High school football Week 3: Clovis West impresses; Clovis East in ‘shock;’ game balls
Clovis West High football coach Eric Brown likes what his defense is doing for the first three weeks of the season.
His offense is rolling, too.
The Bee’s fourth-ranked Golden Eagles jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter en route to a 40-14 victory over No. 18 Lemoore in the Game of the Week on Friday.
“Kids are playing hard,” Brown said. “They really are. We’re playing better defense. Last year, we had the explosive athletes, but we got an edge to us right now that it’s pretty impressive.”
Clovis West quarterback Ryan Markarian connected with Marshel Sanders for three touchdown receptions, Golden Eagles kicker Johnny Enriquez made four field goals and Brian Evans led Clovis West in sacks with three.
Brown said the plan going into the game was to pressure Lemoore quarterback Ty Chambers who was coming off five touchdown passes and running for one in a win over Washington Union.
“He’s a tough kid and makes their offense go,” Brown said. “Our plan was to do our best to take him away and put pressure on him and get him moving. In the second half, they were forced to throw it more so we were able to light him up and get after him.”
The Golden Eagles will next face Bullard, which fell to Frontier 24-20.
Clovis West and Bullard faced each other twice last season with the Knights coming out on top in the Central Section Division II playoffs.
“We’re trying to go 1-0 each week and be better than we were the week before,” Brown said. “The kids get it. They’re not looking ahead. They’re not worried about the end of the season. We just want to get better and have a good practice tomorrow and get better through the week and to be able to get after Bullard, the next opponent in our way.”
No. 12 Clovis East 49, Sanger 7
The Timberwolves reclaimed the Silver Spear Trophy for the first time since 2018.
Clovis East coach Brandon Nagle figured the game would be close. “I’m still in shock right now,” he said.
Ty Miller passed for two touchdowns and ran for a score, and Harold Duvall had a 90-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter.
“It’s crazy to think that sophomores are our leaders and they are with Ty and Harold,” Nagle said. “In the first half, we made a lot of mistakes. We were really energized, probably a little too amped up. We were making dumb mistakes in the first half and I think we finally settled down and the game got slower for them.”
Clovis East capped the win when Rocky Koontz strip-sacked Devin Salcedo and picked up the ball and returned it for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
“Sanger is really big up front and has a really good defensive line,” Nagle said. “Playing Sanger through the years, we knew we had to win in the trenches. That was a big emphasis on running the football and defensively controlling the line of scrimmage and setting edges. ... We started a fourth quarter program back in March. We started working out super hard and it was built for games like this.”
No. 9 Clovis 21, Whitney-Rocklin 3: Aaron Wilkins won his second game as the Cougars coach as his defense kept the Wildcats in check. Noah Luginbill led the Clovis defense with 13 tackles and an interception. Clovis defensive end Tovie Martin had nine tackles, a tackle for a loss and three batted passes.
No. 11 Kingsburg 21, Dinuba 14: The Vikings tied the game on Trace Jackson’s 2-yard run with 23 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Kingsburg took the lead on Caleb Irigoyen’s 10-yard touchdown reception from Ethan Winslow in the fourth.
Game balls
London Alexander, Justin Garza: Had a kick return for a touchdown and also finished with two touchdown receptions and had an interception in the Guardians’ victory over Hanford West.
Frankie Alvarez, Redwood: Passed for four touchdowns in the Rangers’ 48-20 victory over Tulare Union.
Caleb Callison, Central Valley Christian: Had 48 rushing yards and two touchdowns and led the Cavaliers with five tackles and a tackle for a loss in a 34-14 win over Bakersfield Christian.
Ashton Chalabian, Kerman: Passed for two touchdowns, including a 17-yard pass to Nico Marquez for the go-ahead score and a 21-14 victory over Madera.
Joshua Chinn, Fresno Christian: Had seven receptions for 120 yards and two touchdowns in the Eagles’ 32-24 victory over Branson.
Jace Evans, Exeter: Ran for touchdowns on each of his three carries for 51 yards in the Monarchs’ 39-0 victory over Lindsay.
Carmine Ficher, Tulare Western: Led the Mustangs to a 35-27 victory over Mt. Whitney with 21-for-29 passing for 336 yards and four touchdowns.
Daniel Gonzalez, Mission Oak: Ran for two scores to help the Hawks to a 28-13 victory over Roosevelt.
Caleb Irigoyen, Kingsburg: His 10-yard touchdown reception from Ethan Winslow gave the Vikings a 21-14 victory over Dinuba.
Noah Luginbill, Clovis: Led the Cougars with 13 tackles and also picked up an interception.
Jayden Mandal, Buchanan: Passed for two scores and ran for one in the Bears’ 35-14 victory over Foothill-Palo Cedro.
Ty Miller, Clovis East: Passed for two touchdowns and ran for a score to lead the Timberwolves past Sanger.
Roman Moreno, Clovis: Ran for two scores to help the Cougars defeat Whitney-Rocklin 21-3.
Cayden Muir, Hanford: Threw for three touchdowns as the Bullpups routed Golden West 58-0.
Vince Oberti, Liberty-Madera Ranchos: Carried the ball 11 times for 182 yards and two touchdowns, propelling the Hawks to a 28-14 victory over Dos Palos.
Jesse Rodriguez, Mendota: His touchdown for the Aztecs was enough in a 7-6 victory over Strathmore.
Marshel Sanders, Clovis West: Totaled three touchdown receptions as the Golden Eagles rolled past Lemoore 40-14.
Jerod Smith, Fowler: Passed for two touchdowns and kicked a field goal, guiding the Redcats to a 25-7 victory over Immanuel.
Dayton Tafoya, Central: Passed for five touchdowns and finished with 351 yards in the Grizzlies’ 54-41 victory over Turlock.
Noah Tasi, Coalinga: Completed 18 of 26 for 257 yards and four touchdowns in the Horned Toads’ 47-18 victory over Selma.
Ya’J Vance, Edison: The senior quarterback had five carries for 89 yards and a touchdown and passed for three touchdowns in the Tigers’ 54-0 victory over Hoover.
Prediction results
In Week 3, The Bee went 4-1, correctly picking Buchanan, Clovis West, Clovis East and Kingsburg.
The Bee picked Madera to win, but Kerman took down the Coyotes 21-14.
For the season, The Bee is 12-3.
Top 25 fared
1. Liberty-Bakersfield (2-0) Bye
2. Buchanan (3-0) defeated Foothill-Palo Cedro 35-14
3. San Joaquin Memorial (2-0) Saturday vs. Queen Creek, Ariz. (at Moorpark)
4. Clovis West (3-0) defeated Lemoore 40-14
5. Hanford (3-0) defeated Golden West 58-0
6. Central (2-1) defeated Turlock 54-41
7. Bullard (2-1) lost to Frontier 24-20
8. Central Valley Christian (3-0) defeated Bakersfield Christian 34-14
9. Clovis (2-1) defeated Whitney-Rocklin 21-3
10. St. Joseph (3-0) Bye
11. Kingsburg (3-0) defeated Dinuba 21-14
12. Clovis East (3-0) defeated Sanger 49-7
13. Bakersfield (0-2) Bye
14. Garces (1-2) lost to Bishop Diego-Santa Barbara 35-14
15. Clovis North (2-1) defeated El Diamante 48-0
16. Frontier (3-0) defeated Bullard 24-20
17. Bakersfield Christian (1-2) lost to Central Valley Christian 34-14
18. Lemoore (2-1) lost to Clovis West 40-14
19. Tulare Western (2-1) defeated Mt. Whitney 35-27
20. Reedley (2-0) Bye
21. Edison (2-0) defeated Hoover 54-0
22. Mission Prep (1-1) defeated McLane 37-0
23. Sunnyside (1-1) Bye
24. Centennial (3-0) defeated Independence 60-14
25. Mission Oak (3-0) defeated Roosevelt 28-13
