Pop Warner football: Viking report for October 17 games Pop Warner football: Viking report for October 17 games (October 20, 2004)

Smarting from a sub-par performance the previous week, Menlo-Atherton Viking Junior Midgets put on a clinic Sunday, routing the Almaden Chargers 31-6 with a devastating ground attack. The Viking Junior Pee Wees dumped Almaden 14-6, but the Pee Wee squad dropped a 34-6 verdict to the undefeated Chargers. In non-scoring Mitey Mite play, the Viking Purple dominated the Bay Cities Bulldogs, while the Viking Gold staged a strong second-half comeback against the Almaden Chargers.

Sunday's games marked the last regular-season home stand for the Vikings, who take to the road next weekend before playoff competition begins.

Mitey Mite Gold

After a rough first half, the Vikings righted the ship on touchdowns from Andre Guzman on a quarterback draw, and a Keesean Johnson breakaway. The Viking coaching staff was disappointed in the sluggish start by the home team, but heartened by the strong showing in the second half.

Mitey Mite Purple

While their offense was not as crisp as the coaching staff would like, the Vikings applied their customary defensive clamps to the Bulldogs, with strong performances by the James boys, Khalil and Zhi'ir; Alex and Dominic Andrighetto, Ryan Gaertner, Jack Chilton and Landon Baty. Ryan Roberts, Lil James and Campbell Roellig all ran for touchdowns before Peter (Soccer Boy) Bouret capped the Viking scoring with an explosive 48-yard scamper on the last play of the game.

Junior Pee Wees

Max Culhane and Travis McHugh ran for Viking touchdowns, and conversion points came from McHugh and Keenan Gates as the Vikings held off a good Almaden Charger team. Coach Bill Barrett was particularly impressed with the M-A defense, featuring standout performances by Dylan Kappelar, Scott Zimmerman, Hale Tussing and Sean Barrett. Effective blocking from Michael Fraser and Nolan Fallon kept the Viking ground game on track.

Pee Wees

Josiah Paye passed to Marquise Tolson for a 40-yard gain, and hit Bo Sakowski for a 9-yard touchdown as the Vikings took a 6-0 lead over the undefeated Almaden Chargers. But that was the highlight for the home team, as Almaden stormed back for 34 unanswered points. While the Vikings were outgunned by the powerful San Jose squad, Jack Brodie and Ian Ritchey turned in commendable two-way performances.

Junior Midgets

Anthony Andrighetto ran for four touchdowns, and Rod Nash scored on a 10-yard pass from Turner Baty, as the Vikings splashed through the rain in a powerful offensive display after a couple of lackluster recent performances. Nash and Andrighetto shredded the Charger defense behind devastating blocking from Justin Artim, Joe Vea, Kevin Phiengsai and Tyrone Love. The Vikings built a 31-point lead, and pitched a shutout against the dangerous Charger offense until the final seconds. --Jim Gallagher, Viking Boosters

E-mail a friend a link to this story.