The Hollister Vikings hit the coast last weekend to take on the
Santa Cruz Pop Warner teams.
n By Kitina Martin
Special to the Free Lance
The Hollister Vikings hit the coast last weekend to take on the Santa Cruz Pop Warner teams.
While the Tiny Mites battled hard, both the Mitey Mites and the Junior Pee Wees triumphed over the Seals and the Sea Lions, respectively.
This weekend, Hollister will play in their final home game of the season against the Delta Bay Buccaneers.
Game summaries for the Pee Wees, the Junior Midgets and the Midgets will be published in Thursday’s edition of the Free Lance.
Tiny Mites
Hollister Vikings vs. Santa Cruz Sea Dragons
The Hollister Viking Tiny Mites continue to show up week after week to play Viking football. These boys are training for their future.
The Vikings had another strong game, but this time against the Santa Cruz Sea Dragons at Santa Cruz High. The game location was changed on Friday night at 9pm, but that did not stop the Vikings. Antonio Caro, Andrew Flores and Kane Dealba had an awesome first half. Also playing hard was Jadyn Castro, Ethan Mendoza (one of the smallest kids on the team) and Nik Thomas. The first half seemed to last forever as there were a lot of injuries.
The Vikings also came out fighting hard in the second half. Caro, Elias Mullen, Matthew Trimble, Dealba and Markie Martinez defensively shut down the Sea Dragons. Gabriel Hernandez saved a touchdown by the Sea Dragons by tackling a Santa Cruz ball carrier. The Viking Tiny Mites might be small, but they are definitely exciting to watch.
Mitey Mites
Hollister Vikings 18, Santa Cruz Seals 0
The Mighty Mites were on top of their game Saturday as they shutout the Santa Cruz Seals 18-0.
As the Vikings faced off against the Seals it became apparent that this game was going to be about defense. Clay Schwall and Dominic Barrios led in tackles during the game’s first half with strong support coming from Tristan Wahl, Nathan Fhurong and Colby Noble. While Santa Cruz made some solid gains, the Vikings held tight forcing the Seals to come up short.
While the Seals also held Hollister scoreless for the first half, the offense continued to move the ball well. Both quarterbacks, Nick Trimble and Fhurong, played solid against the Seals. They set up carries by Andres Soto, Danny Perez and Barrios, as well as made positive gains of their own. It wasn’t until the second half, however, that the Hollister offense really opened up the game.
Following the half, Hollister came back to the field fired up. Following runs by Perez, Barrios and Justin Sanders, Daniel Hopkins took the quarterback keeper in for the first touchdown of the game, putting Hollister ahead 6-0. On the next offensive opportunity, Sanders was once again involved, carryingthe ball 25 yards into the end zone and extended the Viking lead to 12-0.
Throughout the game, the defense continued to be relentless. Tanner Okerson, DJ Amendt, Dyllan Greig, Josh Martin, Cobi Armstrong and Austin Baker stopped the Seals in their tracks. With support from Ethan Enz and Kyle Cameron, the Vikings wore their opponents down and held them scoreless. Also stepping in to assist the Vikings in their victory was Matthew Melville, Bobby Vivian, Jay Martinez, Nick Perez and Dawson Garcia.
As the fourth quarter opened up, Hopkins once again was looking to widen the Viking lead. Following a long pass completion to Kyle Cameron, Cameron ran the distance and scored the final touchdown of the game.
Junior Pee Wees
Hollister Vikings 34, Santa Cruz Sea Lions 6
Onward and upward. That is where the Junior Pee Wee Vikings are headed. This team fills the Hollister sidelines full of diehard Viking fans. There are 35 football players on this team, and all 35 have their eyes set on the National Championships.
The game started this week with an onside kick by the Santa Cruz Sea Lions, which proved to be a fatal mistake. The Vikings picked up the ball and ran it into the end zone for the first touchdown of the game. Cody Freitas kicked the ball through the uprights for another two points, giving Hollister an 8-0 lead within the first two minutes of the game.
The Sea Lions were wandering aimlessly on the field trying to figure out what just happened. The defense came onto the field and was determined to shut out the Sea Lions. Joshua George, Chris Cook, Enrique Rodriguez and Freitas were animals and shut down the Sea Lion’s first drive.
The Vikings got the ball back after a turnover and Isaiah Caudillo, Cook and Bryan Noble ran the ball, setting up another Viking touchdown. George ran the ball into the end zone, and after the kick was good, the Vikings were on top 16-0 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Kyle George ran into the end zone for another Vikings score, putting the Vikings ahead 22-6. Russell Enz, Johnny Corral, Ezzie Lovato, Manuel Zuniga and Saige Freitas all stepped up and contributed to the game. Caudillo almost intercepted a Sea Lion pass, and Joshua George blocked the Sea Lion’s next attempt at a pass. The Vikings went into halftime leading the Sea Lions by 16.
The second half proved to be just as strong as the first one. Although the Vikings gave up a touchdown to the Sea Lions, the Vikings scored two more times. After the kickoff by the Sea Lions, Cook ran the ball, and because of a block by Kenneth Perry, was able to continue running into the end zone to put the Vikings up 28-6. Phillip Castro, Noble and Enz all continued to step up on defense and tackle the ball carriers for the Sea Lions to shut them down and prevent more points from being put on the scoreboard. In the fourth quarter, Joshua George ran into the end zone to put the final points on the board, as the Vikings came out on top of the Sea Lions with a score of 34-6.
