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VISALIA -- Ross Hebert praised his team's running game for his breakthrough performance.

El Diamante High can thank its senior tight end -- and another lights-out defensive performance -- for making the plays that propelled the Miners back into the Central Section Division II football championship game.

Hebert, more often a sturdy blocker rather than a primary target in the passing game, caught two touchdown passes to lead top-seeded El Diamante to a 21-9 victory over No. 4 Lemoore on Friday in a semifinal game at Visalia Community Stadium.

"Coach told me to be ready, that I might get some balls my way. That helped," said Hebert, who caught a 17-yard scoring pass from Tanner Sneed in the second quarter. "I credit a lot of it to [running back] Earl [Rhodes] and the offensive line. They opened it up for a lot of play-action passes. It was just pitch-and-catch."

Hebert scored the go-ahead touchdown with 5:45 remaining in the third quarter. On a third-and-goal play from the Lemoore 3-yard line, Hebert got a step on a defender and cradled an over-the-shoulder pass from Sneed in the end zone to put the Miners up 14-7. The scoring pass came after seven of the previous eight plays were runs.

"Lemoore is an excellent defensive football team," El Diamante coach Mark Rogers said. "That's the one crack they had is they left the tight end open. Tanner did a good job of finding him and Ross did a good job making plays."

Rhodes sealed the outcome with a 3-yard touchdown run with 4:52 left in the fourth quarter that made it 21-7. El Diamante (11-1) would give up a safety with less than a minute left when punter Earvin Gonzalez intentionally ran out of the end zone. But it was too little, too late for Lemoore.

"We gave it the best shot we could," Lemoore coach Shaun Ball said. "El Diamante is a real good football team. They deserve to be in the Valley championship. I'm proud of my kids. That's the closest game [the Miners] have had in a long time."

The Tigers (9-4) saw their final attempt at a rally stopped with 1:33 left in the game when quarterback Joe Jones was brought down by J.P. Salvador on fourth down at the El Diamante 14, 2 yards shy of a first down.

"I just had to get there," Salvador said. "My heart was racing. Getting to the Valley championship is a real accomplishment. It's so special to be there two years in a row."

Salvador and the Miners' defense flirted with their eighth shutout of the season.

Besides the gift safety, Lemoore's only score came after a botched punt gave the Tigers the ball at the El Diamante 3-yard line early in the third quarter. Lemoore capitalized on third down when Jones connected with Chris Thompson for a 6-yard touchdown.

El Diamante's defense -- which has allowed 79 points this season -- would overcome two interceptions and a fumble by its offense.

"Defense did a great job," Rogers said. "Our offense put our defense in some bad situations, but they hung in there, played well and won the game for us."

The Miners will host No. 2-seed Tulare, a 38-17 winner over Reedley, next Friday for the Division II title. The Redskins are 13-0.

"They are a good football team," Rogers said. "Obviously they had a good year. We've had a good year. It should be one hell of a football game."