Hollister’s Junior Pee Wees had something to prove on Saturday.
They had vanquished all but one of the best teams in their league, going unbeaten in the regular season. But there was one team that they had not yet beaten – the Delta Bay Buccaneers, who had lost only once all year, and had allowed only four scores for the entire season.
The Vikings offense put many points on the board all year, but it remained to be seen whether they could move the ball against the Bucs swarming defense.
Hollister answered those questions with a convincing statement on Saturday, and the Junior Pee Wee Vikings are on their way to the Peninsula championship game, having conquered Delta Bay 20-0 with a commanding performance on both sides of the ball.
The game started auspiciously for Hollister as it fumbled on its first play from scrimmage. The defense refused to let Delta Bay get any momentum from the turnover as Dominic Padilla made two good tackles to take the ball back on downs.
The Vikings went three and out on their next two possessions, but the defense was pushing Delta Bay in reverse, winning the field position game, as Padilla and Cody Cameron each contributed backfield tackles.
Hollister’s defense forced the first big break by recovering an overhead punt snap on the Delta Bay 5. Moments later, Mikey Koroluk ran the ball into the end zone for a 6-0 Vikings lead as the first quarter ended.
When the Vikings forced Delta Bay to punt again, the offense took control, driving down field on good runs by Chris Cook, who also caught a pass from Tyler Fhurong. Cook ran seven yards for the TD that put Hollister up 12-0 with four minutes remaining in the half.
Delta Bay tried to throw the ball downfield, but their efforts were futile as Koroluk, Cameron, Joshua George and Angel Pasillas broke up play after play.
Taking the ball for the second half, the Buccaneers offense finally got untracked with two consecutive first downs, but JC Canes threw a wet blanket on their drive by recovering a fumble.
The Bucs finally had the Vikings in their own end and moments later they got a golden opportunity as they intercepted a Viking pass for a first down at the Hollister 12.
The Hollister defense delivered on the ensuing possession as Cameron and Koroluk broke up Delta Bay’s fourth down pass in the end zone to end the threat.
When the Buccaneers got the ball back, they tried to throw it again, and the Viking secondary continued to blanket their receivers. Finally safety Koroluk intercepted a Delta Bay pass and returned it 20 yards to the Delta Bay 45.
The Viking offense fired up again as Fhurong passed to Cody Freitas for a first down, followed by Koroluk’s 23-yard run to paydirt. Koroluk also hit his two-point conversion kick, giving Hollister a 20-0 lead.
The Bucs last-gasp pass was intercepted by Fhurong to end the game.
Hollister now moves on to the league championship game, which will be played on Sunday at noon at Woodside High School. Hollister’s opponent will be Menlo-Atherton, which the Vikings beat 12-0 earlier this year.
