Three days after defeating the Orange Park Cyclones of Florida,
the Hollister Vikings took the field one last time this season to
take on the Fairfield Giants of Connecticut for the national
title.
Kitina Martin
Special to the Free Lance
Orlando, Fla.
Three days after defeating the Orange Park Cyclones of Florida, the Hollister Vikings took the field one last time this season to take on the Fairfield Giants of Connecticut for the national title.
And the Hollister fans filled the stadium one more time in hopes of celebrating a victory that some had been waiting a year to experience.
On Friday morning at the Disney Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Fla., both parties were gratified when the Vikings were crowned 2007 Pop Warner Super Bowl Champions with their 18-6 defeat of Fairfield.
The Vikings earned the top spot in the Junior Pee Wee division with Friday’s championship win and last Tuesday’s 14-6 win over Orange Park.
One year removed from their third-place finish in the national championships, the Hollister defense took the field Friday and stopped the Giants’ offense when Cody Freitas and Chris Cook broke through the offensive line, forcing Fairfield to punt the ball.
On the ensuing possession, Vikings quarterback Tyler Fhurong handed the ball off to Cook, who ran 25 yards to the end zone and put Hollister on the board first, 6-0.
The quick score by Hollister put the Giants in a state of complete shock and their coaches were panicking on the sideline. Fairfield’s defense had only allowed six points total the entire season, and had just given up six points in the first quarter of the game.
The second quarter, though, was a defensive battle. Dustin Borba, Austin Cascio, Phillip Castro, Cook, Russell Enz, Fhurong, Freitas, Joshua George, Andrew Huaracha, Matthew Rabago, Kenny Lee and Enrique Rodriguez all worked together to shut down the offense of the Giants.
The Vikings offense did spend some time on the field and Isaiah Caudillo, Isaias Perez, Angel Martin and George ran the ball for yardage for the Vikings. The offensive team made up of Jose Bustillos, Marcus Flores, Saige Freitas, Kyle George, Joseph Horn, Juan Juarez, Donavon Mahler, Brady Robles, Jonathan and James Sanchez, Evan Weatherly, Marc Martindelcampo, Buddy Barrientos, Shraee Harrison and Manuel Zuniga were successful in protecting quarterback Josh George from the Giants’ defense.
The Vikings went into halftime leading 6-0.
The third quarter also proved to be a defensive battle, as Cook and Cody Freitas were able to get through the offensive line to tackle Fairfield’s ball carrier and sack their quarterback for a loss of yards.
Ezzie Lovato and Tommy Ford also played a significant part in the defensive stances for the Vikings. However, the Giants were able to put together an offensive drive that resulted on a pass play which tied the game 6-6 late in the third.
The fourth quarter came and the ball continued to go back and forth, but the Vikings’ offense took the field and was not going to give the ball back to the Giants without putting six points on the board for Hollister.
Cook and Freitas ran the ball to put the Vikings on the Giants’ 25-yard line. With the protection of the offensive line, which included Bryan Noble, Rodriguez, Cascio, Enz, Cook, Cody Freitas, Rabago and Borba, quarterback Fhurong threw a pass to Josh George who ran for the end zone, untouched, putting the Vikings ahead by a score of 12-6.
The Hollister fans were celebrating, but the Giants still had time left to tie the game.
Fairfield decided to call a pass play, and Fhurong, now at the safety position, intercepted the ball and returned it 30 yards to the end zone, putting the last points on the board.
Hollister then ran out the clock, defeating the Giants by a score of 18-6, and earning the title as the 2007 Pop Warner Super Bowl Champions.
