Hollister Vikings advance to next round of playoffs in defensive duels.
Junior Midgets
Hollister Vikings 22, South Marin Broncos 6
By Samantha Zaragoza
Emotions were running high as Hollister’s junior midgets took the field for the first round of playoffs against the South Marin Broncos. The first half of the game went back and forth between the two sides.
But the Vikings defense slowly took over the game. The Vikings fought for a handful of sacks thanks to quick moves by Kyle Manley, Michael Zarate, Michael Zaragoza and Michael Camacho. And a sack by Ishmael Medina on the quarterback’s blindside knocked the ball loose. Three plays later, after a Tristan Wahl tackle for no gain, Zaragoza ripped the ball out of the grasp of a Broncos runner. Medina recovered the fumble to hand the ball over to the Vikings.
On the next two plays, Medina and Zaragoza zig-zagged through the Broncos defense the ball. But Andres Soto put the Vikings on the board after taking a direct snap, and with blocks by Medina and Antonio Caro, broke away to score a 55-yard touchdown. After kicking the extra point, Soto gave the Vikings an 8-0 lead.
Strong defensive play was the game plan for the Vikings, who continued to smoother the Broncos offense. Matthew Manley bolted past his blocker to get to the quarterback again and again. Not to be left, Devin Beltran, Zaragoza, Caro and Camacho also chalked up multiple sacks throughout the contest.
After a turnover on downs, Soto received the punt and, with blocks by Kyle Manley, Medina and Camacho, found a hole. Without anyone close to match Soto’s speed, he easily crossed the goal line for another Viking touchdown to give Hollister a 16-0 lead at halftime.
On the second half kickoff, the Viking defense picked up where it left off. Try as they might, the Broncos were stymied. Owen Branon tackled the runner to prevent any gained yards while Camacho flew through the line and tracked the runner for a loss of yards to end the quarter.
In the final quarter, Soto scored again on a 90-yard touchdown run, giving the Vikings a 22-0 lead.
In the rest of the game, the Broncos’ crowd was quiet until the last two minutes. A valiant goal line effort by the Vikings was not enough as the Broncos eked into the end zone on fourth down. The Vikings held on 22-6 to advance to the next round of the playoffs.
Pee Wee
Hollister Vikings 21, Campbell Bears 20
By Santiago Hernandez
With smash mouth football, the Pee Wee Vikings advance to the next round of playoffs defeating the Campbell Bears 21–20.
Both teams fought hard but the Vikings character prevailed in the end. In the first quarter, the Bears scored first to grab an early 6-0 lead. The Vikings’ offense stalled because it couldn’t hang onto the ball before the end of the quarter.
Vikings’ defense, though, started to click in the second quarter thanks to a touchdown saving tackle by Hunter Raquet. On the ensuing play, Christopher Prichett recovered a fumble by the Bears, giving the ball back to Vikings offense.
After runs by Jonny Gonzalez and Peter Felice, Hollister took the lead thanks to a 30-yard slant pass to Gonzalez. The Bears offense retaliated quickly with a 65-yard touchdown pass to give Campbell another lead at 12-7. Unfortunately for the Vikings, on next possession Hollister turned the ball over again. The Bears offensive, though, was halted thanks to a sack by Raquet.
In the second half, Bears started with the ball but the Vikings defense, led by Matthew Hernandez, played well. Ryan Miller also contributed to the defense punishment with a touchdown-saving tackle.
On offense, the Vikings did not waste time, handing the ball off to Gonzalez and Felice to move the ball down the field. Gonzalez gave Hollister the lead back with a 55-yard touchdown run. The Bears offense had no chance against a persistent Viking defense and turned it over on downs at midfield.
In the fourth quarter, the Vikings needed only a couple of plays from Gonzalez to extend their lead to 21-12 with less than six minutes left in the game.
The Bears offense drove inside the Viking 5-yard line before turning the ball over again. The game, at the time, seemed to be over before Hollister made a similar mistake. On the Vikings’ first play from the 1-yard line, Hollister fumbled into the endzone. The ball was recovered by the Bears for a touchdown. After the extra point, Hollister held onto a 21 – 20 lead. The Vikings held onto the lead to advance to the next round of the playoffs. It was the Bears first loss of the season.
