Four of Hollister’s competitive teams invaded Santa Cruz on
Saturday, and three came away victorious, two with convincing
wins.
SANTA CRUZ
Four of Hollister’s competitive teams invaded Santa Cruz on Saturday, and three came away victorious, two with convincing wins.
A rundown of Saturday’s action:
Midget
Hollister Vikings 28, Santa Cruz Stingrays 6
The opportunistic Hollister Viking midgets made a statement on Saturday night, capitalizing on several Santa Cruz miscues and forced takeovers to rout the defending Division III champions on its own home turf.
The Vikings got on the board first when Zack Hicks broke free on a run and rumbled 60 yards for the Vikings’ first score. A few minutes later the Vikings went three-and-out and punted the ball, but the Stingrays fumbled it and Eastyn Urbina was there to pounce on the loose football for the Vikings.
Moments later, Hicks broke another long run to the end zone, and John Canes’ two-point kick put Hollister up 14-0.
Just before halftime, Damien Botelho mounted a strong pass rush, sacking the Stingrays’ passer and recovering the fumble. Quarterback Tyler Tobia then completed a long pass to Hicks, but he was tackled short of the goal line as time expired in the first half.
The Vikings continued their dominance in the second half as Canes made a beautiful fingertip catch on a pass by Tobia to give Hollister a first down deep in Santa Cruz territory. The offensive line of Jose Perez, Austin Tobia, Luis Aceves, Victor Sivellano and Urbina opened up big holes for the running backs, and Steven Morales exploited one of those gaps for a 20-yard gain to the outside for a first down at the Stingrays’ 12.
The Vikings then went back to the air, and Canes hauled in another pass from Tobia for a first-and-goal at the 1-yard line. Botelho scooted in for another score, and Canes’ second two-point kick gave Hollister an insurmountable 22-0 lead with 4:29 left in the third quarter.
Hollister’s defense made its final points of the game when Santa Cruz finally drove the ball deep into Hollister territory, but Cody McGrew blindsided the Stingrays; quarterback to force a fumble. Bryson Hill picked it up and raced 83 yards to paydirt.
Hollister’s defense was spectacular throughout the game, with key tackles by Botelho, Aceves, McGrew, Morales and Austin Tobia, in addition to the turnover plays.
Hollister faces perhaps its biggest challenge of the year next week, playing a West Valley midget team that trounced them last year as junior midgets en route to a league and regional championship.
The game is at Saratoga High School on Sunday evening at 5:15 p.m.
Junior Pee Wee (Purple)
Hollister Vikings 32, Santa Cruz Sea Lions 14
The Vikings scored 19 points in the first nine minutes of the game to build a commanding lead that it never relinquished en route to a 32-14 victory over the Santa Cruz Sea Lions.
An incredible block by Michael Barrientos sprung Jacob Ryder on a 40-yard touchdown run the first time the Vikings had the ball, and an extra-point run by fullback Shraee Harrison made the score 7-0 Hollister.
A different offensive unit came in the next time the Vikings had the ball, but the result was the same; quarterback Dimarco DelCurto scored on a 30-yard scramble behind the blocking of his “Purple-7” offensive line, including Jacob Zamora, Clay Schwall, Tanner Okerson, Efrain Ameszcua, Conner Stephens and Johnny Cardinalli.
Travis Roy then made several good tackles to spearhead Hollister’s defensive effort, and the Vikings got the ball back.
Moments later, Harrison burst a 58-yard scoring run to put Hollister up by 19. Sensing that the game was a mismatch, coach Gino Andrade decided to have some fun by giving his players a chance to try out some new positions. Most players got to run the ball at least once and play defense for a part of the game.
Santa Cruz scored to make the score 19-7, but halfback Kyle Cameron put the Vikings back up by 19 with a 22-yard run early in the third quarter, and the Vikings defense continued to come up with big plays no matter who played.
Jacob Zamora forced a fumble with a big hit that was recovered by Elijah Changco. In the fourth quarter, safety Nathan Fhurong intercepted a Sea Lion pass and scored the Vikings’ final points on a long return for a touchdown.
Fhurong intercepted one more pass just before the game ended.
Junior Midget
Santa Cruz Seahawks 14, Hollister Vikings 0
In a bruising physical battle, the Hollister Vikings defense played an inspiring game but came up on the short end of a 14-0 score against another outstanding defensive team, the Santa Cruz Seahawks.
During the first half, it appeared that the game might end in a scoreless tie as neither team could move the ball with much consistency. Jordan Goldstein turned in several outstanding defensive plays for the Vikings, and Yamin Castillo made a touchdown-saving tackle on a punt return.
Nevertheless, the return gave Santa Cruz the ball in Hollister territory, but the Vikings smothered the drive as Nene Estrada made a big tackle on fourth down to get the ball back for Hollister.
However, the Seahawks’ defense rose to the occasion, pushing Hollister in reverse and taking the ball back deep in Vikings territory. The Vikings defense tried valiantly to hold them off a second time, but on fourth down, the Seahawks’ halfback broke outside and scored the first points of the game.
Gage Bry and Kenny Lee managed to break through and block the kick, keeping the score 6-0 at halftime, but Santa Cruz continued to smother the Hollister offense with a stellar defensive effort. The Seahawks added one more insurance touchdown late in the game to hand the junior midget Vikings its first defeat of the season.
Pee Wee
Hollister Vikings 12, Santa Cruz Sharks 0
The Hollister Viking pee wees are now 2-0 in seasonal play as it shutout the Santa Cruz Sharks 12-0 on Saturday, and first-quarter play was dominated by the Viking offense.
Carries by Austin Cascio, Kyle George, Esmond Lovato and a pass completion from Daniel Hopkins to Adrian Valdez seemed to ensure the Vikings an early lead. Unfortunately, the Shark defense held strong and Hollister was denied at the goal.
It was not until the second quarter when the Vikings made it on to the scoreboard. Following two successful carries by Isaiah Perez, Danny Perez crossed the goal line with a quarterback keeper and Hollister took the lead 6-0.
Not to be outdone, the Viking defense remained strong throughout the game, and ensured that the Sharks spent the majority of the game in its own backfield. Great defensive plays were spearheaded by Austin Ryder, Philip Castro, Steven Gatto, Hopkins and Andrew Huaracha.
As the Vikings entered the final quarter of play, the team was focused on extending its lead. Following an interception by Matthew Rabago on the 10-yard line, the Vikings were in excellent field position. On their first possession, Austin Cascio carried the ball into the end zone and Hollister never looked back.
Mighty Mite (Purple)
Santa Cruz Seals 32, Hollister Vikings 12
The Santa Cruz Seals’ powerful offense made Hollister its third consecutive victim on Saturday by a 32-12 margin, but the Vikings managed to match the number of touchdowns that had been scored on the Seals in its two previous games.
Jack Breger made a long run to paydirt early in the contest that actually gave Hollister a short-lived 6-0 lead, and Joseph Loredo recovered a fumble. The Vikings rallied again late in the game on a 32-yard run by quarterback Ryan Miller.
Junior Pee Wee (Gold)
West Bay Rams 21, Hollister Vikings 0
With five key players out, the Vikings were out-manned by the hard-running West Bay Rams in a game played in Half Moon Bay on Sunday afternoon.
Hollister turned in several good defensive plays by Tristan Wahl, Michael Zaragoza, Hunter Nye, Joey Demaggio and Tanner Wiggins to keep the game close for a while, and prevent a rout.
In one other contest in Berkeley on Saturday evening, the West Bay Rams defeated the Hollister mighty mite gold team 18-0.
Hollister continues its road trip this weekend with five of the eight teams playing on Sunday at Saratoga High School. The tiny mites will play on Saturday in Sunnyvale; the mighty mite gold team plays at Cambrian Valley in San Jose; and the junior pee wee gold Vikings travel to Newark on Saturday.
