Three Vikings teams defeat foes from Morgan Hill and East Bay;
program boasts record number of teams this season, with five
competitive teams and three instructional-level teams
HOLLISTER
The Hollister Vikings opened its season on Sunday at Andy Hardin Stadium with eight teams, a record number for the program that includes five competitive teams and three instructional-level teams – the Mighty Mites and Tiny Mites.
Three Hollister teams won, three others lost, and there was one tie. But one thing was consistent in all of the games except for the Midgets: The defenses are far ahead of the offenses at this point in the season, and it produced some low-scoring contests. During the first four competitive games played, fans only saw a total of five touchdowns.
A rundown of Sunday’s action:
Junior Midget
Hollister Vikings 6, Morgan Hill Raiders 0
The Vikings figured to make quick work of the Raiders when it moved quickly downfield on several good sweeps by halfback Christopher Cook, who scored on a 3-yard run less than five minutes into the contest. But it would be the only points of the game as the Raiders defense rebounded to shut down the outside running lanes, and prevent any further scores.
The Vikings threatened again on its next possession after a good punt return by Cook, but the Raiders intercepted the ball to end that threat.
The Vikings defense proved to be even more dominant, though, completely smothering the Morgan Hill offense, which never threatened to score in the game and could manage only a few first downs.
Jordan Goldstein and John Lehr consistently turned in great plays, including a sack of the Raiders punter. Brandon Olivares and Joshua George also made many key plays behind the line of scrimmage to keep the Raiders moving in reverse, and Goldstein recovered a fumble to end the Raiders final drive of the game.
Pee Wee
Hollister Vikings 0, Morgan Hill Raiders 0
The Viking Pee Wees played to a scoreless tie on Sunday, as neither team was able to mount much offense.
The Vikings surprised Morgan Hill with an onside kick to start the game, and it was recovered by Aaron Tobia for Hollister. But that proved to be one of the offensive highlights of the game, along with Esmond Lovato’s run for a first down on a broken punt play.
The only other offensive highlight came on defense, when Morgan Hill mounted its only threat late in the third quarter after sacking the Viking punter on the 5-yard line. The Raiders tried to pass the ball into the end zone, but Tyler Biersdorff intercepted the attempt and ran 57 yards with the pick, almost breaking it for an end-zone-to-end-zone return. The Vikings could not capitalize on the break, however.
The Vikings defense did its part by holding the Raiders completely in check. Andrew Huaracha made several big tackles to stop Morgan Hill drives early in the contest, and Steven Gatto blocked a Morgan Hill punt late in the game. Gatto and Austin Ryder also contributed several tackles to the defensive effort.
Junior Pee Wee (Purple)
Hollister Vikings 13, Morgan Hill Raiders 7
The Vikings defense kept Morgan Hill in full retreat all day long en route to victory for the Viking warriors.
The tone was set in the first quarter when the Vikings forced losses on successive plays, backing the Raiders up inside its own 10-yard line. A vicious backfield hit by Kyle Cameron forced a fumble, which was recovered by Travis Roy at the Morgan Hill 3. Moments later, Johnny Corral swept into the end zone, and ran the same play back in for the extra point.
The way the Vikings defense was playing it looked like seven points might be enough to win the game, but a momentary lapse by the Hollister defense allowed the Raiders to move downfield and score midway through the second quarter.
The Vikings regained the lead at the start of the second half when Cameron blazed 60 yards to paydirt with the kickoff, and the Hollister defense took complete control of the game in the second half. Cameron recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, and Jacob Zamora and Clay Schwall broke into the backfield to force a loss on a critical fourth-and-one play on Morgan Hill’s next possession.
The Vikings defense took up permanent residence in the Raiders backfield in the fourth quarter as Elijah Changco, Nathan Fhurong, Matthew Griffith and Tanner Okerson forced sacks and big backfield losses each time Morgan Hill touched the ball.
Junior Pee Wee (Gold)
Hollister Vikings 6, East Bay Wranglers 0
Hollister’s defense dominated the game from the start, Tristan Wahl and Hunter Nye made several good tackles, and Josh Jennings recovered a fumble in the first quarter en route to a shutout victory.
East Bay matched Hollister’s defensive efforts, but several good punts off the foot of Nye put the Wranglers deep in Viking territory. Inspired play on the defensive line by Joey Demaggio and Ishmael Medina insured that the Wranglers would not keep the ball long.
Sensing that the game rested on its shoulders, the defense became more aggressive in the second half. Medina saved a touchdown with an open-field tackle on a breakaway run, and Nye recovered two fumbles. None of those heroics could get the Vikings on the scoreboard, however.
But late in the third quarter, Nye sacked the punter on the Morgan Hill 6, and Hollister finally had the break it needed. On the next play, Nye charged into the end zone for the game’s only points. The Wranglers finally mounted a drive late in the contest, but the threat ended abruptly when Nye forced a fumble that was scooped up by Eric Loredo to clinch the game for Hollister.
Midget
Morgan Hill Raiders 32, Hollister Vikings 18
The Morgan Hill Raiders used three interception returns for touchdowns to defeat a Viking team that was otherwise strong on both sides of the ball.
The first quarter was scoreless as Austin Tobia, Tyler Tobia and Zack Hicks made big tackles behind the line of scrimmage. Cody McGrew also registered two quarterback sacks, and Damien Botelho contributed one.
The Raiders scored twice in the second quarter, once on a breakaway run, and once on the first of three interception returns to take a 14-0 lead into halftime.
The Vikings started the second half on the right foot as Steven Morales had a great kickoff return to midfield, then Zack Hicks bolted 53 yards to the end zone on Hollister’s first play from scrimmage to get the Vikings on the board. But Morgan Hill broke a long run of its own after getting the ball, and the score was 20-6 Raiders.
A Viking drive culminated in a touchdown run by Morales late in the third quarter to make the score 20-12. But trailing late in the game, Hollister decided to put the ball in the air and Morgan Hill pilfered two more passes, returning both for touchdowns to put the game out of reach.
The Vikings returned to the ground, and drove again with good runs by Hicks, Morales and Botelho. Hicks scored on a 10-yard run to make the final score 32-18.
Mighty Mite
Both Mighty Mite teams were defeated in the first weekend of play. The Tiny Mites also played. Isaiah Saldana made several good runs, and Anthony Sanchez made several big tackles for the team.
