Hollister Pop Warner kicked its season off on Sunday in
Hollister, hosting a jamboree at Andy Hardin Stadium. Hollister is
fielding five different teams this season, and three of the five
have new head coaches.
HOLLISTER
Hollister Pop Warner kicked its season off on Sunday in Hollister, hosting a jamboree at Andy Hardin Stadium. Hollister is fielding five different teams this season, and three of the five have new head coaches.
The Vikings served notice that they will continue their proud tradition of defensive dominance as two of the three competitive Hollister teams registered shutouts, and the Mighty Mite defense was brilliant even in defeat.
A rundown on how all the teams fared in their weekend contests, which do not count in the standings:
Pee Wee
Hollister Vikings 30
Andrew Hill Raiders 6
The Hollister Vikings dominated both sides of the ball Sunday, as they amassed 30 points early in the game and forced a running clock in the second quarter, holding the Andrew Hill Raiders scoreless until the last 28 seconds in the game.
The contest got off to a good start for the Vikings, with Daniel Hopkins making an interception on the first play of the game. Three plays later, the Vikings were in the end zone on a 16-yard run by Shraee Harrison. Jacob Zamora then kicked the first of his three two-point conversions to put the Vikings up 8-0.
The Raiders went three-and-out on their next possession, with tackles behind the line of scrimmage by Jonathon Mendoza and Tristan Wahl. Forcing a punt, the Vikings took possession on the Raider 26-yard line. Utilizing only two running backs, Tanner Okerson and Dylan Olivares, the Vikings scored on just five plays, with Okerson making the touchdown on a 7-yard run.
On their third possession of the game, at the start of the second quarter, the Vikings only needed two big runs to find themselves up 24-0. Elijah Changco ran for 24 yards to the Raider 16-yard line, and then Harrison scored his second touchdown of the game, running 16 yards up the middle.
Again, the Raiders had difficulty getting a first down and turned the ball over on downs. From the Raider 30-yard line, Josh Nehme and Christopher Green ran 18 yards on three consecutive plays, and then Evyn Moreno got the handoff to put the Vikings on the 6-yard line. Moreno took the next handoff and ran straight into the end zone for the Vikings fourth and final score of the game. They did not attempt a point-after because of their 30-point lead.
In the second half, with a shortened time span due to the running clock, Hollister had several short runs by Gabriel Reyes and Josh Martin, but came up short of the end zone with a fumble recovered by Andrew Hill.
Playing well defensively with several big tackles for the Vikings were David San Miguel, Antonio Caro and Okerson, who nabbed an interception in the fourth quarter. Nehme had the longest run of the game, a 29-yard jaunt in the first quarter. In all, the Vikings had 186 yards rushing; they did not attempt a pass.
By Christine Wahl-Dukes
Junior Pee Wee
Hollister Vikings 9
Andrew Hill Raiders 0
The junior pee wee Vikings blanketed the opposition, allowing only one first down. Peter Felice and Marcus Guevara penetrated the Raider backfield numerous times for big backfield tackles, and Michael Zaragoza and Jonny Gonzalez made many tackles as well. Guevara, who also plays fullback, scored the game’s lone touchdown and extra point after a drive set up on runs by himself, Zaragoza and Dimarco Del Curto.
Although the Raiders never came close to scoring offensively, they almost got a defensive touchdown on an interception, but Felice chased down the defender from behind to preserve the shutout. The Vikings returned the favor minutes later as Andres Soto picked off an Andrew Hill pass.
Late in the game, the Vikings defense scored for their team when the Raiders took over on their own 5 after a Hollister fumble. Gonzalez and Guevara sacked the Andrew Hill quarterback in the end zone for a safety.
By Samantha Zaragoza
Junior Midget
Hollister Vikings 0
Andrew Hill Raiders 0
The junior midgets played to a scoreless tie in a game that boasted far more drama than the final score indicates.
The Raiders took the opening kickoff and quickly struck for two first downs, but their drive was abruptly thwarted by great Viking defensive plays. Dominic Barrios made the first of many backfield tackles, forcing fourth-and-long. When the Raiders tried to put the ball in the air, their quarterback and their drive were smothered by Andrew Huaracha and Jackson Starke.
The Vikings could not move offensively and gave the ball back to the Raiders, who got good field position. But this time Andrew Hill went nowhere as Barrios made two successive backfield tackles, Esmond Lovato broke up a long pass attempt, and Colby Noble and Tyler Biersdorff administered the coup-de-grace with another fourth-down sack.
The Vikings offense had trouble moving again, and was facing a fourth-and-two on their own 34-yard line. New head coach Kevin Scalamini made a gutsy call, telling his players to go for it and forego the punt. The team responded with its first first down of the season as Austin Cascio got the two yards on a line plunge. The offense seemed inspired by its coach’s confidence, and responded with a long drive. Joe Coffelt ran 12 yards on the ensuing play, Biersdorff ran for eight yards a couple plays later, and Cascio broke loose for a 20-yard gain, and suddenly the Vikings had a first down on the Raiders 12. But Andrew Hill’s defense stiffened, stopping the Vikings on the 6-yard line. It was the closest either team would come to scoring for the entire game.
Hollister’s defense continued to dominate the remainder of the contest as the Raiders got only two more first downs. Noble and Evan Weatherly put ferocious pressure on the quarterback, rendering the passing game ineffective. Weatherly and Huaracha combined for two more sacks in the second half, and Barrios plugged the inside running lanes with many tackles.
The Raiders found it virtually impossible to run outside, where Cascio or Kyle George each made several tackles to contain the outside run.
The Vikings’ offense got a couple chances late in the game because the defense had given them good field position. Quarterback RJ Clark completed a pass to Adrian Valdez for a first down at the Raiders 35, but Andrew Hill’s defense stiffened one more time to shut down the Vikings and preserve the scoreless tie.
By Tom Vivian
Mighty Mite
Andrew Hill Raiders 12
Hollister Vikings 0
The mighty mite Vikings kicked off their new season with a new head coach, Mel Rivera. Although the Vikings did not win the game, both the defense and the offensive line turned in outstanding performances.
Interviewed after the game, third-year defensive co-coordinator Shane Wiggins stated that the team is physically tougher this year than he has seen in past years.
“We walked away from the game not feeling overpowered,” Wiggins said.
The coach added this year’s defense is strong and physically prepared. The things the team needs to work on are easy things to achieve.
“Our team was defensively strong, we allowed the first touchdown the first quarter and held Andrew Hill back from scoring until the fourth quarter, on their final series,” Wiggins said. “We stayed strong, and with that we can win games.”
Wiggins also said that the team’s strongest asset is going to be their defensive and offensive lines, both of which controlled the line of scrimmage for most of the game.
Defensive highlights of the game included several big tackles by Brady Miguel, including one at the goal line that saved what would have been another Andrew Hill score, and a second quarter fumble recovery by Jonathan Ramos. Ernesto Sanchez made an interception.
By Kimberly Liston
Tiny Mites
Hollister Vikings vs. Andrew Hill Raiders
The tiny mite Vikings started their season against the Andrew Hill Raiders under new head coach Trenton Finister and 16 new players. Chris Soto had a good run for nine yards in the first half. Rudy Morales took the ball for a long run down the field, almost to the end zone. Soto ran the ball to the 14-yard line in the second half, followed by Justin Cortez’ 4-yard run to the goal line.
Cortez had some good tackles in the backfield, along with Soto and Austin Plesek.
By Bobby Vivian
All Hollister teams will face off against the Coyote Creek Wildcats this Saturday at Yerba Buena High School in San Jose. Games begin at 9 a.m.
