Defenses shine in victories against South Valley and
Menlo-Atherton
HOLLISTER
Four Hollister Pop Warner teams won this weekend, and in all of the victories the defenses made big plays, leading to three shutouts.
A recap of this weekend’s games:
Jr. Pee Wee Gold
Hollister Vikings 19, South Valley Grizzlies 0
The Gold junior pee wees registered its second consecutive shutout as the defense smothered the Grizzlies on virtually every play en route to a 19-0 win.
The Viking defense also scored one touchdown and set up another. The Grizzlies did not get a first down in the first half as Hollister’s defense penetrated the backfield on almost every play. Joey Demaggio made several big tackles to stop South Valley’s first series and force a punt.
South Valley’s defense was able to hold Hollister on the first couple offensive series’, but when the Grizzlies took over on their own 25, the Vikings defense pushed them backwards on successive plays. Cobi Armstrong sacked the quarterback and after the game was delayed for several minutes by an injury, the downkeeper neglected to change the down, giving the Grizzlies one extra play. On “fifth down,” the Grizzlies tried an outside sweep that was smothered by Armstrong and Ishmael Medina, giving Hollister a first down the 14-yard line. After a 5-yard gain by Demaggio, Adrian Alvarez scored from the 6 on a sweep play to put the Vikings up 6-0.
When the aggressive Viking defense got back on the field, they went into attack mode. Antonio Caro made a jarring hit in the backfield on a South Valley runner, and before he fell to the ground, Michael Zaragoza snatched the ball and ran 32 yards for a Hollister touchdown.
Andres Soto ran the ball in for the extra point, and put the Vikings up 13-0. Medina then recovered an onside kick by Hunter Nye and Juan Gutierrez ran for 15 yards, but the half expired before they could score again.
The Vikings picked up where they left off in the second half, though, as Gutierrez broke another long run and set up a touchdown pass from David San Miguel to Armstrong.
San Miguel and Soto made steady running gains all day — each player gained 50 yards or more to help Hollister control the clock.
The Grizzlies finally started a drive late in the game, getting a first-and-goal inside the 5-yard line, but Hollister’s defense preserved the shutout with a tremendous goal-line stand. Zaragoza, Nye, Caro, Demaggio and Dylan Oliveras all made big tackles to deny the Grizzlies a score.
Junior Pee Wee (Purple)
Hollister Vikings 19, Menlo-Atherton Vikings 6
The Purple Vikings took on Menlo-Atherton in the cold and fog at San Lorenzo Valley High on Saturday, and the defense was dominant as it shut down a powerful Menlo-Atherton team by a 19-6 margin.
The defense scored the first points for Hollister when Tanner Okerson and Nick Perez threw a Menlo ball carrier down in the end zone for a safety.
The Vikings drove the ball on strong runs by Shraee Harrison and Jacob Ryder, but Menlo-Atherton’s defense stiffened at the 5-yard line. Jacob Zamora kicked a 22-yard field goal to give Hollister a 5-0 lead.
Hollister got into the end zone just before halftime when Harrison broke another long run, giving the Vikings a first down at the Menlo 15. Nick Trimble passed to Nathan Fhurong for first-and-goal, and Harrison ran the ball in from the 5-yard line for a touchdown. Zamora added the two-point kick, and Hollister took a 13-0 lead into halftime.
The Vikings’ offense went back on the attack in the second half as Trimble unleashed a bomb that was hauled in by Elijah Changco on the 30-yard line. But the Menlo-Atherton defense stiffened again to prevent another score.
As the fourth quarter began, the Menlo-Atherton offense finally began to move the ball, but they were stopped by another big Hollister defensive play. Matthew Griffith intercepted a pass and returned it 53 yards to the Menlo 12, setting up Hollister’s final score of the game when Kyle Cameron ran the ball into the end zone from the 10.
Menlo-Atherton broke up Hollister’s shutout bid when its speedy halfback scored on a 40-yard breakaway run late in the contest.
Pee Wee
Hollister Vikings 26, South Valley Grizzlies 0
The Hollister pee wees shut out the South Valley Grizzlies with a 26-0 victory. After having been defeated last week, the Vikings were not about to go down a second time and controlled the game from the very start.
Following a kickoff recovery, the Vikings began an immediate march towards the goal. After a series of carries by Austin Cascio and Kyle George, quarterback Daniel Hopkins completed a touchdown pass to Austin Ryder to put the Vikings ahead, followed by another pass completion to Tyler Biersdorff for the extra point.
On their second possession, the Vikings once again quickly headed for the end zone. Isaias Perez got Hollister moving as he rushed for 35 yards. With tremendous support from the offensive line, which included Mario Soria, Dominic Barrios, Samantha Sanchez and Cody Fisher, Perez extended the Viking lead to 13-0.
While the offense shined, the defense was not to be outdone. Phillip Castro, Evan Weatherly, Andrew Huaracha and Rabago led the Hollister defense and effectively shut down the Grizzlies and their game plan.
Hollister continued to dominate throughout the game with solid rushing by Christopher Green and Robert Gaspar. Biersdorff ran for the third Viking touchdown and a thrilling 50-yard interception by Matthew Rabago posted Hollister’s final points of the game.
Junior Midget
South Valley Grizzlies 32, Hollister Vikings 14
The Viking junior midgets were the only competitive Hollister team to lose last weekend, being upset by the Grizzlies 32-14.
Hollister was up 7-6 late in the first half after a 60-yard touchdown run by Brandon Olivares, but the Grizzlies made several big plays on both sides of the ball to swing the game in their favor.
South Valley scored on a quick drive to take the lead just before halftime, then returned an interception for a touchdown early in the second half.
Olivares scored on another long run late in the game for Hollister.
Mighty Mite Gold
Hollister Vikings 20, South Valley Grizzlies 0
The mighty mite Gold team won its third game in a row and registered its second shutout by a 20-0 margin over South Valley. The team has only allowed one touchdown in its last three games.
The Viking defense showed no mercy against the hapless Grizzlies, invading the backfield on almost every play. Several Hollister players, including Kane DeAlba, Matthew Hernandez and Lee Cruz each made a multitude of sacks and backfield tackles.
A sack by Sean Nelson in the first quarter supplied Hollister with a safety. Ernesto Sanchez also recovered a South Valley fumble.
The team moved the ball well all day long on offense. Fullback Jonny Gonzalez scored on two long running plays, the first one for 40 yards. Sanchez scored the other Hollister touchdown on a 5-yard run after a short drive set up by the great defensive play.
Mighty Mite Purple
South Valley Grizzlies 24, Hollister Vikings 18
The mighty mite Purple Vikings came the closest they had all season to winning a game, scoring a season-high 18 points in a tough 24-18 loss to the Grizzlies.
Hollister got on the board in the first quarter when Jack Breger ran an outside sweep and scored on an 80-yard run from scrimmage. Running behind lead blockers Gabriel Razo and Nathan Parra, Breger broke loose on another run for a 70-yard touchdown scamper in the second quarter. The Viking defense stopped the Grizzlies several times in the first half as Andrew Hoefling and Michael Esparza made several backfield tackles each for the Vikings.
Quarterback Javier Valdez both had two long runs on bootleg plays, one for 40 yards and one for 30 yards, behind the blocking of offensive linemen Matthew Sanders, Hunter Torres, Diego Ramirez, Elijah Perez, Isaias Rivera and Matthew Delatorre.
Hollister’s defense made several big plays in the second half as Michael Guzman, Jordan Plesek, Ryan Miller, Christian Leyba and Valdez each made several tackles.
Breger scored for the third time late in the fourth quarter after Hollister’s defense had stopped a Grizzlies drive on the Hollister 10. Breger ran 90 yards to paydirt to make the final score 24-18 Grizzlies.
The midgets did not play this weekend, getting a bye after its opponent dropped from the league after losing several players. All but one Hollister team — the mighty mite Gold Vikings — will play at home this weekend against a variety of opponents from the Bay Area.
The mighty mite Gold team will travel to Monterey. All games this weekend will be on Saturday.
