Vikings Pop Warner football: Week 4

This report is from Adam Greenlow of Menlo Park, a player on the Junior Midgets Vikings team. He is an eighth-grader at St. Raymond School. This week Adam had help from Karen Greenlow for Sunday’s games, because he was in Yosemite on a school field trip. All players named are with the Vikings.

The Menlo-Atherton Vikings teams of the Pop Warner football league played their fourth games of the season against the Campbell Bears. The only exception was the Midgets, who played the Monterey Jets. All the games were played at Menlo-Atherton High School on scorching hot days, Sept. 25 and 26. Following are the game summaries:

Mitey Mites (8/9 year-olds): The Mitey Mites had a hard first half, but didn’t give up in the second half. The Vikings were down 24-0 at half time, but Justin Sinclair ran in a 65-yard touchdown. Ezra Bazan stopped a ball carrier 8 to10 yards in the backfield. Darian Houston had a big hit at cornerback. Unfortunately, the Vikings couldn’t come back and lost 24-6.

Junior Pee Wees (10/11 year-olds): The Jr. Pee Wees had a great day, despite the heat, with a 27-0 victory against the Bears. Marcelous Chester, Keyshawn Ashford and Jack Ocken all scored touchdowns for the Vikings on running plays. Jack Ocken also made some great defensive plays at free safety. Jalen Brewster played especially well on the defense.

Pee Wees (11/12 year-olds): The Pee Wees had their first win of the season with a total domination of the Bears from start to finish. The defense, led by Isoa Moimoi and Junior Puckett, held the Bears to less than 50 yards. Lavell Gates had a 52-, 68- and 99-yard run, all for touchdowns. Tre’sean Bishop had two interceptions, one of which he ran back for a touchdown. To top it all off, Lea Brown made a tackle in the end zone for a safety. The final score was Vikings 26, Bears 0.

Junior Midgets (12/13 year-olds): The Junior Midgets committed numerous costly errors and couldn’t get their offense rolling. The game was close in the third quarter at 14-6 with Campbell ahead, but the visiting Bears pulled away to a 26-6 victory from a couple interceptions. One notable play was Sam Ferguson’s inception for a 50-yard dash. Sean O’Keefe punched in the Vikings’ only touchdown.

Midgets (13/14 year-olds): The Midgets played a tough opponent and lost 33-8. Andrew Robinson had one of his best games with many rushing and receiving yards. The touchdown was on a pass made by Matt Odell and caught by Nick Stoner, who then kicked the extra point. Corey Stoesser played an excellent game on offense. During the first half the Vikings had many great plays, but penalties kept them out of the end zone. Because of many injuries and tiredness from the heat, the Vikings were not able to stop the Jets in this very hard played game.