Junior Midgets
Hollister Vikings 11, West Valley Falcons 8
By Samantha Zaragoza
Hollister’s Junior Midgets stepped onto the field hungry to extend its season. The Vikings, with a 6-3 season record, had the league championship in their sights.
The entire game was dominated by the Viking defense, led by Michael Camacho, Devin Beltran, Michael Zaragoza Matthew Manley. Kane DeAlba and Sean Nelson also started strong, creating an immovable force up the middle. Other standouts in the first quarter included Antonio Caro, who finished with two sacks, and offensive lineman Clint Fuentes.
Hollister’s offense struggled to score until Andres Soto and Ishmael Medina helped the Vikings move the ball downfield. The big play came when quarterback Diego Fisher connected with Soto on a swing pass that brought the Vikings to the 11-yard line. Blocking by Nelson and Matthew Manley provided excellent coverage for Soto on the play.
The Vikings, unable to get any closer, kicked a short field goal from the foot of Soto to grab the early 3-0 lead.The Viking defense, led by DeAlba, Cade Neece and Zaragoza, again clamped down on the Falcons offense. Hollister, though, couldn’t add to its lead before halftime.
The second half continued to show Hollister’s strengths. But not before the Falcons scored their only points of the game. The West Valley grabbed an 8-3 on a short run, but it only lasted a few short minutes. Toward the middle of the third quarter, West Valley punted to the waiting arms of Soto. He was outran West Valley to bring the ball to the 21-yard line. A few plays later, Soto used blocks by Beltran and Zaragoza to give the Vikings the lead back at 9-8.
Once again, the defense continued to play well for Hollister, adding a safety as the game expired in the fourth quarter. On the safety, a group of Vikings caught the Falcon runner in the endzone for the easy play.
Hollister held on to win 11-8 and advance to the next round of the playoffs.
“We had to focus these boys,” head coach Jeff Valenzuela said. “We worked hard at practice all week and (all the team) worked together – special teams, offense, the defense of course. This was such a fun one to watch.”
