Sanger’s Isaiah Hilliard rushes for 207 yards, 2 TDs in win over Clovis East

On a toasty stage seemingly set for Clovis East High super sophomore Marcus Washington, it was Sanger’s Isaiah Hilliard who stole the show and powered the Apaches to a 32-15 nonleague win Thursday night at Lamonica Stadium.

In a game that began at 100 degrees and ended at 91, Hilliard carried 27 times for 207 yards and two touchdowns and also ran in two conversions as 15th-ranked Sanger rallied from a 7-0 halftime deficit while improving to 3-0.

He became the 16th Apache in program history to rush for 200 or more yards, school historian Ron Blackwood said.

And when it was over, remarkably, the senior fullback wasn’t even breathing hard.

“It’s all right, we run in the summer all of the time,” he said.<place_quote1>

The 5-foot-10, 185-pounder didn’t play running back last year because of a knee injury. He did play four games at nose guard.

Washington, meanwhile, played big time in 2014, rushing for 1,800 yards while pulling a rarity – making the All-Tri-River Athletic Conference team as a freshman.

And he marched into Lamonica with 395 yards rushing and seven touchdowns following No. 17 Clovis East’s victories over Golden Valley-Merced (56-30) and Redwood (41-24).

But the Apaches, led by lineman Angel Alvarez and linebacker Miguel Garcia, kept Washington out of the end zone while limiting him to 61 yards on 16 carries.<place_fact1>

That bought Sanger’s wing-T offense some time, and the Apaches needed it after losing four fumbles in the game’s first 27 minutes.

Timberwolves senior quarterback Trey Semien rushed for 69 yards and a touchdown and passed for 121 yards and another score.

Next week, in nonleague games, Clovis East will play at Sunnyside Thursday and Sanger will go to No. 11 Lemoore Friday.

This story was originally published September 10, 2015 at 11:34 PM with the headline "Sanger’s Isaiah Hilliard rushes for 207 yards, 2 TDs in win over Clovis East."