‘Hungry dogs hunt best’
Strathmore going for their fifth-straight Bell Game win
For the seniors at Strathmore High School, they’ve never known a time without the Bell while their crosstown rivals, Lindsay, have hungered for what the Spartans have successfully kept away from the Cardinals for the last four years.
And in Friday’s 98th annual “Battle of the Bell” rivalry game hosted by Div. VI Strathmore (8-1, 4-1 ESL) at 7:15 p.m.; Div. V Lindsay’s coming for one last shot at getting the Bell for their class of 2019 before each team heads into their
respective CIF Central Section division playoffs.
“To me, this game honestly mean’s a lot,” LHS senior wide receiver Angel Perez said. “It’s my senior year and it’s our fourth year at it to try [and win]. The past years it’s not gone our way but this year we have everybody back, our
team’s been rising so hopefully this is the year where we all come together and succeed as a team.”
Perez is part of Lindsay’s trio of top receivers — and defensive backs — and he leads the group with 530 yards and six touchdowns on 34 receptions. Along with junior Mario Diaz (440 yards, three touchdowns) and senior Aundrey Tapia (237 yards, one touchdown), the trio have provided plenty of options for junior quarterback Ethan Natera. On the season, Natera has accumulated 1,574 yards and 13 touchdowns on 118 of 198 completions with five interceptions.
The Cardinals (5-3, 3-2 ESL) enter Friday on a two-game win streak that qualified them for playoffs after their 22-12 win over Div. VI Sierra Pacific (4-5, 2-3 ESL) last week. Over the past couple of weeks Lindsay has become healthier with top running back, junior
iel Trujillo, back, as well as other players on both sides of the ball. They've remained balance, averaging 199.4 yards through the air and 135.1 yards on the ground, but they know moving the ball and scoring against Strathmore isn't an easy task.
“Their corners are really good, their entire defense is hard to score on,” LHS head coach Matt Mendonca said. “We're just going to play our game. It's really not about trying to figure out a guy or two here, it's more along the lines of continuing what we do at a higher level and be able to execute our plays that we've been running on both sides of the ball. Nothing new going in this week, just being able to improve this week, that's what's been our focus this week.”
The Spartans defense is sometimes an overlooked strength for Strathmore. On the season, the team has combined for 15 interceptions and five fumble recoveries while only giving up two interceptions and one fumble. At the same time, the Cardinals have picked off their opponents' quarterbacks 10 times and recovered seven fumbles but they've also thrown six interceptions and fumbled the ball six times.
“They've got their guys ready to roll,” SHS head coach Jeromy Blackwell said. “They've got an extra fire, little chip on their shoulder. They haven't ever seen the Bell, those kids, and so they're hungry and hungry dogs hunt best. So I think we've got our work cut out for us. I think they got all their players back that were injured, this [Daniel] Trujillo kid is a formidable threat... They've got pretty good kids and they seem fiery and excited and you just never know with rivalry games in general.”
Outside of a 27-22 win over Div. VI Orosi (7-2, 4-1 West Sequoia League) and a 38-20 loss to Div. V Woodlake (8-1, 5-0 ESL), Strathmore's cruised the season with every other win coming by a 35-or-more point margin including their first shutout of the season, a 35-0 win over Div. VI Granite Hills (2-7, 2-3 ESL) last Friday.
Offensively the run has continued to reward the Spartans with yards and points. Senior running back Alonso Acevedo is the team's and ESL'S No. 1 rusher with 1,034 yards and 23 touchdowns on 101 carries. But freshman Carlos Moreno (515 yards, six touchdowns) and junior Christian Onsurez (287 yards, three touchdowns) may also be leaned upon against the Cardinals.
“We've got to count on these young running backs, they need to make some big plays,” Blackwell said. “And we've got a very young offensive line but man everything's starting to gel. We've put up some serious points and yards against pretty good league foes, and our defense played shutout football for the first time this year I believe and everything's gelling. They're coming together at the right time cause this football season's going to be over and we want to send the message that we're here and we're still a team to be reckoned with.”
Both sides of the Spartans' lines are led by senior linemen, Jadon Guire and Damian Valencia, who are confident in their teammates ability.
“We've been putting in a lot of work, working hard,” Guire said about the defensive line. “We have a lot of guys improving, not just our starters, we have a lot of depth here and everyone's been putting in a lot of work and so I think we'll match up really well. What we lack in size, we make up in grit and heart. Our guys work really hard, they will work hard. They'll do whatever it takes to beat the other team.”
On the offensive line, Valencia added, “We don't have the girth that we need but we are sure fast enough to get the job done. What we lack in size we make up in speed.”
With seedings on the line — another chance at the No. 1 spot for Strathmore and a possible home game for Lindsay — both teams understand the significance of this game goes beyond rivalry week but also one more test run before they enter the postseason.
“This is a big game for us,” Mendonca said. “This is like a playoff game for us. Strathmore is going to be just as good, if not better than any team we see in the playoffs so it's going to be a big for us to see where we stack up in the [Div. V] playoffs.