DOS PALOS -- In this, the year of the star quarterbacks around the Central Section -- particularly those in the greater Fresno area named Bray, Orender and Taubler -- don't forget about Adam McCurley.
The people in Dos Palos won't.McCurley directed Washington up and down the field with precision and ease, passing for 306 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Panthers to a 42-14 victory over the Broncos and wrap up the North Sequoia League title.The 6-foot-1, 180-pound senior pushed his season totals to 12,469 yards passing with 27 touchdowns, right up there with the numbers put up by Kingsburg's Tyler Bray, Buchanan's Lance Orender and Bullard's Kerr Taubler, all strong candidates to become The Bee's Player of the Year."I lean a little bit obviously, but I wouldn't trade Adam for any quarterback in the section," Washington coach Jeff Freitas said. "Those other guys are real good, but Adam is the perfect fit for our team." Throwing lasers to a talented group of receivers, with all the time he could ask for from a line led by Jacob Freitas, Jacobi Ford and Carlos Flores, McCurley directed Washington (7-2, 5-0) to scores on three of its four first-half possessions.McCurley's touchdown passes of 8 yards to Donzelle Amey and 16 yards to Josh Williams put the Panthers up 14-0, and his 48-yard pass to Donald Phelps set the stage for Yaffet Thomas' 2-yard scoring run after Dos Palos had cut the lead to 14-7."Everyone on the team did great," McCurley said. "The line was amazing, the receivers were catching the ball and the running backs were running it. We just did what we had to do to get a win." The Panthers have won seven straight since opening with back-to-back tough losses to Dinuba and Kingsburg.And now, Washington, ranked second in Division IV by The Bee, has the NSL title in its back pocket with one game remaining, next Friday against Kerman."It's sweet," Jeff Freitas said. "You want it any time you can get it, but to get it tonight and leave no doubt, no possibility for a co-championship, is what we wanted to do."McCurley made sure there would be no upset as he led the Panthers on a nine-play, 84-yard scoring march -- all but one a pass -- to open the second half and put his team in firm control. He capped the drive with a 3-yard pass to Thomas. "The first two games of the season were a reality check," McCurley said. "We were all over the place offensively. Since then, we've built a lot of camaraderie and come together as a family. Right now, we have a snowball effect going." Dos Palos' scores came on a 3-yard run by Kevin Schofield, who finished with 149 yards on 27 carries, and a 2-yard run by David Quiroz.