The Hollister Pop Warner teams traveled to Woodside High in
Redwood City on Sunday and showcased solid defense throughout the
games.
The Hollister Pop Warner teams traveled to Woodside High in Redwood City on Sunday and showcased solid defense throughout the games.
Jr. Pee Wee Division
Vikings 19, 49ers 0
Julian Gaytan’s Junior Pee Wees pitched another shutout – their sixth in seven games this year. Ryan Disalvo was a big reason for his team’s success as he plugged up holes all over the field all day long.
Conner Stevens got the defense pumped up with a big tackle to stop the first Redwood City drive. With Redwood City shutting down the run, Hollister was forced to go to the air. Joshua Greenwood hit Ricky Rodriguez twice for completions.
Nathan Castro had some good runs, but the Vikings could not score in the first period. Andre Cornell, on special teams, found a running lane and returned the punt 60 yards for the first score of the game. Adrian Soto added the conversion point on a run, and it was 7-0 Hollister.
That score seemed to open up the Vikings offense just a little. After forcing another Redwood City punt, the Vikings took over and scored again when Cornell dashed 35 yards to paydirt on a sweep. The 49ers offense finally started to move the ball after that score, but their success was short-lived as Dustin Rovella intercepted a pass to give his team the ball back.
The Viking defense took complete control in the second half. Stevens recovered a fumble, and Mikey Soto made an acrobatic effort to intercept a pass. The Vikings added an insurance score on a 12-yard runs by Cornell after Soto’s interception.
Pee Wee Division
Vikings 27, 49ers 0
The Pee Wee Vikings recorded their third consecutive shutout, dominating Redwood City on both sides of the ball from start to finish. The rout started almost immediately after the opening kickoff. Speedy wide receiver Mitchell Cook broke free up the middle on the game’s second play and caught a pass from Trevor Fabing, outracing the Redwood City defense 83 yards to the end zone.
On their next drive, Fabing completed a 20-yard pass to Justin Williams. Adrian Melendez kept the ball moving forward for Hollister with his pounding runs up the middle, scoring on a five-yard off-tackle plunge just before the first quarter ended.
Early in the second period, Fabing tried a quarterback sneak on a fourth down play, and turned it into a 42-yard touchdown run. Michael Murphy added a two-point kick to make the score 20-0.
With the game well under control, coach Larry Murphy decided to give many of his offensive starters the rest of the day off.
Ryan Shorey took over at quarterback for Fabing and played very well, completing a touchdown pass of 24 yards to Holden Renz just before halftime. Shorey bootlegged in for an extra point that put the Vikings up 27-0.
Shorey controlled the offense for most of the second half and kept the away from Redwood City. The defense earned a shutout with solid play. Markus Villanueva got an interception, his first of the season in the third quarter.
Jr. Midget Division
Vikings 20, 49ers 18
The Junior Midget Vikings won the most exciting game of the day, coming from behind to defeat a tough team and remain unbeaten.
Hollister took the early lead when their speedburner, halfback Austin Schmidt, rocketed 40 yards into the end zone. Al Reyes added a two-point kick to make it 8-0 Vikings.
But that was all the points the Vikings would score until the fourth quarter. Redwood City scored eighteen unanswered points after that, capitalizing on mistakes as the normally sure-handed Vikings fumbled five times throughout the first three periods.
But as the fourth quarter began, the Vikings suddenly reverted back to form, and Schmidt punched in another touchdown after a long drive to bring the Vikings back within four at 18-14.
The Vikings got another long drive going on their next possession, and with 4:24 remaining, David DeMateo hit Anthony Padilla with a scoring pass from the five-yard line to give Hollister the lead 20-18.
The pressure was now on the Vikings’ defense to protect the lead, and they came through. After Redwood City got a quick first down, Ryan Wiltse intercepted the 49ers on the Hollister 40 to give the ball back to his team.
But Hollister was forced to punt with less than a minute remaining. Redwood City’s last ditch effort ended in another interception, this one by Bobby Dennehy, and the Junior Midget Vikings had won their fourth straight game.
Midget Division
49ers 12, Cowboys 8
The Midget Cowboys fell to Redwood City 12-8 in a hard-fought defensive contest. Hollister led for much of the game, as their defense smothered the 49ers.
But in the fourth quarter, the 49ers got a big break after recovering a Cowboy fumble on the Hollister 9. Redwood was able to move it that short distance for the winning touchdown.
Mitey Mites Division
The Mitey Mites also took on Redwood City, and dominated their opponent, allowing only one first down in the first half. Marcus Darnell and Jonathan Roach rose to the occasion with several big tackles.
Darnell also recovered a fumble on Redwood City’s first possession. Offensively, the Vikings played well too as Cody Cameron ripped off several good runs before reaching the end zone for Hollister. John Hartshorn and Marcus Sabatte each intercepted passes, and Sabatte returned his 55 yards to paydirt.
Taylor Dukes reached the end zone twice on runs of 42 and 32 yards. In the second half, Mark Ponte and Cameron helped to give the offense more playing time with fumble recoveries.
Late in the game, Sabatte made the most exciting play of the day. Caught in the backfield for what appeared to be a big loss, he somehow eluded his tacklers and ran through virtually the entire Redwood City team for 60 yards to the end zone.
Hollister youth teams play at Andy Hardin Stadium on Saturday for what will be the final home game of the regular season. But Hollister will also host two post-season events, a Mitey-Mite invitational on Saturday Nov. 1st, and conference playoffs on Nov. 8.
