Playoffs begin, Spartans No.1 once again
All games Thursday at 7 p.m.
The regular season came to a close with four out of five high school football teams headed to the CIF Central Section Championship playoffs and reigning Valley champion Strathmore receiving the top-seed in Division VI after another perfect regular season.
No byes were awarded to eight-team brackets this season and all teams are scheduled to play at the higher-seeded school on Thursday, Nov. 9 at 7 p.m.
“They need to finish early in case the winner gets [to] play in game for the state playoffs. Plus like D2, by finishing earlier, athletes who play winter sports can get out a week earlier,” CIF Central Section commissioner Jim Crichlow said in an email Saturday.
DIV. VI: No. 8 Orange Cove (3-7) at No. 1 Strathmore (10-0, 5-0 ESL)
“All we do is prepare for these moments right here, 1-0 is all that matters,” SHS head coach Jeromy Blackwell said. “It’s always been lip service all the way until now, now it really does matter. 1-0 is all there is. But it’s not about winning the game. It’s about winning the situations, one play, one assignment, one situation at a time.”
The back-to-back ESL and reigning Socal Regional champion Spartans’ philosophy of breaking down and taking things one at a time has carried them through another successful regular season where Strathmore outscored opponents 499-106, finishing with a 56-14 win over rival Lindsay (4-6, 3-2 ESL) Friday.
Joseph Garcia is the No. 2 running back in the Central Section and a large part of the Spartans’ success. The senior has rushed for 1,567 yards and 29 touchdowns this season. Junior running backs Alonso Acevedo (736 yards, 12 touchdowns) and Fabian Alcantar (498 yards, four touchdowns) are also a significant part of the offense.
Strathmore can stretch the field with senior quarterback Nick Salas nearly 60 percent on completions and throwing for 999 yards and 12 touchdowns. His main targets are Amando Rodriguez (397 yards, five
touchdowns) and Andres Lara (246 yards, three touchdowns).
Starting guard and defensive tackle Jadon Guire is “improbable” for Thursday after spraining his ankle Friday against Lindsay. Blackwell said it’s a “big loss” and they’ll be looking toward seniors Lucas Raya and Ethan
De La Cruz. Guire is the team’s sack leader with five and second in total tackles with 67.
Orange Cove won two out of their last three games but lost 35-12 to fifth-seeded Orosi Friday. The Spartans beat the Titans 55-22 earlier this season. DIV, VI: No. 5 Orosi (7-3) at No. 4 Granite Hills (8-2, 3-2 ESL)
Fourth-seeded Granite Hills ended a five-year playoff drought with an impressive 8-2 regular season under first-year head coach Dan Williams. It was capped off by the Grizzlies beating rival Woodlake (3-7, 0-5 ESL) 13-0 for the first time in six years.
Fifth-seeded Orosi won five of their last six games, ending with a 3512 win over eighth-seeded Orange Cove. In common opponents the Cardinals are 5-1 and the Grizzlies are 4-2 after both teams lost to Strathmore. However Granite Hills also lost 25-12 to Sierra Pacific (4-6, 3-2 ESL), who Orosi beat 39-7.
“I think we’re evenly matched teams,” GHHS head coach Dan Williams said. “They’re very athletic, they’re very talented and they’re well-coached. Now that’s the thing we have to overcome.”
On the team’s week three 14-7 win at Orosi, Williams said, “I think it’s
going to be a lot closer of a contest. They’re doing a lot more things offensively and getting the ball in the end zone a lot more and we seem to have kind of slowed down offensively.”
Senior GHHS running back Jasper Berumen is averaging 111.5 yards a game with 1,115 yards and 14 touchdowns this season. Berumen’s been limited to less than 60 yards the last four games so the Grizzlies will look to senior Seth Luna (252 yards, five touchdowns) to get more touches. Senior wide receiver Kenny Xayacheck is also a threat for Granite Hills with 371 yards and three touchdowns this season. DIV. IV: No. 12 Monache (3-6, 2-3 EYL) at No. 5 Liberty (8-2)
Twelfth-seeded Monache fought their way to their first playoffs since 2012 with a 35-9 win over rival Porterville (3-6, 1-4 EYL) in the Granite Bowl Friday and travels to fifth-seeded Liberty for an opening round Div. IV game. The Hawks are coming off a 35-0 win over Chowchilla (5-5) and average 44.1 points a game.
Liberty’s roster boasts the No. 3 and No. 11 running backs in the Central Section in Kaleb and Wyatt Roth. On the ground the Roth brothers make up for nearly two-thirds of the team’s rushing
yards and have combined for 2,517 yards, 36 touchdowns and average 251.7 yards a game.
Limiting Liberty’s run game is going to be a major part of Monache’s game plan as the Hawks don’t throw the ball often. Quarterback Greyson Hoelzel is 25-of-52 for 525 yards and eight touchdowns. His main target is Colton Cardoza who has 219 yards and five touchdowns.
One advantage Monache has is that they do a good job of stretching the field with senior wide receivers Montrece Fields and Marlon Johnson, as well as senior tight end Daniel Baca. The trio combined for 1,316 yards and 15 touchdowns through eight games. Nine of those scores were to Fields. Junior quarterback Antonio Andrade completed over 50 percent of his passes for 1,482 yards.
Sophomore running back Aidan Galvan can also pick up significant yards on the ground and has 428 yards and two touchdowns, but the Marauders will need big stops out of defensive players like senior linebackers Ethan Mccombie and Miguel Tapia, along with senior lineman Lane Page, if they want a chance of staying in the game. DIV. V: No. 11 Lindsay (4-6, 3-2 ESL) at No. 6 Coalinga (6-4)
Lindsay heads to Coalinga after a 56-14 loss to rival Strathmore (10-0, 5-0 ESL), hoping to move past the opening round after two shutout losses bounced them from the playoffs the past two years. The winner of Tuesday’s game faces thirdseeded Firebaugh (8-2), who beat Coalinga 26-19 Friday.
Junior Eric Saldana is the Central Section No. 10 and Horned Toads top running back with 1,194 yards and 12 touchdowns. A run-heavy team, Coalinga’s two other backs Mike Cerda and Jaden Jimenez have a total of 1,225 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Senior quarterback Ernie Bautista did not play in two of the Cardinals last three games, however sophomore quarterback Julian Avalos is 14-of-26 for 233 yards for four touchdowns with only one interception.
Lindsay’s main target is senior wide receiver Chris Orozco who has 587 yards and nine touchdowns. On the ground, the Cardinals continue to get solid work out of senior running back Ethan Duran who had 1,020 yards and six touchdowns through nine games. Duran averages 113.3 yards a game and has had four 100-yard games this season.
Both teams have doubledigit wins over common opponent Avenal (1-9).