League begins for ESL teams

Panthers, Spartans still undefeated

The East Sequoia League season begins this week — tad earlier thanks to the addition of Farmersville High School — and the big question seems to be who is going to, or who can, knock off the undefeated, back-to-back ESL champion Spartans of Strathmore?

It won’t be an easy task for any ESL team, including winless Granite Hills (0-4) and rival Lindsay to take down Strathmore (3-0), but

the Spartans will have their work cut out for themselves as well with every team gunning for the defending CIF State Champions.

Between rival East Yosemite League teams

Monache (3-1) and Porterville (3-0), only the Panthers remain undefeated. However both look good for long runs come the CIF Central Section Division IV Championship playoffs.

There are no teams playing tonight and Porterville is the lone Orange Belt team playing home Friday.

Golden West (2-2) vs. Porterville (3-0) at Rankin Stadium, 7:30

After wins over two of the top teams in Div. II and a perfect record thus far, it feels like the Panthers of Porterville are due all the respect they were denied early in the season when some fans left before the Panthers pulled off a 33-31 win over Dinuba (3-1) in week one, as well as the doubt registered before the team came back and won 24-20 against Hanford (2-2).

Ranked No. 2 in Div. IV, Porterville is led by

the division's No. 1 quarterback, Hector Nava, who is set to eclipse 1,000 yards Friday after going 49-of-89 for 969 yards and 12 touchdowns with six interceptions. Nava also leads the team with 130 rushing yards.

But with all of his and the team's success so far, Nava and PHS head coach Michael Machado have also made it clear that a lot of credit is due to an offensive line that has allowed the team time to get it done through the air as well as on the ground when necessary. On the line is Larry Duran, Brandon Rose, Miguel Madrigal, Fernando Leon and Saul Barajas.

After starting the season with a 32-21 loss to No. 3 Monache (3-1), defending Div. IV Valley champion Golden West are ranked No. 5 and have gone 2-1, including a 49-22 win over Madera South (0-3) last week. Offensively, the Trailblazers have played well behind running back Christian Ortiz, who rushed for over a hundred yards in the win over Madera but is also coming off a shoulder injury.

Strathmore (3-0) at Farmersville (0-4), 7:15 p.m.

The ESL title has belonged to Strathmore for the last two seasons and there's no doubt that everyone is coming for the Spartans, who are sitting on a 19-game win streak. Strathmore blew through Boron (1-3) and Parlier (1-3), but were tested last week in a 27-22 win over Orosi (2-1).

Quarterback Cristian Rodriguez came up huge for the Spartans against Orosi, rushing for 30 yards and two touchdowns — including the game-winner — while going 8-of-11 for 87 yards from the pocket. Wide receiver Lee Navarro was on the receiving end of three of those catches for a total of 60 yards and also showed that when they need one, the Spartans have a passing game.

Coming off a 3-7 season, the Aztecs haven't seen much progress this year with four straight losses and their opponents outscoring them 223-25. While they run the ball more than they throw it, their run game has only garnered 363 yards and one touchdown — nine yards and seven touchdowns less than Spartans top running back Alonso Acevedo has rushed for all season.

But with Acevedo out until Monday due to an injury, the Spartans will get a chance to see more from their other backs like senior Fabian Alcantar, who scored on a 90yard interception against Orosi, and freshman Carlos Moreno, who has one touchdown on the season but the second-highest yards behind Acevedo with 193.

Monache (3-1) at East Bakersfield (1-3), 7:30 p.m.

Two games away from EYL play and No. 3 Monache is already in a position to qualify early for the Div. IV championship playoffs — a huge difference from last season when their playoff hopes came down to the final game of the season against Porterville in the Granite Bowl.

Well on his way to his first 1,000-yard rushing season of his career with 670 yards and 11 touchdowns is Monache's Aidan Galvan, the No. 1 rusher in Div. IV. The junior is averaging 8.1 yards a carry and 167.5 a game. When the Marauders' offense has struggled, Galvan has come through consistently.

Unlike last season, Monache's passing game hasn't been as reliable this year, with quarterback Antonio Andrade completing just 39-of79 passes for 440 yards and two touchdowns with four interceptions.

Tori Powell and Kaori Sims continue to be his main targets with a combined 234 yards and two touchdown passes to Sims. But what can be said for Andrade — as well as the Marauders' offensive line — is that when the team needs him to get yards or a touchdown with his legs, he can. Andrade is third on the team in rushing yards with 111 yards and two touchdowns.

Despite the Blades of East Bakersfield only having one win on the season — a week one 40-0 win over Div. III Golden Valley (0-4) — now is definitely not a time for the Marauders to let up. East Bakersfield may have lost two games by 34 points or more, but Monache's defense has had their ups-and-downs in the first half of games, and the offense has lost 5-of-6 fumbles this season.

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

Coming off a 35-7 loss to Div. V Fowler (2-2), a win against fellow Div. V Woodlake would be a great start to ESL league play, but facing the No. 6 Tigers at home — where they're undefeated — won't be a cake walk. The Cardinals will need to stop a Tigers' offense that has posted a leaguehigh 149 points this season while holding opponents to just 48 points.

Woodlake's biggest threat is quarterback Damian Hernandez, who has thrown for a divisionhigh 985 yards for 11 touchdowns on 76-of-107 completions while rushing for 106 yards and three touchdowns.

Bryan Cuevas has been Hernandez's main target, with 426 receiving yards and a team-high five touchdowns. On the ground, Victor Rojas and Josh Benavidez's combined 400 yards and five touchdowns give leeway to a decent run game. Defensively, Lindsay has had two or more interceptions as well as sacks, in their first two games, and recovered two fumbles in their loss against Fowler.

But balance is what the Cardinals offense will need going forward with the season. Lindsay has received consistent results from running back Daniel Trujillo, who has only rushed for 289 yards but has already racked up seven touchdowns.

Quarterback Ethan Natera has kept his interceptions low with just one on the season, while throwing for 430 yards and four touchdowns on 36-of-71 completions.

Granite Hills (0-4) at Corcoran (3-1), 7:15 p.m.

For the first time in 18 games, the Grizzlies of Granite Hills were shut out — a somewhat crazy stat for a team that posted six shutouts last season. But as the Grizzlies have constantly reiterated, and shown, they are rebuilding and will need time to get into playoff form.

Two blowouts against Div. IV schools, including last week's 28-0 loss to Roosevelt (4-0), and losing starting quarterback Lalo Alcantar have not helped Granite Hills, as they start ESL play without a win.

The Grizzlies start ESL on the road against the Div. V Panthers of Corcoran, who are themselves coming off a nasty 41-0 blowout against Div. VI'S No. 2 Orange Cove (4-0) — a team Granite Hills lost to 35-6 to at the start of the season.

Corcoran has balanced, with Jayden Mustain going 39-of-63 with 529 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions, while running backs Julian Escalante and Yovany Del Angel have combined for 673 yards and 13 touchdowns. The Panthers main receivers are Cesar Acosta and Karay Frazier, who have totaled 443 yards and one touchdown.

Neither the run or passing game have really picked up this season for the Grizzlies, except in Aug. 30's 28-20 loss to Orosi (2-1), when they had a season high 236 total yards.

Senior running back Jason Alvarez continues to average just 56.3 rushing yards a game, but has scored a team-high three touchdowns, while Armando Cabrera is the team's top receiver with 158 yards and one touchdown on the season.

All stats and rankings provided by Maxpreps.