Pee Wee and Junior Midgets also capture victories.
HOLLISTER
Vikings Junior Pee Wee head coach Gino Andrade felt more like he was running a hospital ward than a football team this past week. Halfback Dimarco DelCurto went down with an injury last week against Tri-Cities, and tight end Christopher Pritchett suffered a sprained neck in practice this week. Despite the loss of those two players plus some others, the Junior Pee Wees found a partisan home crowd to be the best medicine, and shut out a powerful Alameda team by the score of 12-0 to post their fourth home win in as many games.
The first half was scoreless as both teams played rock solid defense, and neither team could move the ball very well. But the Vikings didn’t wait long to take the lead in the second half, scoring on the first play from scrimmage on a 60-yard run by Ishmael Medina, who stepped into the halfback position admirably in the wake of DelCurto’s injury. Hollister’s defense sprang into action to preserve the momentum as Matthew Delatorre recovered a fumble, giving Hollister a short field. Alameda’s defense hung tough, and forced a turnover on downs, but Medina pounced on another fumble to get the ball back for the Vikings again on the Wolverines 25. Andres Soto broke a 10-yard run for a Viking first down, but the drive stalled on the ten yard line. Michael Zaragoza made a big tackle to stop the Wolverines, and this time the Vikings scored the insurance touchdown on a short drive, capped by Soto’s five yard run.
Gino Andrade spoke of his entire defense glowingly after their shutout performance against a team that has racked up big scores against many opponents. In addition to the defensive line, who has done a good job week after week, Andrade praised the work of linebackers Marcus Guevara, Jonathan Gonzalez and Zaragoza, who plugged holes all day long to contain the Alameda running game. Alameda won two games with its passing attack earlier this year, but defensive backs Darius Parks, Matthew Trimble, Soto and Medina took the pass away from the Wolverines too. Special teams also helped to key the victory as Soto kicked onsides twice, and his kicks were recovered by Delatorre and Peter Felice. The Junior Pee Wees need to win against Santa Clara on Saturday to complete an unbeaten season at home, which has not happened since the Junior Pee Wees won nationals in 2007.
In other Hollister Pop Warner action:
Pee Wee: Hollister Vikings 26
Alameda Wolverines 20
The Pee Wee Vikings needed a big win over the Alameda Wolverines to keep their playoff hopes alive, and they managed to do just that by beating the Wolverines 26-20 at home on Saturday.
Finally putting it all together on both offense and defense, the Vikings drew first blood with a huge 57-yard pass play from quarterback Daniel Hopkins to receiver Xavier Alvarez on third-and-long. The snap on the point-after attempt went astray, and the Vikings led 6-0.
On Alameda’s first possession of the game, the Viking defense seemed poised to keep the Wolverines on their own side of the field when they had a big play, breaking off a 53-yard touchdown run. A failed point-after kept the game tied at 6-6.
The Vikings took over on their own 38-yardline and led by running back Shraee Harrison who had 52 yards on four carries, scored on the last play of the quarter when Harrison ran the ball into the endzone from ten yards out. The kick went wide, and the Vikings went up, 12-6.
During the second quarter, the Vikings held the Wolverines at midfield, getting the ball on downs. Alameda’s defense, though, seemed to make some adjustments and the Viking ball carriers managed small gains as they marched down the field. Dylan Olivares and Harrison combined for 31 yards on seven carries until a fumble on fourth down gave the ball back to Alameda. On the next play, the Wolverines’ running back eluded defenders and raced 72 yards for a touchdown. The kick for Alameda was good, and the Vikings found themselves down 12-14 with less than a minute left in the first half.
Harrison wasted no time getting down the field, going 65 yards on the kickoff return and setting the Vikings up with 1st-and-goal on the five yard line and twelve seconds remaining. Harrison ran four yards on first down, and then Hopkins did a quarterback sneak for the final yard to punch it in for a touchdown. The point-after kick went wide left, and the Vikings were back on top, 18-14, at half.
The Wolverines got the ball first in the second half, but Nick Trimble and Dylan Olivares came up big on defense, stopping the Wolverines on fourth down. The Hollister offense turned the ball over on downs, but when Alameda took possession, it took just one big play whereby the Alameda running back, under pressure from David San Miguel, pitched the ball to his teammate who ran for a touchdown. A blocked kick put the Wolverines up by two, 20-18.
The Vikings and Wolverines traded possessions, but when the Vikings took over on downs again, they were determined to regain the lead. A 30-yard run by Trimble was negated by a penalty, but later a pass interference call gave the Vikings a 1st-and-10 on the Alameda 24-yardline. For the second time of the game, Hopkins completed a pass to Alvarez for the touchdown, and this time the point-after attempt was good, with Jacob Zamora’s kick going through the uprights and giving the Vikings back the lead, 26-20.
The Wolverines attempted to answer in the fourth quarter, but the Viking defense responded by stepping up their game and making big tackles in the backfield. Olivares, San Miguel, Tanner Okerson, and Dante Tomasini all had tackles-for-loss, and Harrison came up with a touchdown-saving tackle as well. With time running out for the Wolverines, an attempted Hail Mary pass was intercepted by Hopkins. With one tick left in the game, the Vikings assumed the “victory formation,” with Hopkins taking a knee to give the Vikings the win.
The Vikings host Santa Clara on Saturday for their last home game of the season.
By Christine Wahl-Dukes
Junior Midgets: Hollister Vikings 36
Alameda Wolverines 13
The Junior Midgets completed Hollister’s sweep of Alameda’s three competitive teams with a 36-13 thrashing of a previously undefeated team. Up until a week ago, the Vikings were winless, but their record now stands at 2-4 and they have a shot at the playoffs after beating two powerful teams in a row.
Hollister’s defense has been formidable all season, but their offense was non-existent through the first four games as they only scored once. The offense burst out of its slump last Saturday, spanking the Tri-Cities Titans with 34 points, and this week they proved that it was no fluke as they put up 36 points against Alameda.
The Vikings scored often, but not early. The Viking defense asserted itself at the start of the game as Jackson Starke, Dominic Barrios and Andrew Huaracha all made big tackles to stop the Wolverines, and a short punt gave the Vikings the ball on the Alameda 37. But the Wolverines defense came up big as well, and forced a Hollister punt, with Alameda taking over on their own 3. The Wolverines got out of the hole quickly with a big pass play that might have gone for a touchdown if not for an open field tackle by Kyle George. A sack by Huaracha stopped that drive cold, and once they got the ball back, the Vikings offense wasted no time finding their rhythm. Hollister went to the air, and quarterback R.J. Clark launched a pass down the middle that was hauled in by Joe Coffelt for a first and goal. Coffelt went over from the one-yard line three plays later, and Christian Granados added a two-point kick, giving the Vikings an 8-0 lead early in the second quarter.
Adrian Valdez made two good tackles to stop Alameda on the next series, and the Vikings offense began to march again when Valdez ran outside for an eight yard gain, then passed to tight end Wanblee Sanchez for six more. But the game took a sudden turn for the worse when Valdez was intercepted on the next play, and the pick was returned for a touchdown by Alameda.
Now the Wolverines had momentum and stopped the Hollister offense cold on the next series, but the defense made sure that the ball bounced the Vikings way again as Huaracha & Barrios collaborated for another quarterback sack, and Austin Cascio made a big tackle to stop a sweep. The ensuing punt was squarely blocked by Cascio, and the ball bounced into Huaracha’s waiting arms, who rambled 30 yards for a touchdown to put the Vikings up 14-6 at halftime.
It was Deja Vu all over again for the Wolverines offense as they began the second half. Starke sacked the quarterback, Valdez got a big backfield tackle, then Starke and Barrios brought the Alameda ballcarrier down well short of the chains on third down. Forced to punt again, the Wolverines faced an incredible blitz up the middle as Huaracha, Shane Ledesma and Alex Kunz converged on the punter. It was impossible to tell which of the three blocked the kick, but once again the Vikings punt rush team had come up with a big play, and Hollister had a first and goal on the 8. Coffelt again punched it in the end zone on fourth down and the Vikings led 20-6.
Hollister wasn’t done scoring yet. A big sack by Valdez on the Wolverines first play led to another punt, and the Vikings took over at midfield. Cascio broke a 48-yard run to paydirt and Granados hit his second of three two-point kicks on the night to put the game out of reach 28-6. Hollister pulled its starters on offense when the team got the ball back, not wanting to embarrass its guests. But the Wolverines stripped the ball just after the Vikings had gotten a first down that would have allowed them to run out the clock. The Wolverines assaulted the airways in an attempt to make the final score look more respectable. The first two pass attempts were broken up by Coffelt, but the Alameda quarterback finally found his man in the end zone to narrow the gap to 28-13. But by this time, the Alameda defense, which had been on the field for most of the second half, had nothing left in the tank to stop the Vikings, and it only took Hollister one play to get back in the end zone. A few good blocks sprung Coffelt on a 52-yard touchdown gallop on Hollister’s final play for his third touchdown of the game.
Hollister hosts Santa Clara next weekend, and a win will likely put the Junior Midgets back in the playoffs.
By Tom Vivian
Mighty Mite: Alameda Wolverines 42
Hollister Vikings 30
The Hollister Vikings Mighty Mites were the only team not to prevail in its contest on Saturday, but nevertheless they played their strongest game of the year against the Alameda Wolverines. Most importantly, the offense, which has struggled all season long, came into its own in a big way, in fact the Vikings 30 points equaled their entire scoring for their first five games.
The Vikings found a recipe for success moving the ball, using its big and strong offensive line to clear the way for good gains up the middle. “We don’t have a lot of speed, but we do have a lot of bulk & strength on the line” explained head coach Mel Rivera. “Some teams can rely on their speed to outrun their opponents, but we need to rely on our power”. The power that coach Rivera was referring to came from offensive linemen Angel Amescua, Isaias Rivera, Diego Ramirez, Matthew Sanders, Joseph Frank and Kobe Valdez, whose wedge blew the Wolverines defensive line off the ball to pave the way for fullback Ernesto Sanchez to have a big day running the ball.
Trailing 12-0 in the second quarter, Ernesto Sanchez was able to run the ball up the middle for a Vikings first down. Two plays later, Jonathan Ramos took the ball 25 yards for a touchdown, and the Vikings now trailed 12-6. Defensively, the Vikings came up with some big plays as the Wolverines quarterback was sacked by Brennan Enz for a five yard loss. Great defensive take downs were also turned in by Leo St. John, Isaiah Rivera, Shane Reiter and Gabriel Dominguez to keep the Wolverines from gaining yardage on their next series, but Alameda scored once more before halftime to go up 18-6.
Hollister plowed straight ahead on its next series, with Ernesto Sanchez pounding the ball down the middle all the way down the field, and scoring after a long drive to narrow the gap to 18-12. But the Wolverines had also found their offensive rhythm, and they scored again to restore their two-touchdown margins. From that point in the game, neither team could be stopped offensively. The Vikings offense did a successful reverse as Sanchez passed to Miguel who ran the ball 44 yards for a Hollister first and Goal!! Ernesto Sanchez ran the ball up the middle for another Vikings touch down!
Despite good defensive play from Jordan Plesek and Ramirez, the Wolverines were able to score again. But the proud Vikings were not going to give up. Sanchez and Ramos scored twice more for Hollister on long runs, and the final score of the game was 42-30.
By Carissa Brewer and Tom Vivian
Tiny Mite: Andrew Hill Raiders vs. Hollister Vikings
On Saturday morning the Tiny Mite Vikings continued to work on their offense in a scrimmage against the Andrew Hill Raiders. Rudy Morales had a great twenty yard gain in the first half. Justin Cortez also had some good runs. On defense, Junior Cortez made an amazing four yard sack in the second half. Christen Valdez and Steven Hawkins also made lots of tackles throughout the game.
By Bobby Vivian
The Week Ahead:
The Vikings will play their final home games on Saturday when they host perennial rival Santa Clara. Like Hollister, many Santa Clara teams struggled early out the gate this year, but have come into their own in recent weeks, so all games should be exciting and well-matched; games begin Saturday at 9:45 AM.
