Pop Warner football: Viking report Pop Warner football: Viking report (September 29, 2004)

A spectacular winning streak came to an end for the Menlo-Atherton Viking Junior Midgets in Pop Warner football action Sunday, as they dropped a 22-19 heartbreaker to the West Valley Falcons at Saratoga High School.

In other games, the Viking Junior Pee Wees shut out West Valley 12-0, while the Falcons edged the Viking Pee Wees 21-20. In Mitey Mite play, the Viking Gold played a close non-scoring game with Coyote Creek, and the Purple continued their dominant season by running all over West Valley.

On Septemnber 19, the Viking Junior Midgets scored a huge victory, topping the powerful Oak Grove Renegades 18-8 at the M-A field. Both Viking Mitey Mite teams dominated non-scoring contests with the Morgan Hill Raiders, but the Viking Junior Pee Wees fell 20-6 to Morgan Hill and the local Pee Wees were on the short end of an 18-6 score to their Morgan Hill counterparts.

September 26 action

Mitey Mite Gold. The aerial game was featured Sunday, as Andre Guzman pitched long passes to Aaron Davis, Royce Branning and Weston Izzi. Keesean Johnson and Stephen Chu ran for touchdowns, and the coaching staff was impressed with solid linebacking turned in by Izzi, Scott MacKenzie, and Jaime Carranza. On the front line, Taualupe Tau stepped up with a dominating game.

Mitey Mite Purple. Khalil (Lil) James scored two touchdowns, set up another score by Ryan Gaertner, and recovered key fumbles during the Viking runaway. Gaertner returned a punt 40 yards for a touchdown, and Landon Baty sprinted 47 yards for a score. Dominic Andrighetto recovered a fumble and also plowed for a three-yard touchdown. The Vikings racked up a safety in their scoring barrage, and Peter (Soccer Boy) Bouret and Isiah Nash got loose for lengthy runs. Bryan Rodgers led a smothering defense that limited West Valley to a single first down.

Junior Pee Wees. Travis McHugh set the tone with a 50-yard interception return and touchdown as the Vikings shut out West Valley. Patrick Bruni tallied the other score on a 45-yard bootleg. Christian Perkins and Scott Zimmerman were defensive standouts as the Vikings stopped Falcon drives on their 15 and 10 yard lines. On offense, Dylan Keppelar and Sean Barrett contributed some crisp blocking. Hale Tussing knocked loose two fumbles, and recovered both of them.

Pee Wees. The Vikings enjoyed leads of 13-8 and 20-14 before a touchdown off a tipped pass in the fourth quarter gave West Valley a 1-point victory. Viking touchdowns came from Marquise Tolson (70-yard kickoff return); Bo Sakowski (10-yard dive); and Chris Gaertner (38-yard off-tackle burst). DeVon Campbell and Sakowski starred on defense for the Vikes before West Valley notched a freak touchdown and scored its winning conversion on a pass off a fake kick. Daniel Mohr and Kevin Ferrari blocked effectively for the Vikings in the center of the line.

Junior Midgets. Brian Carter got the Vikings off to a great start with a 50-yard touchdown on an interception return. After West Valley went ahead 8-7, Anthony Andrighetto took a flat pass from Turner Baty 20 yards for a score, and Johnny McDowell ran an interception in for a touchdown and a 19-8 Viking halftime lead. A third-quarter touchdown and second two-point conversion brought the Falcons to 16-19, and the home team scored the winning touchdown in the final minutes of the game. Andrighetto and Ryan Sakowski picked off interceptions to slow the West Valley aerial circus, but the Vikings tasted defeat for the first time this season.

Sept. 19 action

Roundup. Menlo-Atherton Viking Pop Warner Junior Midgets scored one of the biggest victories in program history a week ago Sunday, topping the powerful Oak Grove Renegades 18-8 at the M-A field. Both Viking Mitey Mite teams dominated non-scoring contests with the Morgan Hill Raiders, but the Viking Junior Pee Wees fell 20-6 to Morgan Hill, and the local Pee Wees were on the short end of an 18-6 score to their Morgan Hill counterparts.

Mitey Mite Gold. Keesean Johnson enjoyed the best day of a super season, scoring four touchdowns to lead a Viking scoring explosion. Andre Guzman, Scott MacKenzie and Stephen Chu also tallied for the Gold, who held Morgan Hill to a single touchdown. Defensive leadership from Daniel Ojeda, Andrew Kemp-Dahlberg and Royce Branning proved decisive, as the Vikings continued the hard-nosed tackling that has been a trademark all season.

Mitey Mite Purple. Ryan Gaertner used some superb blocking from Viking front-liners to race for three scores, while Khalil (Lil) James rolled 31 yards for another touchdown. Peter (Soccer Boy) Bouret ran effectively and recovered two fumbles, while Adam Yecies and Jack Chilton excelled in both blocking and tackling. Parker Schultz, normally a lineman, turned in some punishing runs toward the end of the contest. Gaertner scampered 35 yards late in the game with a deft screen pass from quarterback Landon Baty.

Junior Pee Wees. Keenan Gates ripped off a 60-yard scoring run on the first play from scrimmage, but it was all downhill for the Vikings after that. A pesky Morgan Hill defense frustrated the locals throughout the game, and they were unable to capitalize on subsequent scoring opportunities.

Pee Wees. The Vikings fell behind 18-0 in the fourth quarter before Josiah Paye found the passing range and fellow quarterback Wes Hagman provided an effective running change of pace. Paye connected with Michael Culhane on 38 and 14-yard bombs before unleashing a 17-yard scoring pass to Marquise Tolson with two minutes remaining. A Paye to Fred Kober pass for 20 yards took the Vikes deep into Morgan Hill territory as the game ended.

Junior Pee Wees. Powerful Oak Grove, a longtime Pop Warner Division I contender, provided a major challenge for the unbeaten Vikings. Anthony Andrighetto sparked the winning effort with an early pass interception, leading to a scoring sneak by Ryan Sakowski. Frankie O'Hare scored on an eight-yard run, and Andrighetto tallied a second-half touchdown behind a crushing block by Chris Barrett. Rod Nash, Bryan Carter and Pale (Junior T) Tavasa came up with consistent defensive plays against the swift and hard-hitting Renegade runners.

Report by Jim Gallagher of the Viking Boosters

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