Mitey Mite Division
The silver and black Morgan Hill Raiders met the blue and
black Andrew Hill Raiders from San Jose on Sunday, in what could
only be called a “Raider Rumble.”
Mitey Mite Division
The silver and black Morgan Hill Raiders met the blue and black Andrew Hill Raiders from San Jose on Sunday, in what could only be called a “Raider Rumble.”
Morgan Hill’s offense was strong this week, with consistent blocking prowess throughout the game from Brandon Purcell (#21), Matthew Bellah (#41) and Manuel Luna (#81).
With precision, Morgan Hill effectively moved the ball down the field and scored on the opening drive. This week, Morgan Hill unveiled its much practiced passing game and executed it to perfection, with several long passes from quarter back Taylor Turnipseed (# 26), including an NFL worthy 25-yard pass and catch from receiver Garret White (#60) with an ensuing 10-yard touchdown run that had the excited crowd to cheer for more.
Morgan Hill’s special teams had a great day with a kick off returned for a score and several deep kicks, including a 30-yard kick by Edward Ronco (#75).
They say that games are won by the defense, and Morgan Hill was intimidating, keeping Andrew Hill contained to a single touchdown run, as play after play the tackle was often an aggressive silver swarming group.
Andrew Hill’s first taste of Morgan Hill came in the form of Luke Courtney (#5), with a great stop behind the line of scrimmage, and then, on the 4th down with five yards to go, Justin Ide (#94) put a stop to Andrew Hill’s hopes with a tackle that left them short and forced a turnover on downs. The game was marked with solid tackling by Blake Bernie (#4) and pressure from Eduardo Hernandez (#2), often causing disruption for Andrew Hill’s offense. The pressure gave Morgan Hill their first interception of the season by Trevor Bearden (#24), who with a key block from Zachary Goller (# 55), dashed to the end zone for another 6 points.
Morgan Hill’s offense was active in the second half, with Ryan Quadros (#93), who can credit at least two touchdowns to his blocking skills and the running duo of Ayrton Omoigui (# 1), who carried the ball up the center for 25 yards, and Jacob Hoekstra (# 6), who scored early in the fourth quarter. Quick scoring by the offense and several Morgan Hill penalties kept the defense on the field for the second half of the game. Nicolas Moffit #3) showed his speed up the middle with several tackles, and Daniel Angulo (#8 ), with a key 4th down tackle leaving Andrew Hill short on yards.
In the last play of the game, Morgan Hill scored their final touchdown and with the roar of the crowd and cheerleaders, the silver and black Raiders of Morgan Hill took a victory and kept their undefeated season alive for another week.
At the end of the game, coach Mark Rizzo said he appreciated the hard work by the team and he was impressed with the passing game, but what he was the most proud of was the sportsmanship of the team and the great attitude of all the players.
Jr. PeeWees Division
The Morgan Hill Raiders slipped up north to play the Andrew Hill Raiders and let it be known who the real Raiders of the South Bay are, with a great second half to win 26-12.
Andrew Hill was 3-1 going into the showdown and played tough with the score tied 6-6 at half-time. The defense did allow 191 yards but timely take aways kept the other Raiders out the end zone for the offense. The Morgan Hill offense raked up an impressive 275 yards and did enough to score four touchdowns, but the day has to go to the entire “O” line, who wore down Andrew Hill by the third quarter.
For the defense, Clayton Howard had the Raiders’ first interception of the year on Andrew Hill’s first play from Scrimmage. Howard also recovered a fourth down fumble and had four tackles. Frankie Palmer led the backers with five solo and three assists. Tyler Lerma and Danny Saporito had four tackles each. “Sap” also made a huge third down stop, tackling the running back for a four-yard loss. Mitch Crowley had three tackles and was around the ball all day.
The reason the Raiders won the game was in the trenches, behind the line shifts of Dominic Bejarano, Dominic Maciel, Abe Arellano, Lorenzo Aguayo, Andrew Martinez, Paul Salinas-Ruiz, Blake Porzio,Tyler Soares, Dan Dunham and Matthew Dariano, the offense wore down Andrew Hill midway through the third. Quarterback Anthony Villerreal was the workhorse carrying the ball 19 times for 76 yards and two touchdowns. Villerreal also threw for one touchdown, going two for three with 31 yards. Deric Taylor chipped in with 85 yards on 12 touches, with (5) third down conversions and a 22-yard touchdown run on a fourth and one play. Palmer had 42 tough yards on seven plunges.
Midgets Division
Whoever won Sunday’s Midget game between the Morgan Hill and Andrew Hill Raiders would keep the coveted first spot in the division.
But Morgan Hill’s tough Raider squad was not about to go quietly into the night.
The Morgan Hill Raiders played the first half with their usual tough defense and held Andrew Hill scoreless.
Taylor Ortez (#1) ran in the first score on a 5-yard run. After missing the point after attempt, the MH Raiders held a 6-0 lead.
In the second quarter, it was more Morgan Hill Raider offense with a 20-yard pass into the promise land and a 12=0 Morgan Hill lead.
The second half saw a different Andrew Hill team as a quarterback sneak in the middle of the third quarter posted AH’s first points on the board. Andrew Hill missed the point to bring the game to 12-6 Morgan Hill.
When the fall darkness set in, the game was called before the clock expired – giving the Morgan Hill Raiders a 12-6 win and bragging rights in their division, with an undefeated season thus far.
