Mighty mite gold team falls to Cambrian Valley 18-6, but plays
strong, nevertheless
SAN JOSE
Although the Hollister Viking mighty mite gold team came up on the short end of the score, coach Larry Cascio was pleased with the way his team played on Saturday against a Cambrian Valley squad that had steamrolled two previous opponents and had two shutouts to its credit.
Cambrian Valley struck quickly in the first half, scoring on two long runs to make the score 12-0.
Hollister’s offense began to show signs of life early in the second half when Cade Neece completed a pass to tight end Sean Nelson. Ernesto Sanchez also made some good gains on the ground, but the drive was stopped short on fourth down.
Hollister’s defense stiffened as Christopher Leist and Aiden Lyon collaborated to stop a breakaway runner and the Vikings got the ball back. The offense continued to make progress as Neece, Sanchez, Dawson Biersdorff, Blaze McShane and Matthew Hernandez opened up holes for fullback Jonny Gonzalez, who made some good gains up the middle. Neece scrambled for a first down, but the Longhorns defense again stiffened up.
Hollister’s defense continued to stand in the gap as Lyon and Matthew Trimble broke up one pass play, while Gonzalez broke up another. A strong pass rush by Markie Martinez nearly caused an interception, and Trimble registered a quarterback sack late in the fourth quarter.
Neece completed another pass, this one to McShane for 14 yards and a first down deep in Longhorn territory, but the Longhorns again denied Hollister a score and it appeared Cambrian Valley would register its third consecutive shutout.
But late in the game, Cambrian Valley got an insurance touchdown, giving Hollister the ball back with only a few seconds remaining. Neece decided to throw deep, delivering a missle to Nelson, who had beaten his defender by at least four steps. The 36-yard play was good for a touchdown, and broke up the Longhorns’ bid for successive shutouts.
Pee Wee
Hollister Vikings 12, West Valley Falcons 0
The undefeated pee wees (3-0) were the only Hollister team to emerge victorious last weekend. It came away with its second shutout in as many weeks, delivering a 12-0 win over the West Valley Falcons.
The Viking offense began the game with a promising drive towards the end zone. Carries by Austin Cascio and a 40-yard pass completion from Daniel Hopkins to Adrian Valdez put the Vikings into scoring position with a first down at the West Valley 9. The Falcon defense, however, stopped the drive short of the goal and forced a turnover on downs.
But with the Viking defense on the field, the Falcons had nowhere to run. Tackles by Evan Weatherly, Jesus DeLeon and Jonathon Mendoza stopped the Falcons’ running game. Philip Castro then sacked the West Valley Falcons on fourth down, giving Hollister the ball on the West Valley 16. The strong field position set up Hollister’s first score when a carry by Tyler Biersdorff preceded Hopkins’ touchdown pass to Kyle George, putting the Vikings on the scoreboard 6-0.
Although West Valley continued to try and move the ball, the Vikings defense was unstoppable. In a flurry of activity, the Vikings shut down the Falcon offense throughout the second and third quarters. Matthew Rabago, Esmond Lovato, Biersdorff, Steven Gatto and Phillip Castro all came away with big defensive plays leaving the Falcons scoreless. In one play, Castro made a diving block to prevent the ball from rolling into the end zone following a punt, allowing the ball to be placed on the Falcons’ 1-yard line.
The Vikings scored its final touchdown in the fourth quarter. Following a drive with carries by Cascio, Biersdorff and Rabago, the Vikings ran for the end zone only to fumble the football at the goal line. With a rapid response, though, Kyle George quickly recovered the ball in the end zone, extending the Viking lead to 12-0.
Junior Pee Wee (Purple)
West Valley Falcons 25, Hollister Vikings 2
West Valley thoroughly dominated a previously unbeaten Hollister team, shutting down the Vikings’ offense while mounting some impressive drives against a team that had allowed only four touchdowns in three games.
The Falcons offense proved to be unstoppable early in the game as it scored on its first two possessions. The Vikings defense had a few bright moments, as Marcos Flores and Tanner Okerson blocked West Valley’s conversion kicks on its first two attempts.
Jacob Zamora and Clay Schwall also made several backfield tackles for loss. Late in the first half, backed up against its own end zone, the Vikings fired up its offense as Nick Trimble hit Shraee Harrison on a 50-yard pass completion. Harrison followed up by busting a long gain on a power sweep, and the Vikings had a first down at the West Valley 2. But Hollister fumbled the ball away on the next play.
The defense scored two points when Zamora and Kyle Cameron tackled a Falcon runner in the end zone for a safety.
The second half was scoreless as Hollister’s defense found its footing. Elijah Changco made a good tackle in the backfield and Schwall recovered a fumble to end a long West Valley drive – the Falcons’ only turnover of the game. But the offense was stymied by West Valley, except for one 20-yard pass completion from Trimble to Nathan Fhurong.
Junior Midget
West Valley Falcons 30, Hollister Vikings 18
The Vikings offense rebounded in this game after being shutout the previous week, but West Valley was able to prevail with a high-powered offensive attack.
The Falcons took the early lead with a long drive, then took over on the Hollister 9 on a blocked punt. The defense had its finest hour of the game at that point, holding West Valley out of the end zone as Josh George, John Barrientos and Ben Viramontes made big tackles in succession. On third down, the Vikings forced a fumble, which was recovered by George, but the Falcons pushed Hollister back into the end zone for a safety. West Valley then returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown to stake themselves to a 16-0 lead.
Going for the early knockout, the Falcons surprised everyone with an onside kick, which it recovered. But the Vikings’ defense again rose to the occasion as Jordan Goldstein made a big backfield tackle and then sacked the quarterback with the help of George.
When Hollister got the ball back, George broke to the outside on a 72-yard run that put the Vikings on the scoreboard just before halftime.
After West Valley had scored again early in the third quarter to go up by 16 points, Brandon Olivares recovered a muffed punt, giving Hollister the ball deep in Falcon territory. Tyler Fhurong delivered a pass to Christopher Cook, who ran 30 yards to paydirt.
After West Valley had scored an insurance touchdown, Joe Coffelt had a nice kick return for the Vikings, giving them the ball at midfield. Fhurong passed to Bryan Noble for one first down, and to George for another good gain. On third down, Fhurong bootlegged for first-and-goal at the 10, then passed to George for the game’s final points.
Midget
West Valley Falcons 30, Hollister Vikings 0
The Falcon midgets rolled to its third consecutive win on Sunday evening, trouncing the Vikings with a potent offense that moved the ball equally well in the air and on the ground.
Hollister’s offense began the game with three first downs on runs by Zack Hicks and Damien Botelho, but the Falcons shut down the running holes quickly. The highlights of the game for Hollister were a recovered punt fumble by Bryson Hill and a scramble on a broken punt play by Cody McGrew for a first down, but neither of those breaks led to any points.
Jr. Pee Wee Gold
Tri-Cities Titans 24, Hollister Vikings 0
Tri-Cities registered its second consecutive shutout against the Vikings.
Theodore Haynish intercepted a pass for Hollister, while Hunter Nye, David San Miguel and Haynish made some big tackles to stop some Titans drives. But Hollister could not move the ball against a smothering Titans defense.
The mighty mite purple team lost to West Valley 24-0 on Sunday morning. The tiny mites team played in Sunnyvale on Saturday morning. Joseph Frank ran 50 yards for a touchdown on the game’s first play, and Isaiah Saldana also scored on an interception return. Alex Casarez spearheaded the team’s defensive effort, making many tackles.
The Vikings return home for the next two weekends. Most of the teams will play Cambrian Valley this weekend. Games begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday at Andy Hardin Stadium, while the tiny mites and mighty mite purple team begin play at 8 a.m. at Anchorpoint Christian School in Gilroy.
