Mustangs rout Marauders, 57-6
Next up for MHS is Granite Bowl
The emotion strewn across the faces of Monache High School’s football team as they hugged each other and processed their 57-6 loss to Tulare Western at Jacob Rankin Stadium Thursday, echoed the struggles of a 2-6 overall record, but also the complete commitment the players and coaches still standing on the field had in their team.
“I’m very proud of these boys,” first-year MHS head coach Chris Frankland said. “They played a really good game obviously, [Tulare Western is] very talented.”
Monache (2-6, 1-3 East Yosemite League) started off well enough reaching the Tulare Western (9-0, 4-0 EYL) 20-yard line on the first drive, but a scrambling junior quarterback Antonio Andrade was tackled 16 yards behind the line of scrimmage and the Marauders were forced to punt.
Senior cornerback Marlon Johnson intercepted a pass from TWHS quarterback Elijah Burrel but after the Marauders were unable to cross midfield, Mustangs’ star running back, David Alcantar scored a 95-yard touchdown. A mental mistake on the kickoff backed Monache up to their own 5-yard line where Western was able to cause a safety for a 9-0 lead before the end of the first quarter.
The Marauders got on the board with their first and last score on a 54-yard touchdown pass from Andrade to Johnson. It was a good night for Johnson who shut down the Mustangs’ top receiver Keshon Butler and almost had two interceptions.
After Johnson’s touchdown, Alcantar took the kickoff back 90-yards for another touchdown. The running back also scored a 43-yard rushing touchdown. He finished with 209 yards on 15 carries and eclipsed the 1,000-rushing yard mark for the season.
“I go back, we gave them a couple long ones there, I know we had the safety and we had the kickoff return, but I thought our defense played really well,”
Frankland said. “I was really, really proud of our kids. Last week we challenged them, we tried to take a look at ourselves and figure out some of the things that we did, and I think they did it tonight. I think they did a good job.”
Tulare Western headed into halftime with a 29-6 lead after a 1-yard touchdown from Burrell on a quarterback keeper. The Mustangs scored twice more in the third quarter on a 29-yard run from Butler and a 9-yard run from Tairyn Johnson. Johnson also scored a 20-yard receiving touchdown in the fourth
quarter with the final score of the game coming from a 15-yard run from Mason Bernardo.
Monache’s final regular season game is the Granite Bowl against rival Porterville on Friday, Nov. 3 at Jacob Rankin Stadium. It will also be Senior Night for the Marauders.
“I’m excited, I think we’re excited,” Frankland said. “It’s hard with a rivalry game the night after, it’s hard. You know they’re going to be dialed up and focused and ready to play. You don’t have to say anything about that.”