Pee Wees finished 3rd, Junior Midgets 4th in Pacific
Northwest
SANTA CLARA
Both of the Hollister teams that were runner-up in the Peninsula League played in invitational games on Sunday in Santa Clara, games that essentially decided third place in the Pacific Northwest Region.
A rundown on the days contests:
Pee Wee
Hollister Vikings 28
San Francisco Junior 49ers 12
The Hollister Viking Pee Wees finished their season on a winning note, defeating the San Francisco Junior 49ers 28-12. Hollister, the Division I runner-up, earned its ninth win in 11 games this season in typically dominant fashion – by building an early lead and letting its defense do the rest.
The Vikings’ first drive ended with an interception, but the Hollister defense didn’t allow the Niners to get on the scoreboard as Bryan Noble and Tyler Fhurong had tackles early. Greg Steinbeck broke up a first-down pass and Chris Cook made a tackle after a long first-down run as San Francisco built up some early momentum.
That quickly changed, however, as Dylan Yamasaki had a sack, Josh George had a tackle for a six-yard loss, Cody Freitas stopped a runner for a loss of four, and Jordan Goldstein and Brandon Olivares combined on a sack to force a turnover on downs.
Taking over on the Niners’ 47, Cook broke off a 10-yard run, then three plays later Fhurong hit Freitas on a 26-yard touchdown pass. Olivares’ two-point conversion kick put Hollister up 8-0.
George recovered the ensuing onside kick, but Hollister turned the ball over on downs. More Viking defenders got in on the action in San Francisco’s subsequent drive, as Tyler Biersdorff and Philip Castro had tackles in a drive that was stopped when Noble pressured the quarterback into an incompletion on fourth down.
Castro’s four-yard run started the Vikings’ next drive, which included a 25-yard Fhurong-to-George completion ahead of a six-yard quarterback keeper touchdown by Fhurong to make it 14-0 Hollister.
Later in the second quarter, Freitas completed a 49-yard halfback option pass to Mavrick Enz to the 1, where Cook ran the ball in. Olivares made another conversion kick to build the lead to 22-0 at the half.
In the third quarter, Biersdorff had an interception on the Niners’ first drive, and after San Francisco returned the favor by picking off another attempted halfback option, Fhurong got the ball back again for Hollister with an interception at the San Francisco 20.
Hollister wasted no time as Fhurong hit Wyatt Naccarato on a 20-yard touchdown pass to put the Vikings up 28-0. San Francisco added two late scores, including a long scoring reception as time expired, but Hollister completed a successful first season of Division 1 ball with the 28-12 win.
Junior Midget
Vacaville Bengals 32
Hollister Vikings 0
The runner-up teams in last week’s league championship matches faced off in a bowl game in Santa Clara. The Bengals of Vacaville definitely came to play; the Vikings did not.
There were a few Viking highlights in this rout. Angel Pasillas had three interceptions and Austin Wahl had one interception in the game. The two also connected many times on offense, as quarterback Wahl found wingback/receiver Pasillas for several long gains.
The Vikings’ best chance of getting back into the game after being down 12-0 at half was on the first drive of the second half, when Wahl hit Pasillas over the middle, taking the ball down deep into Bengal territory. However, after a screen pass to fullback Zack Hicks netted a first down inside the 10-yard line, the Vikings’ offense stalled and turned the ball over on downs.
“Our running game was non-existent,” offensive coordinator Rick Dukes said. “Our players were just done – there was no energy plus we had no real preparation for the game.”
Head coach Eddie Tobia echoed this sentiment, telling his players, “Well, you all had a fun time at practice this week, but you found out that when practice is fun, you lose on game day.”
“It’s not how we wanted to end the season,” Tobia said, “but we feel our season really ended last week in the championship game.”
Assistant coach Dave Padilla urged the players to get past the loss and focus their attention elsewhere.
“It’s time to start focusing on grades and taking care of things at school so you can all come back next season – be it here in Pop Warner or at the high school level.”
The Hollister Vikings certainly have a lot to look forward to next season after sending two teams deep into the postseason in their first year of Division I play.
The Vikings offered early registration this season, and about 200 Hollister boys and girls are already signed up to do football or cheerleading next year. Registration will open again early in 2009, probably in mid- to late-January. Those who are interested can find more information on the Hollister Pop Warner Web site is: http://www.eteamz.com/HollisterPopWarner/
For the Hollister cheerleaders, the season continues as all three Hollister competitive teams won league championships and are performing Friday at Leavy Center in Santa Clara for a regional title, which will also earn them a trip to Florida’s Walt Disney World to compete for a national title.
The cheer performances begin at 10 a.m.
