Saturday, Sept. 23, in Santa Cruz was a big occasion for Menlo-Atherton Vikings Pop Warner football teams, as all the M-A squads triumphed over their Surf City competition. Following is a summary of the results.
Tiny Mites: Floyd Gazaway ripped off a 50-yard run, then scored the game’s only touchdown as the Vikings dominated the host Sea Lions in a non-scoring contest. M-A not only shut out the home team, but tallied an insurance safety on a three-way tackle in the end zone by Stavro Papadakis, Cameron Meacham and P.J. Lopez.
Mitey Mites: Menlo-Atherton stifled a helpless Santa Cruz offense en route to an easy 24-0 victory. Keenan Gates broke away for two Vikings touchdowns, and other scores came from Adam Greenlow and Anthony Gabb. Quarterback Cameron Kirkpatrick handled the M-A offense deftly, aided by hard running from David Teu. Charlie Roth and Michael Fekete sliced consistently into the Sea Lion backfield, once hurling Santa Cruz back 47 yards in a single series of downs.
Junior PeeWees: Combining their customary steel curtain defense with a variety of offensive fireworks, the undefeated Vikings polished their spotless record with a 26-0 victory. Jaime Carranza, normally a defensive standout, scored his first touchdown on a short plunge after an electrifying run by Campbell Roellig. Ryan Blocker added another score, while Quarterback Landon Baty tallied on a 40-yard rollout, and threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Khalil (Lil) James. Dominic Andrighetto kicked a two-point conversion. Bobby Roth’s timely interception was a defensive highlight.
PeeWees: Menlo-Atherton had to dig in on defense to preserve a 14-12 victory over a feisty Santa Cruz team. Jake Britschgi led a fourth-down stop on the Vikings’ 20 yard line to frustrate a last-ditch Santa Cruz bid. Talaiasi (T) Teu scored a Vikings touchdown and two critical conversion runs, and Sean Barrett added the other six-pointer. Jack Heneghan, Taualupe Tau and Michael Falepouono were particularly active for the aggressive Menlo-Atherton defense.
Midgets: Menlo-Atherton’s tailback tandem of Charlie Koka and Tavasa Pale rang up more than 200 rushing yards and two touchdowns as the Vikings turned back the host Sea Lions 38-12. Quarterback Josiah Paye tossed a touchdown pass to wideout B.J. Prema, and sure-fingered Brandon Gibson added two scores — one on a pass from Paye, the other on an interception return. M-A defenders limited a dangerous Santa Cruz offense to two scores.
