Vikings football teams from Menlo-Atherton scored convincing Pop Warner wins over host Sunnyvale forces on Saturday, October 14. Following is a summary of the results.
Mitey Mites: Anthony Gabb took a fumble recovery 30 yards to score as the pint-sized Vikings dumped Sunnyvale 24-18. Malcolm Gates continued his offensive fireworks with two touchdowns, and Aaron Katzman added another tally. Adam Greenlow stepped in with a smooth quarterback performance behind offensive linemen Robert Wang, Matt Odell, John Guiragossian and Panos Anagnostou. Defenders Nick Becker and Will Ritchie made critical plays to preserve the victory.
Junior PeeWees: Slowed by a succession of penalty calls that negated three touchdowns, the Vikings nonetheless prevailed over a scrappy Sunnyvale team, 8-0. Khalil (Lil) James ran across for a Menlo-Atherton score that counted, and Domenic Andrighetto kicked the valuable two-point conversion. Landon Baty, who had two touchdowns nullified by penalties, responded with an inspired all-around game. A chilling Viking defense, consistent all season, was led by Ryan Blocker, Stephen Chu, Jaime Carranza and Isiah Nash.
PeeWees: Quarterback Marcus Prioste enjoyed a big day during a 24-7 Vikings victory, tossing touchdown passes to Sean Barrett and Alex Lopez, and intercepting a Sunnyvale pass. Barrett also struck on a 60-yard scoring run up the middle, while Talaisi (T) Teu scampered 40 yards to paydirt. Marcus Franklin, Michael Falepouono, George Anagnostou, and brothers Anthony and Mark Fuller played conspicuous roles in a swarming Vikings defense.
Midgets: A fourth-quarter lead was not quite enough for the Vikings, who succumbed 34-20 to a furious rally by the Santa Clara Rockets. Josiah Paye added to his impressive season total with two scoring passes to B.J. Prema, and Tavasa Pale ripped off a 45-yard touchdown run. Santa Clara’s relentless ground game, however, caught up with the M-A visitors in the final period.
