One Hollister Pop Warner Youth Football team is left standing
after two rounds of playoff action.
One Hollister Pop Warner Youth Football team is left standing after two rounds of playoff action.
The Junior Pee Wee Vikings advanced to Sunday’s league championship game with a 13-6 thriller over the West Bay Rams last Sunday at Townsend Field in Santa Clara.
The Pee Wee Vikings didn’t fare as well as they dropped a 12-0 contest to East Bay of Oakland, also at Townsend Field last Sunday.
The Jr. Pee Wee Vikings, buoyed by their hearty defense, demonstrated once again their incredible depth of talent. It seemed that half the players on the team turned in a big play at one time or another.
Justin Williams contributed the first big play for Hollister when he immediately tackled the Rams return man on a punt, stopping the runner in his tracks.
The first huge break, though, came from speedster Andre Cornell, who broke loose on an 80-yard run from scrimmage midway through the second quarter. That put the ball at the West Bay 3-yard line. The West Bay defense was stubborn, however, and pushed the Vikings back two yards on the first three downs.
On a fourth-and-five, Trevor Fabing hit Chris Greenwood with a perfect strike for a TD. Fabing then bootlegged one over for the conversion and it was 7-0 Vikes.
The Vikings clung to a 7-6 lead at the half.
West Bay’s defense stiffened once more as the Vikings struggled offensively. That was until fullback Taylor Green dragged several Rams along on three consecutive runs up the middle, giving Hollister two first downs. Armando Lerma then cut loose on a 25-yard power burst, breaking no less than seven tackles before finally being dragged down at the Rams 1-yard line. Lerma took it over for the last Vikes TD of the morning.
Nick Acosta made the final tackle in the backfield to stop the Rams on fourth down and assure Hollister the victory.
Besides Acosta, other defensive heroes were Ryan Shorey, who contributed several key tackles and broke up many Rams’ passing attempts. Matt Martinez had a big game as well, stuffing many Ram ballcarriers from his defensive line position.
The Jr. Pee Wees square off for the league title Sunday vs. East Bay of Oakland. The game is set for Westmont High School in San Jose at 7:30 a.m.
The Pee Wees played their game in a steady rain and it was quite evident from the outset that it would be difficult to generate much offense on the rain-soaked field. East Bay turned the ball over three times early in the contest, but the Vikes were unable to capitalize.
Austin Schmidt broke off a 24-yard run for the local 11, but that was it for the corps of Vikings backs as far as big runs. The Vikes defense played fairly well, but East Bay used its pounding, straight-ahead running game to record two touchdowns.
