The Pop Warner defense continued where it left off last year by
shutting out all four opponents at Sunday’s Jamboree played at Andy
Hardin Stadium.
Hollister – The Pop Warner defense continued where it left off last year by shutting out all four opponents at Sunday’s Jamboree played at Andy Hardin Stadium.
Last year, Hollister’s Pop Warner teams held opponents to an average of one score per game.
Midgets
Hollister 26, San Lorenzo Valley 0
In the final contest of the day, the Hollister Midgets took on San Lorenzo Valley and dominating play on both sides of the ball.
Eric Sanders scored Hollister’s first points by picking off a Cougar pass and racing 40 yards for the score. Ethell Catherill’s conversion run made it 7-0 Vikings.
Moments later, Anthony Flores recovered a fumble to end another San Lorenzo drive.
On the Cougar’s next possession after a first down, Ricky Canes registered a big sack, ending that threat.
Late in the second quarter, Anthony Flores broke the first of two long runs for Hollister, scampering 63 yards for a touchdown. In the third quarter, Flores scored again, this time on a 72-yard run.
The Vikings’ final drive of the day was truly a team effort. Hollister got the ball back in good field position courtesy of its defense then marched 40 yards on offense. A 15-yard tackle-breaking run by Anthony Padilla and a 20-yard end run by Catherill set up Catherill’s one-yard plunge that gave the Vikings a 26-0 lead with 6:19 to go.
The Cougars final drive represented the last chance for anyone to score against Hollister, but Michael Ballesteros made sure that didn’t happen by deflecting a pass to end the drive.
Jr. Midget
Hollister Vikings 21, Oak Grove Renegades 0
The Junior Midgets inherited many returning starters from a Pee Wee team that had boasted one of the best defenses in Northern California last year, allowing just two opponents to score all year.
So it was not surprising to see defensive stalwarts like Bryan Garza, Josh Villegas and Brandon Pina stuffing opponents consistantly. Many of the stops were from behind the line of scrimmage.
The passing game was led by quarterback Evan McFadden, a converted running back.
McFadden completed several passes. The first on was a 25-yard pass to Ryan Shorey to set up the first score of the game, which McFadden ran in himself on a three-yard quarterback bootleg. Michael Murphy added a two-point kick, and the Vikings were out in front 8-0.
That was all the points they would get for awhile, but the Hollister defense established complete command of the game. Pina intercepted a pass and Armando Lerma recovered a fumble.
Lerma was a hard runner to stop on offense as he ground up yardage and the clock.
In the fourth quarter, McFadden found Mitchell Cook down field for a 25-yard gain. That led to the Vikings second touchdown, a 15-yard run by Lerma.
Late in the game, McFadden blitzed from his outside position on fourth down, registering a big sack for the Vikings. On Oak Grove’s next possession, Garza’s forced an 18-yard loss.
Then Nick Acosta intercepted the Renegades twice. His second pick set up an insurance score for Hollister as McFadden hit tight end Josh Villegas with a four-yard strike. The same pair hooked up for the point after.
Coach Julian Gaytan and his staff emphasized to their team the importance of giving 100 percent until the end, and they saw their team respond to that inspiration in a big way Sunday.
Pee Wee
Hollister Vikings 20, Morgan Hill Raiders 0
The Pee Wee Vikings scored on their first play from scrimmage as speedy Andre Cornell swept around left end, then broke away from the pack for a 48-yard scoring run.
Alex Alvarez added a two-point conversion to put Hollister up 8-0.
From there the defense took over the game.
The Vikings linebacking trio of Justin Raine, Tyler Decker and Adrian Soto were strong from start to finish with most of the team’s tackles. Jonathan Huaracha and Cooper Sepulveda also made their presence felt on the defensive line.
Sepulveda showed outstanding range and speed, tackling ball-carriers all over the field.
The Vikings scored again early in the second half when Michael Brautovich broke away for a 35-yard touchdown run. The Vikings’ final score came after Decker recovered a Raider fumble.
Quarterback Trevor Fabing’s bootleg gave Hollister a first down inside the five, and Fabing was able to blast his way into the end zone from the one-yard line to give the Pee Wees an insurance score.
Junior Pee Wee
Hollister Vikings 19, Oak Grove Rage 0
Football is played with eleven men, but at times on Sunday, the Oak Grove Rage may have wondered whether Hollister’s defense was playing with twice that many.
The Rage hit a wall, not of concrete or brick, but formed by the Vikings defensive line and linebackers as they shut down every hole for virtually the entire game.
The defensive front of Tyler Pina, Nathan Castro, Cole Benitez, Zack Hicks, Austin Blake, Jacob DeLeon and Ryan DiSalvo got great penetration, stopping many plays behind the line of scrimmage.
If a Rage runner actually got to the line of scrimmage, Mikey Soto, Mark Neal, Dan Buzzetta, or one of the Vikings other linebackers was there to greet them.
The defense also forced five turnovers, including two fumble recoveries in the first half – one by Pina and the other by Disalvo. The defense set up the first score by pinning the Rage back deep, and Kenny Salcedo ran 11 yards into the end zone to put six points on the board.
Frustrated by their inability to move the ball on the ground, Oak Grove tried the air attack. Their first pass was picked off by Dustin Rovella, who raced 43 yards for a score.
Quarterback Gregory Vasquez added the point after with a two-yard run.
The Rage tried the air again, but their pass found Vikings cornerback Marcus Sabatte, whose 25-yard interception return was stopped short of the goal line as the half ended.
The Vikings continued to play hard-hitting, football throughout the second half, but more importantly, they never gave Oak Grove an opportunity.
A Viking fumble early in the third quarter could have sparked a comeback, but offensive lineman Nate Garza alertly pounced on it for Hollister.
The Viking defense continued to create its own breaks as Mikey Soto recovered a fumble.
Minutes later, running back Mark Neal broke a 71-yard run for an insurance touchdown, and Soto recovered an onside kick to keep the ball for Hollister.
Mitey Mites
The Mitey Mites defense also played aggressively and relentlessly against their opponents from Oak Grove. Isaac Beltran recovered a fumble on the game’s first possession.
On Oak Grove’s next possession, Johnny Corral made a hit that may have registered on the Richter scale. Garrett Avina intercepted the Ravens the next time they had the ball.
The Vikings’ first offensive series was impressive as they moved the ball well on every down. The key was a 35-yard run by speed-burner Eddie Munoz.
Austin Nye crossed the goal line twice for Hollister, on runs of two and twelve yards, and Austin Wahl and Tyler Fhurong both broke away for long gains in the second half.
The games didn’t count toward the standings. The regular season, opens this weekend. The older teams (Midgets and Junior Midgets) play at Gilroy on Saturday at 2pm. All the other teams will travel to Oakland on Sunday.
Special to the Free Lance
