If the football gods started keeping score after the first quarter, the Dons (1-2) might have been able to beat the Vikings (2-1) last week.

After losing 59-0 to San Francisco last week, the Vikings took a 21-0 lead in the first quarter. The De Anza offense, which averaged 360.5 yards in their first two games, could not get going and sputtered all game long, going through three different quarterbacks as the offense came up empty.

The Vikings set the tone on their opening drive, catching the Dons defense on their heels and punching it into the end zone for an early 7-0 lead. De Anza simply could not respond on offense, going three downs-and-out for most of the first quarter. West Valley scored two more touchdowns in the first quarter, including a punt return for a score late in the period.

The rest of the game was little more than a defensive struggle. The Dons defense toughened up, allowing only nine more points over the final three quarters. However, the offense could not get on track, only occasionally moving the chains with the running game.