Vikings lose only one game out of four against the Browns at
Andy Hardin Stadium
The Hollister Vikings renewed their perennial rivalry with Gilroy in the season opener on Saturday in Hollister. In a set of games that has become a miniature version of the “Prune Bowl”, Hollister’s teams defeated Gilroy in four out of five competitive contests.
No win was more convincing than the Midgets’ 25-0 thumping of the Gilroy Browns, an outcome that provided sweet revenge for those players who remembered too well a 14-0 shutout at the hands of the Browns in last year’s opener.
In that game, Hollister’s defense was impenetrable, holding Gilroy scoreless until the final period. But their offense could not move the ball. Offensive co-ordinator Chad Sanchez and head coach Jerry Wood have worked tirelessly to improve the Midget’s offense in the last year, ensuring that that Hollister will make the best use of the many weapons that they have.
They saw their efforts pay off on Saturday night as the team began the game with a burst of offensive firepower that left no doubt about the eventual outcome. The offense got the ball with a short field on their first possession as the defense stopped Gilroy, and then the Browns were unable to punt because of a bad snap. Two plays later, speedy Anthony Flores found the end zone from 20 yards out, the first of his two touchdowns.
Minutes later, Michael Murphy electrified the crowd with a 42-yard touchdown run, weaving his way through Gilroy defenders until he ran out of field to run on. Midway through the second quarter, it was Brandon Pina’s turn to shred the Gilroy defense, refusing to respect Gilroy defenders and running through, over or around them, just as Murphy had, on the way to a 30-yard touchdown run. Fifteen minutes into the game, Hollister led 18-0.
Mighty Mite Hollister Vikings 24
Gilroy Browns 0
The Mighty Mites dominated their opponents on both sides of the ball for the second consecutive week. Chris Cook got the crowd on its feet early with an incredible 40-yard punt return in which he escaped from Gilroy defenders three or four times.
Gilroy was able to contain the Viking offense on that drive, but moments later, JC Canes created the first of many defensive breaks, intercepting a Gilroy pass to give the Vikings the ball in great field position.
Jeremy Cedeno scored the first Hollister touchdown, running the ball in from eight yards after one of his end runs had netted 30 yards the play before. Cook scored again for the Vikings minutes later on a 30-yard run of his own in which he blazed through the middle of the field, breaking away from the Gilroy defense. Cook set up the next score as well with yet another electrifying punt return to the Gilroy 17, and Cody Freitas ran the ball in on the Vikings next play from scrimmage.
Junior Pee Wee
Hollister Vikings 7
Gilroy Browns 6
In the closest and most exciting contest of the day, the Junior Pee Wee Vikings won the hard way, making a goal-line stand at the end of the game to preserve a 7-6 win.
Austin Nye, Damien Botelho, Marcus Darnell, Damon Perez and Tyler Tobia made their presence felt all day long, stopping most Gilroy runs, and their impenetrable defensive wall at the end of the game gave their team the victory.
Gilroy led 6-0 for the entire first half as they scored on their first possession thanks to a nice series of runs. Hollister began winning the battle for field position as Perez smothered their return man on two consecutive kicks. Darnell jumped up to steal a long pass away from a Gilroy receiver to stop another drive. Finally, Hollister got on the board midway through the third period when quarterback Mikey Koroluk raced down the right sideline for six points. Nye added a conversion run for what would prove to be the winning score.
Pee Wee Hollister Vikings 35
Gilroy Browns 18
Hollister is used to winning with defense, and an offensive burst the likes of which the Pee Wees provided on Saturday is a rare treat at Andy Hardin Stadium.
The Vikings ran away with this game as fullback Justin Raine plowed for 30 yards on the team’s first series, and Nathan Castro ran for 20 and a TD on the next play. After fumble recoveries by Gregory Vasquez and Isaac Navarette gave Hollister good field position, quarterback Tyler Decker went downfield, completing a pass to Castro. Mark Neal ran the ball in from 18 yards, and Decker added the conversion point with a perfect throw to Raine in the end zone.
Hollister coaches decided they wanted to keep the ball longer, so they kicked onside, which was recovered by Adolfo Davila. Jacob Martin ripped off 22 yards on a run, but from there the Gilroy defense stiffened, and the Browns finally got on the board as their halfback broke a 76-yard TD run. But Hollister responded with another impressive 76-yard scoring drive to demoralize their foes. Raine started by romping 30 yards into Gilroy territory. Decker then hit Nate Garza with a pass for first down yardage, and Mark Neal administered the coup-de-grace, overrunning Gilroy defenders for 22 yards into the end zone. Castro added the conversion run to give Hollister a 20-6 lead.
Junior Midget Gilroy Browns 16
Hollister Vikings 6
Hollister suffered its only defeat of the day as a tenacious Gilroy defense moved up to close down the Vikings running game. Speedy Andre Cornell got outside for a 56-yard TD run early in the game, but that was all the points that Hollister would score as Gilroy moved up to contain the outside run. The Hollister lead held until the second half as the Vikings defense played well against the run. Jordan Ashford, Josh Villegas, Matt Martinez and Sal Ornelas stuffed the Browns on running plays. They didn’t prove quite as adept against the pass however, and Gilroy took advantage of that weakness to score twice in third quarter.
The Tiny Mite Vikings also played a game, their opponent was East San Jose because Gilroy does not have a Tiny Mite team. The defense came up big for Hollister as Shane Dominguez-Ledesma recovered two fumbles, and Colby Noble and Teddy Nicolette made several tackles behind the line of scrimmage. Daniel Hopkins had a 50 yard run to the end zone on the team’s first play from scrimmage, a feat Kyle Cameron would pull off three different times in the game.
The Vikings go on the road next weekend. The Midgets play a Saturday evening game in Pacifica, all the other teams play on Sunday. Most teams will be at Menlo Park, except for the Junior Pee Wees, who play at Los Banos.
