Pop Warner Football Pee Wees (sixth- and seventh-graders) from the Menlo-Atherton Vikings advanced to this weekend’s Bay Area playoff finals with a convincing 22-0 win over the Gilroy Browns on November 3.
The Vikings Midgets (eighth- and ninth-graders), however, dropped a season-ending 26-10 decision to the Tri-Cities Titans of Newark.
Below are the details of the Nov. 3 contests, held at the new Morgan Hill Sports Complex.
Pee Wees
Three long-distance scoring strikes, combined with a swarming, smothering defense, spelled victory for the Vikings against a potent Gilroy team.
Khalil (Lil) James ran 58 and 45 yards for M-A touchdowns, and Landon Baty scored on a 40-yard run to clinch the win.
Talaisi Teu kicked a pair of two-point conversions. Defenders Joseph Mahoni, Sefita Tatuaa, Colton Wisecarver, Will King and Campbell Roellig stifled the Gilroy offense.
The Vikings play Delta Bay at 3 p.m. Sunday at Yerba Buena High School in San Jose for the right to challenge Redwood Empire’s champions on the road to the Pop Warner Nationals in Florida.
Midgets
Josiah Paye’s scoring strike to Edward Norton staked the Vikings to an 8-6 halftime lead against Tri-Cities, but the Titans unleashed their stable of swift and muscular running backs to overwhelm the locals in the second half.
Coaching plaudits went to Joe Vea and David Mapa for continued consistent play, and Ben Hadrovic was commended for effective blocking.
— Report by Jim Gallagher, Vikings Boosters
