The Hollister Viking Junior Pee Wees are one game closer to
advancing to the Pop Warner Super Bowl in Orlando, Fla. On Sunday,
they defended their title victoriously and remained the Peninsula
Pop Warner Champions by defeating the Gilroy Browns 32-6 at Yerba
Buena High School in San Jose.
Kitina Martin – Special to the Free Lance
San Jose
The Hollister Viking Junior Pee Wees are one game closer to advancing to the Pop Warner Super Bowl in Orlando, Fla. On Sunday, they defended their title victoriously and remained the Peninsula Pop Warner Champions by defeating the Gilroy Browns 32-6 at Yerba Buena High School in San Jose.
With the win, the Vikings advance to the Pacific Northwest Regional Championships, which includes Pop Warner teams from Northern California, Oregon, Nevada, Washington and Alaska.
The Vikings will open the regional playoffs Sunday against the Redwood Empire Vacaville Bengals at 10 a.m., at Townsend Field in Santa Clara.
Last Sunday, with an early 8:14 a.m., start, the Vikings kicked off to a hopeful Browns team after Hollister won the toss. The Browns began their quest for the end zone and the first points of the game from their own 38-yard line, but with a bad snap and tackles in the backfield by Dustin Borba, Chris Cook and Phillip Castro, the Browns soon faced a fourth down situation with 12 yards to go.
The Browns decided to go for it to make a statement to the Vikings, though, but it was unfortunate for the Browns that did not work in their favor. Tommy Ford slowed down the ball carrier and Kenneth Perry and Cody Freitas finished him off to force a turnover on downs, giving Hollister the ball with great field position.
With Tyler Fhurong in control, the Hollister quarterback handed the ball to Cook who ran four yards, then to Bryan Noble who ran another four yards. On third-and-two, Cook got the call and ran the ball 32 yards for the end zone to put the Vikings up 6-0 early in the first quarter.
Once again the Browns tried to move the football down the field. However, the Hollister defense was not going to allow it. Fhurong had a touchdown-saving tackle to dampen the spirits of the Browns, while Matthew Rabago, Perry and Cook all had great tackles. On third-and-five, the Browns fumbled the ball but were able to recover, bringing up fourth down.
The Browns decided to try their luck and go for it, but Cook, Perry and Ezzie Lovato would not have any of it and forced the Browns to turn over the ball on downs once again.
Fhurong and the offense stepped on the field, and he Browns’ defense was able to tackle Fhurong in the backfield for a loss of four yards. Hollister, though, shook it off and did not waste any time.
On fourth-and-short, Josh George ran the ball 33 yards, leaving Gilroy defenders at his feet. On the next play, Cook ran eight yards for the end zone with one second left in the first quarter, putting Hollister up 12-0.
The Hollister defense continued to play outstanding throughout the game. Rabago, Cook, Fhurong and George all had great tackles to frustrate the Browns; Freitas came out of nowhere to lay out a Gilroy ball carrier; George was able to break up the passing game of the Browns; and Fhurong was able to read the Gilroy offense and prevent several breakaway runs. Fhurong also walked away with an interception before the halftime.
The Viking offense took the field once again before the end of the first half, and it was dooms day for the Browns. Fhurong completed a pass to George for a 25-yard gain, and Isaias Perez ran the ball for another eight yards. Fhurong, out of the shotgun, passed the ball to Freitas to give the Vikings another first down.
The Viking offense was unstoppable. Fhurong jumped out of the way of a Browns’ defender and was able to complete a 40-yard pass to a jumping Josh George, who ran to the end zone to put an additional eight points on the scoreboard after the kick was good.
The Browns were able to put six points on the board after Gilroy’s Brandon Boyd returned a kickoff to the end zone. Freitas was able to block the kick, however, and denied the Browns any extra points. At halftime, the Vikings led 20-6.
The second half proved to be just as successful for the Vikings. In the first offensive play of the third quarter, Cook ran 50 yards for the end zone, cutting in and out of Gilroy defenders.
The Browns went four-and-out and then turned the ball over on downs. Defensive plays were made by Lovato, Freitas, Perry and Borba to put the Viking offense on the field once again.
The Vikings were unable to capitalize on the turnover on downs offensively, and the defense took the field once again. Russell Enz, Perry, Lovato, Ford, Borba, Enrique Rodriguez, Fhurong, George, Austin Cascio, Freitas and Castro were exciting for the fans to watch, and could be counted on to bring the offense back onto the field. With less than a minute to go in the third quarter, George put another six points on the board for Hollister, increasing the Vikings lead to 26 points.
The fourth quarter was scoreless, however, Isaiah Caudillo, Angel Martin, Perez and George all ran the ball for the Vikings. Also contributing to the success of the Vikings were Manuel Zuniga, Evan Weatherly, Andrew Huaracha and Buddy Barrientos.
The Vikings turned the ball over on downs and almost gave up a touchdown toward the end of the fourth quarter, but George ran for almost 60 yards after the Browns’ ball carrier and dove at his feet, causing him to trip and fall just short of the end zone. Rodriguez, Borba and George would deny the Browns the end zone.
Hollister took over on offense, and Fhurong took a knee to end the game 32-6.
