What winning a Central Section football title on the road meant for Mendota and Lemoore
UPDATE: Mendota will host Pinole Valley at 6 p.m. Saturday for the state Division 7-AA championship, the CIF announced Sunday. There are no semifinals in the division.
Lemoore will play at McClymonds at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the NorCal 2-AA regional.
ORIGINAL STORY: Mendota High football coach Beto Mejia was getting tired of heartbreak on the road in Central Section championship games.
His Aztecs were 0-3 on the road in title games including last season’s loss at Independence.
That changed Friday night with a 38-8 victory over Hanford West in the Division VI championship game for Mendota’s first title since 2016 and fourth overall, according to section historian Bob Barnett.
“We couldn’t let the moment get too big for us,” Mejia said. “We knew we were going to come out here and play physical and hopefully wear these kids down.”
It went according to plan for Mendota. After a scoreless first quarter, the Aztecs built a 31-0 lead in the fourth quarter. Juan Ceja had two rushing touchdowns and a passing touchdown. Other Aztecs scoring touchdowns were Chris Mejia, Bernie Camacho and Jesse Rodriguez.
Mendota’s previous road championship losses were to Liberty-Madera Ranchos, Immanuel and Independence.
“It bugged me,” Mejia said. “I really wanted to win one on the road so I wouldn’t have it on my mind anymore, thinking I can’t win on the road. I told the (players) you can make history and can be the first team to look back in 20 to 30 years and say we were the first one to win for coach Mejia and Mendota on the road. It’s about building your own legacy.”
The Aztecs (9-5) will learn their CIF regional destination Sunday.
Lemoore beats CVC
Ty Chambers passed for six touchdowns to lead Lemoore to a 62-46 victory at Central Valley Christian in Division II.
Chambers completed 9 of 17 for 292 yards and six touchdowns. He also rushed seven times for 44 yards, giving Lemoore its first section title since 2005, Barnett said.
“It’s pure joy right now,” Lemoore coach Rich Tumer said. “Like a proud dad. These kids bought in to what I was saying and for the last two years, a lot of them have worked hard to get where we’re going and this season they just put it all on the field. We’ve been second-guessed. I know we got beat by Clovis West, but at the end of the day we got to be one of the best teams in the Valley.”
The Tigers (12-1) have won 10 straight and will find out Sunday where they play in the CIF regionals.
The Cavaliers looked like an undefeated team in jumping to a 21-7 lead after a Bryson Donelson 63-yard touchdown. Tumer told his team to “slow down and take a breath.”
The Tigers scored 21 unanswered points to take a 28-21 lead on Chambers’ 70-yard pass to Demel Turner.
“We knew they were going to punch us,” he said. “I said, ‘Once we get in a groove, they’re going to have trouble stopping us,’ and that’s what happened.”
Kobe Green had four receptions for 112 yards and three touchdowns, including a 72-yard kickoff return in the first quarter. Turner finished with two receptions for 113 yards and two touchdowns. Andrew Moench had 15 carries for 158 yards and a touchdown.
Preston Scott had a receiving touchdown and Anthony Garcia got into the end zone on a rushing touchdown.
SJM, Sunnyside, Caruthers falls short
Kern County teams got the best of Fresno County opponents in three other title games.
San Joaquin Memorial played in its first section Division I title game and lost at Liberty-Bakersfield 29-13. Brandon Ramirez scored on TD runs of 62 and 20 yards to give SJM a 13-9 lead before the Patriots pulled away for their second straight championship.
Sunnyside fell to Kennedy 40-20 in Division III and Caruthers lost to Shafter 41-35 in Division IV.
Atascadero defeated Pioneer Valley 27-13 in Division V.
Bee’s predictions
The Bee went 3-3 in the championship round to end the season at 113-35.
The Bee incorrectly picked CVC, Caruthers and Sunnyside to win.
This story was originally published November 26, 2022 at 9:57 AM.
