Pop Warner: Vikings defense rises up to shut out opponents Pop Warner: Vikings defense rises up to shut out opponents (October 12, 2005)

Dominating defense was the order of the day on Sunday, October 9, for Menlo-Atherton Vikings Pop Warner teams, as they shut down a series of foes from throughout the region and moved closer to postseason playoff competition.

Here are the details of the October 9 action:

** Mitey Mites. Throughout the week, Coach Fred Rodgers reminded the Vikings that their only loss last season came from the always tough Mountain View Marauders. His troops responded with a resounding 30-0 victory at St. Francis High. Peter Bouret set the tone with one of many bone-jarring tackles on the opening kickoff and later scored on an interception return and a run from scrimmage. Ryan Roberts added two touchdowns on long runs behind solid blocking. Zh'ir James scored his first Pop Warner touchdown, and the Vikings held Mountain View to negative yardage with a stingy defense led by Isaiah Nash, Marcus Avelar, Stephen Chu, Bryce Rogers, Charlie Roth and Matt Odell.

** Junior Pee Wees. Also at St. Francis, the Vikings struggled to a scoreless tie with a solid Marauder team in a game marked by missed opportunities on both sides. Quarterback Patrick Bruni kept Mountain View on its heels with darting rollouts, and the Vikings answered every Marauder threat with stifling defense keyed by Bruni, Jake Britschgi, Landon Baty, Chris Williams and Bryan Rodgers. Charles Washington had some near breakaways from his tailback position, and Ryan Gaertner came close to taking a pass reception all the way.

** Pee Wees. In Felton, the Vikings blanked the San Lorenzo Valley Cougars 28-0 behind sparkling play from Travis McHugh (70-yard touchdown run) and Tommy Cummings (touchdown, interception and fumble recovery). Christian Perkins had a touchdown catch, and a stellar defensive performance was led by Sam Carver, Matthew McNamara, Paul Wescott, Jack Gertridge and Mark Johnson.

** Junior Midgets. The Vikings gave up two touchdowns to the Mountain View Marauders at St. Francis High, but won the game 19-12 with a fourth-quarter stand that stymied the home team on the M-A one yard line. Touchdowns by Brandon Gibson, Josiah Paye and Chris Gaertner sealed the win and a playoff berth for the Vikings, with the victory attributed to relentless defense by the entire M-A roster.

--Report by Jim Gallagher of Vikings Boosters

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