Mighty Mites
The powerful M.H. Raiders defense shut down the Menlo Atherton Vikings 7-0 for another shut out. The Raider offense scored on its first possession and although dominating play could not score again.
Jonah Guary returned the kick off for the Raiders to the Morgan Hill 43. With nice blocking from Tyler Pederson and Tony Silva, Tyler Lerma pushed the ball inside the 30. Then Frankie Palmer broke away for a 30 yard touchdown run.
The Vikings were moving the ball well, but on the first play of the second quarter, Derrick Taylor intercepted a pass that was called back for a roughing the passer penalty. Two plays later Palmer did get the the interception at the goal line.
After the interception Guary ran for a 92 yard touchdown flagged back on a penalty. The drive stalled and so did the half.
In the second half the Raiders moved the ball well behind power blocking of Steven Villarreal, Tyler Turnspeed,Tyler Tobia, and Andrew Martinez, but could not score. The Defense played solid with Hunter Sutton, Austin Vaiana, Mitch Crowley, and Andrew Knight, keeping the Vikings out of the end zone all day. Dominic Bejarano ended the game with a great leaping interception.
Pee Wee
Last Sunday the Morgan Hill Raiders Pee Wee team battled the Menlo Atherton Vikings in a grueling game for both teams at South Valley Junior High School.
Both the Raiders and Vikings were undefeated in division play setting up what would be an intense game for coaches, players and fans alike.
To start the game, the Vikings drove to the Raiders 20 yard line where the Raiders stingy defense held allowing the offense to take over.
Jack Bourgeois ran for a 25 yard gain which was good for a first down. Michael Singleton and Bourgeois traded off running the ball for positive yards on this drive until the Vikings got the ball back on their own 40 yard line following a Raider fumble.
The Vikings then drove down to the Raiders’ 40, but were contained by a team tackle led by Jordan Matanane on fourth down that gave the ball back to the Raiders’ offense.
Bourgeois then had a 10 yard run taking the ball to midfield. The next few plays were runs for positive yardage by the various Raider weapons including Geoffrey Roberts, Jon Stenshoel and Michael Singleton. This setup the 30 yard halfback pass for a touchdown from Singleton to James Hamblin. The Point After Touchdown (PAT) was successful which gave the Raiders a 7-0 lead.
After a short Raider punt, the Vikings were able to score, cutting the Raider lead to 7-6.
The Vikings scored quickly in the second half, following a Raider fumble.
The Raiders got the ball and drove down to the Vikings 20 yard line and were held by the tough Viking defense giving the ball back to them. After a few short gains the Vikings broke free from the Raider defense for a 65 yard touchdown, giving them an 18-7 lead.
The Raiders were able to score on another halfback touchdown pass of 60 yards from Singleton to Hamblin. After the successful two point PAT kick by Max Niehaus the Raiders were cut the lead to 18-15.
The Raiders attempted the onside kick but were unsuccessful. The Raider defense then held the Vikings to a fourth down, but the Vikings converted for the first down and were able to run out the clock, ending the game.
The Raider defense was led by Connor Sutton with six tackles, Singleton with four tackles and Xavier Bonton with three tackles. The offensive line was led by great blocking from Alex Roman, Aaron Lilleland, Ryan Brewer, and Steven Naranjo.
