Junior pee wees shut out Tri-Cities depite key injuries
Compiled by Tom Vivian
Hollister Vikings junior pee wee head coach Gino Andrade felt
more like he was running a hospital ward than a football team this
past week.
Halfback Dimarco DelCurto went down with an injury last week
against Tri-Cities, and tight end Christopher Pritchett suffered a
sprained neck in practice this week.
Junior pee wees shut out Tri-Cities depite key injuries
Compiled by Tom Vivian
Hollister Vikings junior pee wee head coach Gino Andrade felt more like he was running a hospital ward than a football team this past week.
Halfback Dimarco DelCurto went down with an injury last week against Tri-Cities, and tight end Christopher Pritchett suffered a sprained neck in practice this week.
Despite the loss of those two players as well as some others, the junior pee wees found a partisan home crowd to be the best medicine, and shut out a powerful Alameda team by the score of 12-0 to post their fourth home win in as many games.
The first half was scoreless as both teams played rock-solid defense, and neither team could move the ball very well. But the Vikings didn’t wait long to take the lead in the second half, scoring on the first play from scrimmage on a 60-yard run by Ishmael Medina, who stepped into the halfback position admirably in the wake of DelCurto’s injury.
Hollister’s defense sprang into action to preserve the momentum as Matthew Delatorre recovered a fumble, giving Hollister a short field. Alameda’s defense hung tough and forced a turnover on downs, but Medina pounced on another fumble to get the ball back for the Vikings again on the Wolverines 25.
Andres Soto then broke a 10-yard run for a Viking first down, but the drive stalled on the 10-yard line.
Michael Zaragoza later made a big tackle to stop the Wolverines, and this time the Vikings scored the insurance touchdown on a short drive, capped by Soto’s 5-yard run.
Gino Andrade spoke of his entire defense glowingly after their shutout performance against a team that has racked up big scores against many opponents. In addition to the defensive line, which has done a good job week after week, Andrade praised the work of linebackers Marcus Guevara, Jonathan Gonzalez and Zaragoza, who plugged holes all day long to contain the Alameda running game.
Alameda won two games with its passing attack earlier this year, but defensive backs Darius Parks, Matthew Trimble, Soto and Medina took the pass away from the Wolverines. Special teams also helped to key the victory as Soto kicked onsides twice, and his kicks were recovered by Delatorre and Peter Felice.
The junior pee wees need to win against Santa Clara on Saturday to complete an unbeaten season at home, which has not happened since the team won nationals in 2007.
Pee Wee
Hollister Vikings 26, Alameda Wolverines 20
The pee wee Vikings needed a big win over the Alameda Wolverines to keep their playoff hopes alive, and they managed to do just that by beating the Wolverines 26-20 at home on Saturday.
Finally putting it all together on both offense and defense, the Vikings drew first blood with a huge 57-yard pass play from quarterback Daniel Hopkins to receiver Xavier Alvarez on third-and-long. The snap on the point-after attempt went astray, and the Vikings led 6-0.
On Alameda’s first possession of the game, the Viking defense seemed poised to keep the Wolverines on their own side of the field when they had a big play, breaking off a 53-yard touchdown run. A failed point-after kept the game tied at 6-6, though.
The Vikings took over on their own 38-yard line and, led by running back Shraee Harrison, who had 52 yards on four carries, scored on the last play of the quarter when Harrison ran the ball into the end zone from 10 yards out.
The point-after kick went wide, and the Vikings went up 12-6.
During the second quarter, the Vikings held the Wolverines at midfield, getting the ball on downs. Alameda’s defense, though, seemed to make some adjustments and the Viking ball carriers managed small gains as they marched down the field.
Dylan Olivares and Harrison combined for 31 yards on seven carries until a fumble on fourth down gave the ball back to Alameda. On the next play, the Wolverines’ running back eluded defenders and raced 72 yards for a touchdown. The kick for Alameda was good, and the Vikings found themselves down 14-12 with less than a minute left in the first half.
But Harrison wasted no time getting down the field, going 65 yards on the kickoff return and setting the Vikings up with first-and-goal on the 5-yard line and 12 seconds remaining. Harrison then ran 4 yards on first down, and Hopkins did a quarterback sneak for the final yard to punch it in for a touchdown. The point-after kick went wide left, but the Vikings were back on top at halftime, 18-14.
The Wolverines got the ball first in the second half, but Nick Trimble and Dylan Olivares came up big on defense, stopping the Wolverines on fourth down. The Hollister offense turned the ball over on downs, but when Alameda took possession, it took just one big play whereby the Alameda running back, under pressure from David San Miguel, pitched the ball to his teammate who ran for a touchdown. A blocked kick put the Wolverines up by two, 20-18.
The Vikings and Wolverines traded possessions, but when the Vikings took over on downs again, they were determined to regain the lead. A 30-yard run by Trimble was negated by a penalty, but later a pass interference call gave the Vikings a first-and-10 on the Alameda 24-yard line. For the second time of the game, Hopkins completed a pass to Alvarez for the touchdown, and this time the point-after attempt was good, with Jacob Zamora’s kick going through the uprights and giving the Vikings back the lead, 26-20.
The Wolverines attempted to answer in the fourth quarter, but the Viking defense responded by stepping up their game and making big tackles in the backfield. Olivares, San Miguel, Tanner Okerson and Dante Tomasini all had tackles for loss, and Harrison came up with a touchdown-saving tackle as well. With time running out for the Wolverines, an attempted Hail Mary pass was intercepted by Hopkins. With one tick left in the game, the Vikings assumed the “victory formation,” with Hopkins taking a knee to give the Vikings the win.
The Vikings host Santa Clara on Saturday for their last home game of the season.
Junior Midgets
Hollister Vikings 36, Alameda Wolverines 13
The junior midgets completed Hollister’s sweep of Alameda’s three competitive teams with a 36-13 thrashing of a previously undefeated Wolverines team.
Up until a week ago, the Vikings were winless, but their record now stands at 2-4 and they have a shot at the playoffs after beating two powerful teams in a row.
Hollister’s defense has been formidable all season, but their offense was non-existent through the first four games as they only scored once. The offense burst out of its slump last Saturday, spanking the Tri-Cities Titans with 34 points, and this week they proved that it was no fluke as they put up 36 points against Alameda.
The Vikings scored often, but not early. The Viking defense asserted itself at the start of the game as Jackson Starke, Dominic Barrios and Andrew Huaracha all made big tackles to stop the Wolverines, and a short punt gave the Vikings the ball on the Alameda 37.
But the Wolverines’ defense came up big as well, and forced a Hollister punt with Alameda taking over on their own 3. The Wolverines got out of the hole quickly with a big pass play that might have gone for a touchdown if not for an open-field tackle by Kyle George. A sack by Huaracha stopped that drive cold, and once they got the ball back, the Vikings offense wasted no time finding their rhythm.
