Three other teams win, three lose to Almaden
HOLLISTER
Whether a Hollister Pop Warner team won this weekend depended upon one thing: who the opponent was.
All three Hollister teams that faced the Almaden Mustangs, last year’s pee wee national champions, went down to defeat, while the four teams that played other opponents all emerged victorious.
A rundown on this weekend’s action:
Pee Wee
Hollister Vikings 29, Andrew Hill Raiders 0
The Hollister pee wees registered its second consecutive shutout, and its fourth in seven games, as the defense smothered the Raiders on virtually every series and scored 10 points en route to a 29-0 victory.
The Vikings defense set the tone for the entire game on the very first play from scrimmage when Tyler Biersdorff and Evan Weatherly broke into the backfield to force a 6-yard loss on a running play. When the Raiders tried to pass on third-and-17, Philip Castro sacked the quarterback — the first of many big plays that Castro would make on the day.
The Raiders held on Hollister’s first possession, but Esmond Lovato’s 35-yard punt pinned Andrew Hill back deep. Moments later, Castro and Weatherly sacked the Raiders quarterback in the end zone, and Hollister had its first points.
The lead became 9-0 two minutes later. Taylor Cascio passed to Adrian Valdez on the halfback option for a 38-yard gain, giving the Vikings a first down on the 13-yard line. Moments later, Biersdorff charged into the end zone from 6 yards out, and Cascio added the extra point on a run to give the Vikings a 9-0 lead.
The defense continued to dominate as Castro and Andrew Huaracha made big tackles to get the ball back for the Vikings. Hollister lost no time in getting back on the board as Cascio connected again with Valdez for a 54-yard scoring strike.
The defense became only more aggressive as the game wore on, pushing the Raiders in reverse. On three successive plays, the defense forced losses as Castro and Dominic Barrios smothered an outside run, Castro and Cascio collaborated on a sack to force another 8-yard loss, and Aaron Tobia made another big tackle to force a 6-yard loss on third down.
Late in the third quarter, the Vikings put more points on the board when Biersdorff ran 40 yards for his second touchdown of the game.
The Raiders’ offensive efforts continued to be futile as they completed a screen pass, only to have Barrios tackle the receiver immediately for a loss. When Andrew Hill tried to punt, it was blocked by Castro.
A big sack by Tobia forced another punt a few minutes later; the punt was blocked again and Barrios caught the ball in mid-air, returning it for a touchdown and a 27-0 Vikings lead.
The next time Andrew Hill got the ball back, Hollister’s defense got a turnover when Daniel Hopkins recovered a Raiders’ fumble. Barrios scored the final points of the day by tackling an Andrew Hill runner in the end zone for the team’s second safety.
Midget
Hollister Vikings 22, Bayside Broncos 6
Hollister beat Bayside 22-6 to move its record to 4-3 and keep its hopes for a strong Division II playoff seed alive.
The Vikings struck quickly as Steven Morales broke a 39-yard run for a touchdown on the Vikings’ first possession and John Canes added the two-point kick to make it 8-0. Moments later, quarterback Tyler Tobia went deep and found Cody McGrew for a 30-yard touchdown, making the score 14-0.
Sensing that the game could turn into a one-sided affair, Vikings coach Radar Canes decided to pull most of his offensive starters, and some on defense as well, and give the reserves a chance to play. After two good tackles by Austin Tobia stopped the Broncos’ third series, Hollister got the ball back on its own 17. The Vikings’ Gold offense struck like lightning as McGrew threw a bomb that was hauled in by Bryson Hill, who raced 83 yards for another touchdown — the first all year by that offensive unit.
John Canes added another two-point kick, and the Vikings were up 22-0 just 11 minutes into the contest.
The defense continued to make big plays throughout the game for the team’s first shutout effort (the Broncos’ defense scored their team’s six points on a fumble return).
Bayside relied heavily on the pass, but the Broncos found completing a pass to be difficult as Hill, Robert Aceves and Morales all broke up several pass plays. The one time Bayside began to move the ball, Eddie Macias recovered a fumble to end the threat. Isaiah Gutierrez contributed a big quarterback sack.
Junior Pee Wee Purple
Almaden Mustangs 35, Hollister Vikings 8
The undefeated Almaden Mustangs earned their association’s first-ever Division I playoff berth with a convincing 35-8 thumping of Hollister’s Purple junior pee wee team, which entered the game with a record of 4-1-1.
There was great interest in this game from around the league, as the Mustangs had rolled over six previous opponents. However, those six teams had a combined record of 8-28, and only one opponent had won more than two games all year. But the Mustangs proved they were for real against a tough Hollister Vikings team that had only allowed two scores in their previous three games.
There is nothing fancy about the Mustangs’ approach; as Hollister found out, they run straight at you, but they executed the fundamentals flawlessly, especially blocking. On virtually every running play, the offensive line opened up a hole, and the Mustangs played a ball-control game, scoring on its first two drives in which they held the ball for more than six minutes each time.
Trailing 14-0, Hollister’s defense finally dug in its heels as Bobby Vivian made a big quarterback sack, and a tackle by Dylan Grieg on the next play stopped Almaden short of a first down for the first time. The Vikings’ offense showed some spark when quarterback Nick Trimble completed a pass to Abram Pasillas, but Almaden quickly shut down the drive to get a fourth opportunity with the ball.
The Mustangs broke a run to the outside but Jacob Ryder made a touchdown-saving tackle. Nevertheless, the Hollister defense faced a first-and-goal. The inspired Vikings held Almaden out of the end zone as a ferocious rush by Elijah Changco on the quarterback forced a wayward pass that landed in the end zone incomplete.
Trailing by only two touchdowns at halftime, the Hollister defense continued to keep the game close as Tanner Okerson, Kyle Cameron and Clay Schwall made big tackles to stop the Mustangs after Hollister fumbled the ball away.
Hollister struck suddenly as Dimarco Del Curto broke a 58-yard run to the end zone, and Jacob Zamora added the two-point kick. With almost a half of football left, the Vikings were suddenly just six points down.
But like all championship-caliber teams, the Mustangs did not let Hollister keep the momentum for long, responding in a timely manner with another long drive, scoring again with the running game to make it 20-7.
Del Curto again ripped off a 30-yard run to put the Vikings deep in Almaden territory, but the Mustangs rose up to stop that drive and they shut down the Vikings’ offense completely from that point on. Hollister got one more big break when Nathan Fhurong recovered a Mustangs fumble, but the Vikings fumbled it right back.
Almaden got two insurance touchdowns late in the contest to make the final score 35-8.
Junior Pee Wee Gold
Hollister Vikings 24, Daly City Titans 0
The Gold junior pee wees have become one of Hollister’s hottest teams late in the season, winning its third consecutive contest — all by shutout — when it defeated the Daly City Titans 24-0. Both the offense and defense played well in a one-sided win.
Darius Parks fired up the Vikings’ offense early in the game with several good runs, including one for 20 yards, but the Titans turned back Hollister’s initial thrust. Daly City’s first two possessions ended in fumbles, and both were recovered by the Vikings — one by Eric Loredo, the other by Antonio Caro. Hollister finally capitalized on the second fumble recovery as quarterback David San Miguel launched a beautiful aerial to Cobi Armstrong for a 25-yard touchdown pass.
A big sack by Tristan Wahl got the ball back for Hollister, and Dylan Oliveras had a big run for a first down. Ishmael Medina then ran 12 yards to the Hollister 2. But once again, the Titans offense proved impenetrable in the red zone.
However, Daly City could not move either, and lacked punting capability. A good tackle by Oliveras got the Vikings the ball back with a first-and-goal, and Andres Soto ran the ball in to the end zone to make it 12-0 Hollister at the half.
The second half began with the Vikings’ third fumble recovery, this one by Michael Zaragoza. Hollister capitalized quickly as Soto made another long run for a first down. San Miguel then passed to Carlos Bryand for 20 yards, then ran the ball in from the 15 on the next play to put Hollister up by 18.
Hollister’s defensive heroics continued throughout the second half as Wahl had several more sacks and Soto broke up a pass play and made a touchdown-saving tackle the one time that a Titans runner did break for a good gain. Oliveras added the final Hollister score on a 23-yard run in the fourth quarter.
Junior Midget
Almaden Mustangs 34, Hollister Vikings 7
The Almaden junior midgets beat a severely hobbled Hollister team handily last weekend. Almaden’s junior midgets are mostly made up of last year’s national champion pee wee team, and the Mustangs offered plenty of evidence that they will be title contenders again this year in a 34-7 rout.
Hollister’s one shining moment on defense came at the end of the second quarter when it stopped a long Almaden drive on big plays by Louie Bustillos, Nene Estrada, Kenny Lee and Jordan Goldstein. Lee and Goldstein made several big defensive plays throughout the contest. Hollister’s lone score came late in the game when quarterback John Barrientos connected with Mavrick Enz on a 35-yard scoring pass.
Mighty Mite Gold
Hollister Vikings 24, Monterey Jets 6
The mighty mite Gold Vikings rolled to their fourth consecutive win as four different Vikings crossed the goal line in a 24-6 rout in Monterey.
Both offensive lines have played incredibly well for Hollister in recent weeks, allowing them to keep the ball for most of the game. Great blocking by Marc Martinez, Angel Amescua, Allen Reyes, Kane DeAlba, Blaze McShane and Dawson sprung fullback Jonny Gonzalez on a 47-yard touchdown romp for the game’s first score.
With great lead blocking from Austin Wiggins, Andrew Davila and Brennan Enz, the purple offense made its first touchdown of the season when Aiden Lyon took it up the middle for a 2-yard run after a long Viking drive. The defense was so effective during the first half that the Jets actually had negative yardage after two quarters.
Matthew Trimble scored again for Hollister on a reverse play early in the third quarter, and Hollister drove again for a score late in the game with DeAlba plunging over from the 1-yard line.
The defense allowed only one score late in the game and saved another touchdown when the Jets broke a long run up the middle, but Ernesto Sanchez chased the runner down, tackling him from behind on the 12-yard line.
The mighty mite Purple Vikings were defeated by Almaden 30-0 on Saturday morning, and the Hollister Tiny Mites also scrimmaged against Almaden.
This weekend is full for Hollister Pop Warner with events on both days.
On Saturday, the Hollister cheerleaders will perform at Leavy Center in Santa Clara, with the league cheer championships on the line. The top two teams will advance to the Pacific Northwest Regionals in November.
Hollister has sent 11 teams to nationals the past five years, including three last year, but the competition is tougher this year at all levels.
Two Hollister football teams also play on Saturday. The mighty mite Purple team plays at Woodside High School in Redwood City, while the junior pee wee Gold Vikings travel to San Mateo. All other Hollister football teams will play in Santa Clara on Sunday, and for most Vikings teams, these games will be their toughest of the season.
Santa Clara’s four competitive teams have lost only one or two games apiece, and have played one of the league’s toughest schedules as a perennial Division I contender.
This Sunday’s games will mark the end of the regular season, but all five competitive Hollister teams will be in the playoffs, either in Division I or Division II, depending on their record.
