After two frustrating games, the Hollister Vikings returned to
formSaturday night, winning 24-6 against perennial rival Morgan
Hill at Andy Hardin Stadium.
After two frustrating games, the Hollister Vikings returned to formSaturday night, winning 24-6 against perennial rival Morgan Hill at Andy Hardin Stadium.
The Midget Vikings established control from the start. They scored a touchdown on their first drive after runs by Anthony Flores, David Jacquez and Anthony Padilla.
Jacquez scored on a two-yard run, and Ricky Canes kicked the first of three two-point conversions to give Hollister an 8-0 lead.
The defense was just as dominant. Nose guard Adrian Perez helped shut down Morgan Hill’s running game.
Midway through the second quarter, Hollister got the ball back in Morgan Hill territory after the Viking defense backed the Raiders up.
This time, Hollister attacked through the air. Quarterback Michael Ballesteros hit Jacquez for a long gain.
Flores and Jacquez pounded the ball forward from there, and Flores scored on a 7-yard run to put Hollister up 16-0.
Defensively, Hollister continued to keep its guests far from the end zone as Padilla intercepted a pass to end Morgan Hill’s next possession.
With time running out in the half, Ballesteros completed a pass to Derek Palermo, but the half ended before the Vikings could score again.
Hollister continued to dominate in the second half as Flores returned the kickoff 35 yards. Shortly after, Canes recovered a fumble deep in Raider territory.
A good run by Padilla carried the ball to the goal line, and Flores blasted into the end zone on the next play. Flores also added an interception to his list of accomplishments.
Hoping to avoid a shutout, the Raiders went to the vertical game, completing a 50-yard bomb.
Ethell Catherill tackled the Raider receiver short of the goal line. For three plays, the Hollister defense held Morgan Hill as Robby Sanchez and Eric Sanders made touchdown-saving tackles.
On fourth down, the Raiders snuck over the goal line with fifty-three seconds to play.
Coach Jerry Wood instructed his team to work on developing a passing attack. The result was a 28-yard completion from Ballesteros to Padilla.
The Midget Vikings now face their toughest challenge – a road match against the defending league champion Santa Clara Lions at Santa Clara next Sunday.
Jr. Pee Wee
Hollister Vikings 7, Sunnyvale Knights 0
The Junior Pee Wee Vikings lowered defeated a tough Sunnyvale for its first league win.
Hollister’s swarming defense never let up throughout the game, making big plays all day long.
Defensive end Nathan Castro broke through to force a big loss on the Knights’ first series.
On the next Sunnyvale possession, the Knights faced a third-and-long, but their halfback got a full head of steam for what appeared to be a first down run. Safety Adolfo Davila stopped him short of the marker to end the drive.
The Hollister defense forced another quick punt a short time later as cornerback Chris Greenwood made the first of several big open-field tackles to stop the Sunnyvale outside running game.
The teams traded punts, but finally Sunnyvale muffed a punt, and Davila again was in the right place at the right time as he pounced on it 20 yards downfield to get the ball back for the Vikings.
The Vikings won the battle for field position. Davila and Alex Neal made good gains on two consecutive sweeps to give the Vikings a first down at the Knights 15.
Two plays later, Mark Neal took a handoff up the middle and bounced off tacklers to score from 10 yards out for the game’s only score.
The Vikings added a one-point conversion as quarterback Gregory Vasquez passed to Dustin Rovella, and the Vikings led 7-0.
Hollister’s defense quickly got the ball back as linebackers Kenny Salcedo, Dan Buzzetta and Mikey Soto all turned in good plays.
The Vikings offense got the ball with little time remaining.
Though they were not able to score, they found new ways to move the ball as quarterback Tanner Lomanto completed his first two passes, one to Austin Blake for a 10-yard gain and the second to Ryan DiSalvo for eight yards.
Mark Neal sparked the Vikings second half with a 20-yard kick return, and the passing game continued to develop as Vasquez also connected with DiSalvo and Blake twice including a 25-yard pass play late in the game.
Pee Wee
Hollister Vikings 27, East Bay Wolfpack 0
In a rematch of the Pee Wee’s first league contest, Hollister shut out the Wolfpack for the second time this year.
Hollister recovered six Wolfpack fumbles during the game.
Lineman Matt Martinez set the tone for the game by recovering a loose ball on the first Wolfpack possession.
Viking quarterback Joshua Greenwood hit Jared Lantis for an 8-yard completion on their first play.
That drive eventually stalled, but the Viking defense kept pushing East Bay back, and finally on fourth down, Cooper Sepulveda broke through to get to the punter, giving the Vikings the ball on the East Bay 15-yard line.
The Vikings scored their first touchdown two plays later as Trevor Fabing ran seven yards to put the Vikings up 6-0.
Andre Cornell recovered an onside kick for Hollister. The 50-yard drive ended with a score when Fabing found tight end Isaak Ramos open in the end zone.
Sepulveda added the two-point kick to give Hollister a 14-0 advantage.
Defensively, Martinez blocked and then recovered a punt. On East Bay’s next two drives, the Viking defense forced fumbles which were recovered by C.J. Bedolla and Adrian Soto.
After Soto’s recovery in East Bay territory, Tyler Decker broke through the East Bay line for a 20-yard touchdown run to put the Vikings up 21-0 at halftime.
Hollister began the second half where it left off. Estevan Rodriguez, Ramos and Cornell recovered fumbles. Backs David Aguirre and Michael Brautovich made some good gains to eat up the clock.
Greenwood scored the team’s touchdown on a 20-yard end run, and Fabing got the game’s only interception late in the contest.
Junior Midget
Morgan Hill Raiders 32, Hollister Vikings 16
Hollister dropped its third game in a row, but the Junior Midget Vikings showcased an improved passing attack.
In the first half, the Raiders moved the ball well against a Hollister team that had allowed just two scores in its first two contests.
Trailing 22-0 as the second half began, Michael Murphy recovered a Raider fumble in Morgan Hill territory.
Ryan Shorey fired a 20-yard pass to Justin Williams to give the Vikings a first-and-goal, and Armando Lerma ran the ball in from the 4-yard-line a couple plays later.
With the Vikings back on defense, Lerma recovered a fumble. Shorey completed another long pass to Mitchell Cook deep in Raider territory. However an interception moments later killed that drive.
Luis Bradley and Cook made a big stop on third down to pin the Raiders back near their goal line.
After a short punt, Shorey ran 15 yards into the end zone, and Murphy added the two-point kick to close the gap to eight points, 22-14.
On the next possesion, the Raider halfback had a long run all the way to the 1-yard line.
But Hollister’s defense put up a goal-line stand, denying the Raiders a score as Cook, Bradley and Bryan Garza made big tackles to take the ball. The Raiders pinned the Viking runner in the end zone on the next play for a safety.
After Hollister kicked away, the Raiders scored again to take a 32-14 lead.
The Vikings continued to pass. Shorey hit Brandon Pina on a 25-yard pass play. Later Shorey he hit tight end Josh Villegas to give the Vikings a first and goal on the five. But Morgan Hill put up a goal line stand of their own, and Hollister was denied a score.
The Viking defense got two more points for their team as Ryan Sabbatini and Chris Gonzales sacked the Raider quarterback in the end zone for a safety.
Mighty Mites
The Mighty Mites played their third Oak Grove team on Saturday. And just like the previous two, the Roadrunners got run over by Hollister’s army of running backs.
Eddie Munoz celebrated his birthday in style with two touchdown runs. He also had a fumble recovery and an interception in the game.
Quarterback Tyler Fhurong also crossed the goal line twice on breakaway runs, and Dylan Lomanto and Christopher Cook had big gains all day long.
The Vikings defense made its presence felt as well. Isaac Beltran and Michael Inderbitzen combined to force a safety, and Austin Cascio and Cade Vallejo made several good tackles. Vallejo also recovered a fumble.
The kick return team did the job on both opportunities. Austin Nye made a great 20-yard run down the far sideline, breaking several tackles, and Marcus Darnell had a 10-yard return.
