n Special to the Free lance
After struggling for the last four years against Oak Grove, the Hollister Pee Wee Vikings Pop Warner earned a hard-fought 6-6 tie against the defending Northwest regional champion Razorbacks on Saturday. Hollister, which had lost every game for the last four years to top-tier Oak Grove teams, rode an incredible defensive effort to secure the tie against the legendary Razorbacks, who have two national championships to their credit in the past six years.
Viking Matt Martinez spearheaded the Vikings defense with backfield penetration that frustrated the Razorbacks running game all day. Oak Grove scored its one touchdown early in the game on a 40-yard pass play. But Hollister’s Joshua Greenwood made an open-field tackle to deny Oak Grove the conversion. After that, the Hollister defense took control.
The Razorbacks wanted to rely heavily on the pass but the Viking secondary turned in a stellar performance, breaking up play after play. Defensive backs Greenwood, Andre Cornell, Trevor Fabing and Alex Alvarez were particularly adept at frustrating the Oak Grove attempts to move the ball through the air.
The Razorbacks continued to lead 6-0 until midway through the fourth quarter when Fabing deflected a pass that was then intercepted by Viking linebacker Justin Raine. That turnover fired up the Vikings offense, and on the first play from scrimmage, Isaak Ramos took a swing pass from Fabing for a 17-yard gain. On the next play, Cornell broke loose for a 44-yard gain, and then Tyler Decker ran for 12 yards to set up first-and-goal at the Oak Grove 7. Here the Razorback defense stiffened, holding the Vikings out of the end zone on the first three downs. Finally, on fourth down, Fabing plunged into the end zone on a keeper and the game was tied.
The Vikings could have taken the lead with a conversion, but the kick was blocked by Oak Grove, and the game remained tied at 6-6.
On Oak Grove’s next possession, Fabing continued his heroics by making a big tackle to save a long gain. The Razorback defense was equally heroic in stopping the Vikings’ rejuvenated offense, but Fabing hit a great punt to pin Oak Grove back deep with very little time remaining.
Left with few options, the Razorbacks tried the same pass plays that had failed all day. And, Fabing got another interception for Hollister, returning the ball to the Oak Grove 18 with only four seconds left.
However, Hollister couldn’t take advantage of the opportunity and the game ended deadlocked at 6-all.
Hollister head coach Larry Murphy had great praise for his team after the game for the Vikings’ outstanding team effort, and said he knows that the team’s performance was something that they can build on as they move forward. Murphy said he is looking forward to a rematch with the Razorbacks in the post-season.
Junior Pee Wee
Oak Grove Rattlers 33, Hollister Vikings 7
Speed kills. And, the speed of Oak Grove’s two outstanding backs proved to be too much even for a Hollister team that had stopped its previous opponents in their tracks, allowing only one score in their first two games. Despite the final score, the Hollister defense gave up just two touchdowns, both on breakaway runs. However, Oak Grove tallied twice on special teams, and scored again on an interception return. After an Oak Grove halfback broke off a 50-yard TD run to give the Rattlers a 7-0 lead, Hollister stopped the Rattlers on their next drive as Tyler Pina leveled a hit that forced a fumble, which Mark Neal recovered. That scenario was repeated several more times throughout the game.
After Oak Grove scored again on a long punt return, the Vikings smothered the Rattlers on their next series as Dustin Rovella broke up a pass and then Austin Blake made the first of several big backfield tackles.
Another big tackle by Blake stopped the Rattlers conversion attempt after their third score on an interception. The third quarter began with Marcus Sabatte recovering a fumble forced when Pina and Ryan DiSalvo sandwiched an Oak Grove back. And, Hollister’s defense scored the lone Viking points on Oak Grove’s next possession, as Adolfo Davila picked up another Rattler fumble and returned it 53 yards for a touchdown. The Vikings added the extra point as Gregory Vasquez passed to DiSalvo in the end zone.
DiSalvo also recovered an errant Oak Grove lateral late in the game.
Offensively, the Vikings had several good runs by Mark Neal, Kenny Salcedo and Alex Neal, but were never able to score as the Rattlers defense seemed to stiffen each time the Vikings penetrated Oak Grove territory.
Junior Midget
Oak Grove Red Devils 28, Hollister Vikings 0
Defending Northwest Regional champion Oak Grove showed why it is the favorite to repeat this year, as the Red Devils put on an impressive display of power in the first quarter, building up a 28-0 lead only nine minutes into the game. The Red Devils were able to shut down Hollister’s offense for most of the game, but the Vikings defense also prevented any further damage for the last three quarters of play.
From the outset, the Red Devils strategy was to keep the ball away from the Hollister offense, and, as part of that plan, they tried several onside kicks. But they didn’t recover any, thanks to Mitchell Cook, who demonstrated his great hands and quick reflexes by recovering two of them for the Vikings. Ryan Shorey also recovered a fumble for the Vikings, and Michael Murphy made tackles all over the field from his linebacker position.
Midget
Oak Grove Roughriders 30, Hollister Vikings 0
The perennial champion Roughriders pretty much had their way on Saturday night, but the Vikings turned in several outstanding plays to keep the game from getting too far out of hand. Like the Oak Grove Junior Midgets, the Roughriders had a pre-occupation with keeping the ball away from Hollister. But Viking Robby Sanchez frustrated their efforts by recovering two onside kicks. Adrian Hernandez and David Jacquez also recovered fumbles, and Anthony Flores and Michael Ballasteros each made several good tackles to contain the Roughriders attack.
Mighty Mites
Hollister vs. Oak Grove
The Hollister Mighty Mites also took on Oak Grove Saturday, and put on an incredible performance as the team gained over 600 yards rushing. The game started off on the right foot for Hollister when Isaac Beltran recovered an on-side kick. Tyler Fhurong crossed the goal line moments later, in the first of what would become a parade of long runs down the field. Austin Wahl, Eddie Munoz, Johnny Corral, Chris Cook, Austin Nye, Marcus Darnell, Michael Inderbitzen and Dylan Lomanto would follow with big runs to paydirt. One of Nye’s two long runs was truly spectacular as he covered 97 yards after the Oak Grove Rockers had finally succeeded in pinning the Vikings back deep. Lomanto also demonstrated his special teams skills in a big way, racing 30 yards downfield to recover his own team’s kickoffs not once, but twice. Hollister’s defense also had a big day as Michael Hayford, Garrett Amidon and Cade Vallejo all recovered fumbles. Hollister’s Dominic Padilla broke up a rare Oak Grove pass play, and Ryan Smith made several big tackles to contain the Rockers outside running attack.
This weekend, the Hollister Vikings will be at home on Saturday taking on a variety of opponents. Games begin at 11am at Andy Hardin Stadium.
