Hollister's Junior Midgets took first place at the Peninsula Invitational cheer competition at Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View on Saturday. The Vikings' 20 cheerleaders have over 105 years combined cheer experience, and most of them have competed at the national level. This year, the team has its sights set on a national championship, which would be a first for Hollister cheerleading.
The Viking Junior Pee Wees mounted a second-half comeback for their first league win as Hollister's competitive teams swept Sunnyvale on Saturday.
The Vikings defense, which has played spectacularly all year, was true to form on Saturday as Tommy Ford, Andrew Huaracha, Clay Schwall, Austin Cascio and Matthew Rabago made big tackles that kept the Sunnyvale offense in check throughout the first half. But just before halftime, the Sunnyvale Knights got a touchdown pass to take a 6-0 lead.
After Jose Rodriguez, Ezzie Lovato and Shraee Harrison made big plays to force Sunnyvale three-and-out on their first second-half possession, Hollister began their longest offensive drive of the season, which took most of the third quarter. Nick Trimble and Isaias Perez began the momentum with solid runs, but a penalty gave the Vikings third-and-20. Halfback RJ Clark took the option and passed 20 yards to Daniel Hopkins on the Sunnyvale 28. Clark ripped off a 13-yard run for a first down on the next play, but the Knights defense stiffened and forced a loss. The halfback Clark took another direct snap and threw a bomb into the end zone that was hauled in by Justin Sanders for a touchdown and the game was tied.
A huge sack by Rodriguez forced another Sunnyvale punt, and Hollister got the ball at midfield. The Knights forced third-and-long again, and the Vikings decided to repeat their direct snap to halfback Clark. This time he found nobody open, but ran for 35 yards instead to put Hollister on the Sunnyvale 20. Once again the Knights defense pushed the Vikings backwards and on fourth-and-15, Clark found Cascio with a short pass, who then ran the ball into the end zone for the winning score.
Trailing 12-6 with four minutes remaining, Sunnyvale had a chance to come back but big plays by Clark, Lovato, Rabago and Angel Martin preserved the Junior Pee Wees first league win.
Junior Midget
Hollister Vikings 20
Sunnyvale Micro Rockets 0
The Hollister Viking Junior Midgets continued their winning ways Saturday with their fourth consecutive shutout. The offense controlled the ball with the running game, rushing for 116 yards. The defense proved stalwart once again, giving up neither first downs nor points to an erratic Sunnyvale offense.
In the first half, the Vikings defense came up big, stuffing the Sunnyvale quarterback on fourth-and-two, and giving the offense good field position as it began its scoring drive from the Sunnyvale 45-yard line. On a critical third-and-nine play, quarterback Austin Wahl completed a 13-yard pass to wide receiver Bryson Hill for the first down. Wingback Angel Pasillas had his longest run of the day, taking the ball 18 yards down to the 11-yard line. A five-yard penalty for jumping offsides by the Micro Rockets put the ball on the 6-yard line. Fullback Zack Hicks took the handoff to the 2-yard line, and another fullback, Damien Botelho, punched it in the end zone on the next play, putting Hollister up 6-0.
As the Micro Rockets tried to come back, the Viking defense went into action with Botelho, now at defensive end, putting enormous pressure on the Micro Rockets' quarterback, and Benjy DeVries coming up with a sack to end the first half.
A big play in the second half came when the Micro Rockets punted the ball from deep in their own territory. The ball carried past midfield, but there was a penalty on the play and the Vikings had Sunnyvale re-punt the ball. This time, however, the punt was blocked by Damon Perez, who fell on it in the end zone for the second Viking score to make it a 12-0 game.
The defense continued to dominate the line of scrimmage, with linebackers Hicks, Perez, and Lionel Munguia, and defensive end Botelho all having big tackles for losses.
The final scoring drive of the game began with a 28-yard punt return by Hicks to the Sunnyvale 35-yard line. Taking advantage of the good field position once again, halfback Cody Cameron ran a 12-yard sweep to the right, followed by Pasillas' three-yard sweep to the left. And on his second carry of the game, Botelho had a 20-yard run off-tackle for his second touchdown of the afternoon. Pasillas converted the two-point kick, putting the final score at 20-0.
"It's always tough coming off of a big win [against East Bay last weekend], but our guys played hard and didn't let down," said offensive coordinator Rick Dukes. "We were able to use several running backs in the game, and by running the ball well, we controlled the clock and kept the Sunnyvale offense off the field."
The Vikings' rushing yards were compiled by eight different players. Pasillas was the Vikings' leading rusher, racking up 39 yards on six carries, with Cameron gaining 37 yards on five carries, and wingback Steven Morales carrying the ball five times for 20 yards. Botelho's two touchdowns came on just two carries for 27 yards.
"We played well and we'll enjoy this win today," said head coach Eddie Tobia. "Our defense is getting the job done every down, and our offense is moving the ball. Now we've got to start getting ready for Redwood City next weekend, and they'll be tough."
Pee Wees
Hollister Vikings 25
Sunnyvale Black Knights 0
The Hollister Viking Pee Wees earned their fourth win in five games with a 25-0 shutout of the host Sunnyvale Black Knights on Saturday.
Hollister recovered its own onside kick to start the game and Tyler Fhurong promptly hit Josh George for a 40-yard completion to set up a scoring opportunity. After running back Chris Cook got the ball to the two-yard line, fullback Dylan Yamasaki pounded it in to the end zone to put the Vikings up 6-0.
Hollister's defense forced Sunnyvale into a three-and-out series and went on the march again. Brandon Olivares gained 19 yards on three runs, quarterback Andrew Breen had a completion, and Cook ran for 22 yards on one dash before scoring on third-and-10 from the 15-yard line to put the Vikings up 12-0.
In the second quarter, Cook blocked a punt, which was recovered by Kenny Lee. Hollister later lost a fumble, but its defense remained stout, as a Sunnyvale fake punt on fourth down was stuffed by Jordan Goldstein and Josh George, giving the ball back to the Vikings.
Cook and quarterback Tyler Fhurong got yardage on Hollister's next drive and a Yamasaki five-yard run brought the ball to the 10-yard line. Cook ran the ball closer to the end zone before Greg Steinbeck took the handoff and scored Hollister's third touchdown of the half with just under two minutes left to put the Vikings up 18-0.
When Sunnyvale got the ball back, Goldstein had a tackle for a loss and combined with Cook on another tackle for negative yardage to set up third-and-long. Enrique Rodriguez stopped the Black Knights' runner for no gain and Lee ended the half with a blindsided sack of the Sunnyvale quarterback to end the half.
In the second half, Cook returned the kickoff 47 yards to put the ball in Sunnyvale territory. Wyatt Naccarato and Olivares had runs before Hollister turned the ball over on downs.
After Cody Freitas stuffed a run for a loss of five, Cook jumped a receiver's route and returned an interception 33 yards for a Hollister touchdown. Yamasaki ran in the one-point conversion to give the Vikings a 25-point margin.
Hollister forced a punt on the ensuing drive and was held in check on offense. But the Vikings responded on defense when Olivares recovered a Sunnyvale fumble to get the ball back.
Hollister returned the favor on its next possession, and then the defense went to work again, as Olivares stopped a fake punt as the third quarter ended.
In the fourth quarter, Steinbeck had six carries for 35 yards on a long Hollister drive, and then Dustin Borba gained 10 yards on two carries as the Vikings played their ball control game to preserve the shutout.
Mitey Mite Purple
Sunnyvale Jets 18
Hollister Vikings 6
The Jets secured Sunnyvale's only win of the day, prevailing over the Viking Mitey Mites. The Viking defense played a solid game, forcing several turnovers, but the Jets had the ball most of the game and finally found a way to score in the second half to pull the game out.
Hollister's "gold offense" recorded its first touchdown this season when Darius Parks caught a 45-yard touchdown pass from Nico Lopez, which tied the game just before halftime.
Mitey Mite Gold
Hollister Vikings 12
Salinas Cardinals 6
Hollister's Mitey Mite Gold team got its first win of the season in Salinas, where they were the only Hollister team not playing in Sunnyvale.
The Vikings got the offense rolling early, scoring first with an impressive eight-play opening drive led by their quarterback Antonio Caro and running backs Jacob Ryder and Dylan Oliveras. The opening drive featured the two backs running up the middle and to the outside.
The Viking defense was equally up to the challenge. Led by defensive standouts Adrian Alvarez, Travis Roy and Zackery Serrano, the defensive lineman plugged up the running holes inside and left Salinas no choice but to try and run outside. Salinas finally scored at the end of the second quarter to tie the game.
It was a defensive battle in the third quarter, as the Cardinals went back and forth with the Vikings, led by Ryder, Caro, Mathew Griffith, Roy and Alvarez. Along the way, the Vikings held Salinas on fourth down three times. Then with 2:38 left in the game with the score still tied 6-6, the Vikings took over at midfield.
On Hollister's second play, Ryder's number was called. He ran off-tackle for an apparent game-winning touchdown, which was called back for holding. With under two minutes remaining, quarterback Caro stepped up to the line and ran left for a keeper, and at the very last second with a defender on his back, handed off to Ryder, who bolted around the right end with three players to beat. He left all of them in the dust as he dashed 60 yards to the end zone for the touchdown that gave the Vikings a 12-6 lead.
Salinas had one last opportunity with 1:32 left in the game. They ran the ball right but defensive tackle Travis Roy and defensive end Jacob Ryder were there instantly for a 10-yard loss. Then on the very next play they went to the other side where they were dropped for another 5-yard loss by defensive end Caro and cornerback Griffith. On third and fourth down, Salinas passed two times, which were broken up by Tanner Wiggins and Marcus Guevara to seal the victory.
Hollister teams return home this Saturday, October 11, to take on Redwood City. Games begin at 9:45 a.m.
Tom Vivian Got a question or a comment? Send us an email.
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Best in the bus business, again
