PHS, GHHS, SHS off to fast starts

Marauders play Thursday at Jacob Rankin Stadium

For two teams that went 2-8 last season, Granite Hills and Porterville High School football teams are looking like new teams under firstyear head coaches Dan Williams (GHHS) and Mike Machado (PHS).

Both teams opened the season with at least two wins and no losses through the first four weeks of football, putting them on pace for a better season than last year.

Along with the Grizzlies and the Panthers, the Strathmore Spartans are fighting to keep undefeated streaks alive in week five with only Granite Hills playing at home on Friday.

Monache is looking to pick up its first win in Thursday’s home game while Lindsay takes to the road in search of its second win of the season. Both teams will have byes next week.

North Bakersfield (2-1) at Monache (0-3), 7 p.m.

Last Friday’s 42-28 loss to Kingsburg (2-1) was Monache’s closest loss of the season, but it showed that the Marauders still have a problem stopping the run.

For at least the second time in their first three games, Monache gave up over the 350 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns to their opponent. The Marauders only have 296 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 97 carries this season.

Unlike many teams around the area, Monache has found success through the air and are averaging 13.6 yards per catch this season. Junior quarterback Antonio Andrade has completed 40-of-69 passes for 541 yards and five touchdowns.

Against Kingsburg senior wide receiver Montrece Fields picked up 65 yards and two touchdowns on four receptions while senior tight end Daniel Baca had 96 yards and a touchdown on five receptions.

North defeated Wasco (1-2) 40-16 and Delano (02) 22-7 to build a two-game win streak.

Kern Valley (1-2) at Granite Hills (3-0), 7:15 p.m.

In Granite Hills’ first three games of the season, the Grizzlies’ defense has given up just seven points — the least amount of points allowed by any CIF Central Section Division VI team.

Granite Hills’ defense has played lights out with five interceptions in which two were returned for a score in their last game and two-of-three games ending in shutouts. Against a Kern Valley team that has only scored 15 points or less, things look to once again be in the Grizzlies’ favor.

Like most teams, the Broncs’ rely heavily on their run game with senior running back Conrad Miller and junior running back Jacob Lightner getting most of the team’s touches. Miller had 122 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries in the team’s 34-12 loss to Mcfarland (3-0) last Friday. Lightner has a team-high 305 yards and one touchdown on the season, but did not play against Mcfarland.

Granite Hills still has work to do offensively. In their 20-0 win over Orange Cove (1-3) last Thursday, the Grizzlies scored just one offensive touchdown and reached the red zone only twice.

Junior quarterback Lalo Alcantar’s only completion against Orange Cove was a 67-yard touchdown to Kenny Xayacheck, the team’s first receiving touchdown of the season. Alcantar is just 10-of-24 for 118 yards with one touchdown on the season.

Granite Hills’ leading rusher and scorer, senior Jasper Berumen, was limited

because of a knee injury and only played three quarters last week. Berumen has 455 yards and six touchdowns on 59 carries this season and is expected to play Friday.

Porterville (2-0) @ Dinuba (3-0), 7:30 p.m.

Porterville’s defense was outstanding in the team’s 8-7 victory over CIF Central Section Division II Hanford (0-4). But the Div. IV Panthers will once again have their work cut out for them when they face undefeated Div. II Dinuba.

The Emperors are balanced offensively with seven touchdowns coming in the air and seven on the ground. Quarterback Josh Magana has completed 32of-61 passes for 417 yards and six touchdowns with no interceptions.

Magana’s main targets are Nathan Carrion and Colton Martinez who have combined for 300 yards and four touchdowns this season. Dinuba’s Lucas Tuttle, Josh Martinez and Alek Marroquin are the team’s main running backs and have totalled nearly 500 yards and six touchdowns through three games.

With a sophomore quarterback under center and only two games under his belt, Porterville is still trying to get things rolling offensively. Quarterback Tanner Jones has completed just 18-of-40 passes for 259 yards and two touchdowns. Jones also has four interceptions on the season.

Dinuba has 10 sacks on the seasons, so Jones will need to get rid of the ball quickly or Porterville will have to go to the ground where they can get big runs out of seniors Mark Inman and Andru Chavez and junior Demario Ennis. The three have 377 yards and three touchdowns on the season.

Strathmore (3-0) at Orange Cove (1-3), 7:15 p.m.

Strathmore senior running

back Joseph Garcia continues to be a thorn in opponent’s sides after putting up 286 yards and four touchdowns on 12 carries in the Spartans, 35-13, win over Orosi last week. Garcia is well on his way to another 1,000 rushing season and is already leading Div. VI players in rushing yards (579) and touchdowns (11).

While Garcia and Strathmore’s run game continues to go off, the Spartans had their first receiving touchdown of the season against Orosi when senior quarterback Nick Salas hit senior tight end Andres Lara for a 65yard touchdown to start the game.

Although Orange Cove’s defense only gave up one touchdown against Granite Hills (3-0) in the team’s 20-0 loss last Thursday, Titans quarterback Carlos Jimenez was picked off five times with two interceptions returned for a touchdown.

Jimenez will definitely feel pressure from junior defensive end Jadon Guire who leads the team with three sacks while senior linebacker Noah Alcantar will be keen on stopping the Titans’ run game. Alcantar leads Div. VI with 40 tackles and averages 13.3 a game.

Lindsay (1-3) at Fowler (2-2), 7:15 p.m.

Lindsay was just three points shy of winning its second game of the season in the team’s 24-21 loss to Farmersville (1-3) last Friday.

This week the Cardinals are hoping to get their second win of the year against the Redcats of Fowler before the team heads into their bye week and begins East Sequoia League play.

Against Farmersville, Lindsay had their best offensive game of the season with senior quarterback Ernie Bautista putting up 125 yards and one touchdown on 13-of-19 completions with only one interception. Senior running back Ethan Duran had 176 yards and one touchdown on 25 carries, while sophomore running back Julian Avalos also had an 8-yard rushing touchdown.

However on defense the Cardinals gave up a combined 220 yards to Aztecs running backs David Contreras and Victor Castrejon, who each scored a touchdown as well. Farmersville wide receiver Jesus Romo also had a 100yard game and picked up a touchdown. The Cardinals will once again need big stops from junior defensive back Aundrey Tapia who leads the with 42 tackles and senior linebacker Frankie Martinez who follows with 36.

For a Cardinals team that is averaging just 95 receiving yards and 72.5 rushing yards a game, Lindsay can’t afford to miss opportunities on offense to score.

Fowler is coming off a 52-22 rout by Liberty (4-0) last Friday.