Vikings wrap up regular season Vikings wrap up regular season (October 27, 2004)

Pop Warner teams wearing Menlo-Atherton Viking Purple concluded their regular-season schedules last weekend, and are practicing this week for the Peninsula Conference playoffs.

The Junior Midgets put it all together with a 19-0 win over Sunnyvale, and the Pee Wees notched a 33-7 road victory over Brentwood at Freedom High School in Delta country. The Junior Pee Wees were not so fortunate, succumbing 26-6 to Sunnvayle.

In the non-scoring Mitey Mite category, the Viking Purple dominated a highly-rated Palo Alto team, while the Gold found tough sledding against Sunnyvale on a sloppy field at Peterson Junior High.

Junior Midgets

Rod Nash shocked Sunnyvale early with a 70-yard touchdown gallop, and Sean Thomas added the conversion on a Turner Baty pass. Anthony Andrighetto hit paydirt in the third quarter, and Nash buried the opposition with another scoring dash behind a devastating block from Pale (Junior T) Tavasa. Malek James and Chris Barrett were dominating up front for the winners.

Pee Wees

Marquise Tolson laced up his running shoes in Brentwood, scoring on a 55-yard reverse, on a 65-yard pass from Josiah Paye, and a 60-yard kickoff return. Chris Gaertner and Mike Culhane also registered touchdowns in the Viking cakewalk. Willie DeWitt was defensive player of the game, and Ian Ritchey turned in his usual defensive performance. Coaching plaudits also went to running backs Bo Sakowski and Jack Brody, together with defenders Anthony Tran, Siitia Falepouono and Shane Artim.

Junior Pee Wees

Hale Tussing's touchdown on a reverse was the only ray of sunshine for the Vikings, who found difficulty adjusting to the heavy footing at Peterson Junior High. The locals remain in the running for a playoff berth, however, and are looking forward to an improved performance next weekend.

Mitey Mite Gold

Accustomed to the flawless turf on their practice field at Menlo-Atherton, the Vikings never got comfortable with the sloppy conditions in Sunnyvale. The coaching staff praised Adam Greenlow, however, for solid open-field tackling, and lauded blockers Juhmoni Crain, Taualupe Tau, Nikhi Goyle and Jaime Carranza. Center Michael Falepouono turned in another solid game, and defensive linemen Robert Wang, Anthony Gabb and Chris Blank made some excellent plays.

Mitey Mite Purple

Kahlil (Lil) James stripped the ball from a Palo Alto runner and took it 70 yards for a touchdown to prime a solid Viking effort. James scored two more touchdowns to culminate Viking drives. Although the defense gave up a single touchdown -- only the second score allowed by the Vikings all season -- they blunted the Knights' offensive thrusts through most of the game. Alex Andrighetto, Chris Williams, Taylor Oliver, Adam Yecies and Bryan Rogers drew high-fives from the coaching staff, along with Ryan Blocker and Peter (Soccer Boy) Bouret. Both Mitey Mite teams will be lining up for season-ending Super Bowls in a couple of weeks. -- Report by Jim Gallagher of Viking Boosters

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