In the searing heat of Saratoga on Sunday on an even hotter
artificial turf field, the Hollister Vikings teams all struggled
against the heat and the Falcons, dropping all four contests.
SARATOGA
In the searing heat of Saratoga on Sunday on an even hotter artificial turf field, the Hollister Vikings teams all struggled against the heat and the Falcons, dropping all four contests. Highlights of this week’s action:
Junior Pee Wee
West Valley Falcons 27, Hollister Vikings 6
The shine of the Hollister junior pee wee Vikings’ defense dimmed a little this week during their 27-6 loss to the West Valley Falcons.
West Valley’s first score happened on its first play of the game with a 27-yard run to the outside, putting the Falcons up 8-0 after the two-point kick. Hollister tried to strike back with runs from Dimarco DelCurto and Marcus Guevara, but its opening drive was stopped short of the end zone.
Defensively, Hollister was struggling to contain the Falcon runners but a great tackle by Matthew Trimble stopped one Falcon drive, and Aiden Lyon and Michael Zaragoza gave good chase at the end of the quarter to knock a quarterback keeper out of bounds just shy of the first down.
When the Falcons tried to punt, a ferocious blitz by Michael Esparza and Peter Felice sacked the punter, and the Vikings got the ball 12 yards away from paydirt. But the Vikings fumbled away the opportunity, and West Valley’s first play resulted in a breakaway 89-yard touchdown run to put the Falcons up 14-0.
There were still glimmers of hope, with Johnny Gonzalez rushing hard and forcing a fumble, but Hollister would give up one more touchdown on a misdirected run up the middle. Michael Zaragoza rushed in to block the conversion kick attempt to end the half with the score of 20-0 Falcons.
After Hollister was unable to drive to start the second half, West Valley tried the same point-scoring play that worked before from their own 35-yard line and hit paydirt again, putting the game out of reach with a 27-0 lead. The Falcons would have added to their lead if it weren’t for a touchdown-saving tackle by Andres Soto after an interception. Key tackling by Shawn Nelson and Cade Neece kept biting at the Falcons, who at one time were left with a third-down-and-35. The lengthy distance led to a West Valley fumble, which was covered up by Blaze McShane.
A spark once again ignited the Vikings with runs from DelCurto and Soto. The drive would cover half the field, and coupled with a pass from quarterback Brad Sparrer to Soto, the Vikings were in striking distance. Sparrer passed to Felice in the end zone to get Hollister on the board.
The Vikings record now stands 2-2.
— By Samantha Zaragoza
Pee Wees
West Valley Falcons 42, Hollister Vikings 16
The Viking pee wee team battled two opponents on Sunday, the West Valley Falcons and the near 100-degree heat. Both of them got the best of the Vikings, as Hollister got out to an early lead but couldn’t sustain the momentum en route to a 42-16 defeat.
The game started out promising, with the Vikings putting up two touchdowns early to go ahead 16-0.
The Vikings’ first offensive possession of the game came courtesy of Nick Trimble. He sacked the Falcons’ quarterback on the second play of the game, and then intercepted a Falcons’ pass on the next play and ran it back 45 yards to the West Valley 14-yard line. The Vikings then handed it off on three of the next five plays to Shraee Harrison, who put it in the end zone on a 2-yard run around the right side. Jacob Zamora kicked it through the uprights for the point-after, and the Vikings led 8-0.
Later in the first quarter, a 79-yard pass play from quarterback Daniel Hopkins to receiver Xavier Alvarez put the Vikings 3 yards away from the end zone. Trimble got the carry and scored the Vikings’ second touchdown on a 3-yard run. Again, Zamora converted the extra-point and the Vikings were up 16-0.
The heat on the field soared throughout the afternoon, and appeared to wear down the Viking defense. Harrison left the game due to illness, and the Viking offense struggled in his absence. The Falcons used a pinpoint passing attack to pick apart the Viking defense, something not usually seen at this level, and the Vikings found themselves backpedaling.
Dylan Olivares was the leading tackler for the Vikings, with tackles in the double-digits, and David San Miguel was close behind. Playing tough in the middle of the line for the Vikings was Dante Tomasini with a sack and a fumble recovery, and Christopher Green and Tanner Okerson also contributed big hits on defense.
The Vikings will have to put this loss behind them as they prepare to host Sunnyvale on Saturday.
— By Christine Wahl-Dukes
Junior Midgets
West Valley Falcons 6, Hollister Vikings 0
Under a relentless sun, the Hollister Viking junior midgets faced off on Sunday against the West Valley Falcons. In what would become a battle of the defenses, the Vikings eventually fell to the Falcons 6-0.
As temperatures soared into the 90’s, the Vikings and the Falcons took to the field. Early on, both teams struggled to move the ball effectively. Evan Weatherly, Joe Coffelt and Colby Noble made their presence known to the Falcons as they set the defensive tone of the game with a series of big hits early on. Neither team saw their end zone with the first quarter ending 0-0.
The second quarter began with the Falcons making a long march towards the goal. At every turn, however, there were a slew of Vikings prepared to impede their progress. Big defensive plays were put up by Austin Cascio, Coffelt and Esmond Lovato as they attempted to stop West Valley from scoring. With 2 yards to goal, Tyler Biersdorff held firm stopping the run. It seemed as if the defense would hold. However, on the final down, the Falcons were able to push their way into the goal taking a 6-0 lead.
Not out of game, the Vikings responded with their own march towards the end zone. Hollister quickly made progress toward their goal with Adrian Valdez running a pair of quarterback keepers. Following a solid run by Isaias Perez, Valdez once again made for the goal. Although he made the first down with 8 yards to go, the time was not in the Vikings favor. The clock ran out, leaving Hollister scoreless at the half.
Following the half, the Vikings began working once again to get onto the scoreboard. Both Cascio and Coffelt attempted to run the ball but were held firm by the Falcon defense. The Falcons, however, were facing a similar situation. The Viking defense had given up one touchdown and were not about to give up another. The Falcons were hammered with tackles by Dominic Barrios, Kyle George and Adrian Alba. As West Valley made an attempt to extend their lead, they were shut down at the 2-yard line.
Tensions rose again as the Falcons intercepted a Viking pass just as the third quarter ended. As the fourth quarter began, they had visions once again of extending their lead. The Vikings, however, had no intention of letting that happen. With Andrew Huaracha and RJ Clark shutting down the running game, Hollister once again held the Falcons at the goal line with inches to go.
During the final quarter, Hollister worked tirelessly to put some points on the board. A pass completion followed by 55-yard run by Coffelt sent a charge through the Viking offense; however, the West Valley defense was unrelenting.
In the final drive, Hollister once again looked as if they may find their end zone. In the final moments of the game, George connected with a pass for another big gain. Once again, the clock was not working in the Viking’s favor and Hollister fell short.
— By Dena Gregory
Mighty Mites
West Valley Falcons 30, Hollister Vikings 12
The Falcons established control early in the game, taking a 24-0 lead before halftime. But the Hollister offense caught fire just before the half ended. The offensive line of Elijah Perez, Angel Amescua, Anthony Martin, Isaias Rivera and Joseph Frank punched open a hole that was exploited by Brady Miguel for a 30-yard run, but the clock ran out on the half before Hollister could score.
West Valley embarked on a long grind-out drive in the third quarter that culminated in a score, and a 30-0 lead.
But the Vikings didn’t give up as Anthony Sanchez took the kickoff on an electrifying 53-yard ride for Hollister’s first touchdown.
The defense was inspired and shut down West Valley for the rest of the game. Eric Green made a big tackle to stop a breakaway run, and Shane Reiter had several good tackles, including one that forced a loss in the backfield. Matthew Sanders and Ernesto Sanchez made several tackles each, and Miguel made a big tackle to stop a breakaway run.
The Vikings got one more chance on offense, and they made it pay off as Miguel broke a run for 50 yards for Hollister’s final touchdown.
— By Tom Vivian
The Week Ahead:
The Hollister Vikings will be spread out this weekend, as four of the five teams travel to Newark to face the Tri-Cities Titans, while the pee wees head to Sunnyvale to battle the Black Knights. The cheerleaders, meanwhile, will go to the Shoreline Amphitheater for the Peninsula Invitational competition. All events are on Saturday. Check the Vikings’ website for times at: www.hollistervikings.com
