Vikings boast 8 teams, a record number for the Pop Warner
football program
By Tom Vivian
Special to the Pinnacle
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.
Vikings boast 8 teams, a record number for the Pop Warner football program
By Tom Vivian
Special to the Pinnacle
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.
Junior Midget Hollister Vikings 6, MH 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, completely smothering Morgan Hill, 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, MH 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.
Other scores from Sunday included:
Junior Pee Wee (Purple) – Hollister Vikings 13, Morgan Hill Raiders 7; Junior Pee Wee (Gold) – Hollister Vikings 6, East Bay Wranglers 0; Midget – Morgan Hill Raiders 32, Hollister Vikings 18.
Read the full game stories online at: www.freelancenews.com
