Viking Pop Warner football report for Nov. 6-7 weekend Viking Pop Warner football report for Nov. 6-7 weekend (November 10, 2004)

By Jim Gallagher
Viking Boosters

Viking Purple and Gold is still waving in the supercharged Pop Warner football environment this week, but Menlo-Atherton is down to its final team in the Peninsula Conference playoffs.

The Viking Pee Wees (10-11 year olds) advanced to the final round with a come-from-behind 19-18 win over the Morgan Hill Raiders Sunday at Woodside High. The Junior Midgets (12-13s), most graduates of last year's Northwest Regional Pee Wee Champions, lost a second-round contest 24-7 to Morgan Hill.

In Saturday's Mitey Mite "Superb Bowl" matchups in Sunnyvale, the Viking Purple scored a thrilling 8-6 victory over the East Bay War Eagles from Oakland. In the companion game, the Viking Gold dropped an 18-12 decision to the Redwood City Junior 49ers.

Junior Midgets

Trailing only 8-7 in the third quarter, the Vikings fell victim to a Morgan Hill triple reverse that broke the game open from 25 yards out. The Raiders scored a clinching touchdown with less than two minutes to play for the 24-7 margin. For the Vikings, Bryan Carter took an 8-yard scoring pass from Ryan Sakowski in the second quarter, and a Sakowski pass to Anthony Andrighetto notched the extra point. Morgan Hill yielded grudging yardage to Andrighetto and running mate Rod Nash throughout the game, while Andrighetto made a couple of saving tackles to keep the Vikings close for three quarters.

Pee Wees

A 97-yard fourth quarter pass-and-run from Josiah Paye to Marquise Tolson erased an 18-12 fourth quarter deficit for the Vikings, and Tolson caught Paye's conversion pass for the winning margin. Menlo-Atherton enjoyed an early 12-0 lead on touchdown passes from Paye to Chris Gaertner and Tolson, but two Raider scores knotted the contest 12-12 at halftime. Morgan Hill went ahead 18-12 before Tolson streaked the length of the field with Paye's third scoring pass. Outstanding defense from Siitia Falepouono, Brandon Gibson, Ian Ritchey and Jack Brody sealed the Viking win.

Mitey Mite Purple

"Refuse to Lose" is a compelling mantra for many successful teams, but the Viking Purple went a bit further in Saturday's "Superb Bowl" against East Bay's War Eagles. They refused to tie. Knotted 6-6 as time was running out, the Vikings scored a winning safety for an 8-6 victory as Khalil (Lil) James slowed an East Bay runner behind the goal line and Bradley Knox made the clinching tackle. The Vikings erased a 6-0 deficit in the fourth quarter when East Bay scuffed a punt from the end zone and Isiah Nash returned the ball five yards for a touchdown. The Purple gained field position late in the game on tough inside running from James, Ryan Gaertner and Landon Baty against a fierce War Eagle defense.

Mitey Mite Gold

While the Vikings dropped an 18-12 decision to the Junior 49ers, Menlo-Atherton's Kesean Johnson had the fans buzzing when he stripped the ball from a Redwood City runner and returned it 20 yards. The Golden gridders capped a successful year with some outstanding defensive play from Royce Branning, Andre Guzman, Scott McKenzie and Weston Izzi. Many of the Golds who had never played organized football before now consider themselves seasoned veterans ready to move into the Junior Pee Wee ranks in 2005.

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