High school football playoffs: Tight games, upsets highlight first round; team scores 80+
Washington Union High football coach Paul Holland figured Friday’s first-round game against Dinuba in the Central Section Division II playoffs was going to be another tough one.
Just like the regular-season matchup at Dinuba, won by the Panthers 13-12.
More of the same in Easton? You bet.
Carlos Bojorquez was clutch for the sixth-seeded Panthers as he made a 23-yard field goal with 2:09 remaining and Holland’s son, Paul Holland, had an interception to seal a 15-13 victory over the 11th-seeded Emperors.
“Dinuba is an awesome program,” Holland said. “They’ve been this good for a while now. Going against them, you know it’s going to be a tough battle. Those kids are classy.”
Dinuba led 13-12 with 5:16 remaining on Hector Gonzalez’s 2-yard touchdown run.
Noah Taylor, who earlier had a kickoff return for a TD, set up Washington Union deep in Dinuba territory with a long return. The Emperors forced a fourth down and after both teams called timeout Bojorquez made his kick.
Of course it got interesting, but the clinching interception by Holland kept the Panthers’ season alive.
Washington Union will visit Lemoore on Thursday.
“These guys worked too hard,” Holland said. “Our kicker worked really hard. It’s no reason why he can’t go out there and win the game for us.”
Division I: Clovis North rolls, Clovis rallies for the win
Some grit by Clovis kept the season going.
The eighth-seeded Cougars never gave up after trailing No. 9 Garces 20-7 going into the fourth quarter.
Deagan Rose connected on a touchdown pass to Jaden Carrillo with 9:54 remaining.
The Cougars then recovered the ball after a pooch kick and capitalized on that when Rose connected with Jacob Saldate for a touchdown in a 21-20 victory.
A strong defensive showing by Clovis that included a fumble recovery and a turnover on downs sealed the win.
No. 7 Clovis North won its third straight in a 40-7 victory over No. 10 Centennial.
No. 5 Central had no problems against No. 12 Redwood, winning 48-21.
In the quarterfinals Thursday, three Fresno-area games are rematches. Clovis West, by virtue of its top seed, gets the home-field advantage at Veterans Memorial Stadium against Clovis (CW won 27-0 to cap a 9-1 regular season). No. 2 Buchanan plays Clovis North at Lamonica Stadium (CN won 28-21 in Week 10). Central goes to No. 4 San Joaquin Memorial (SJM won 23-21 in Week 2).
Division II: 80 points scored and a shocker
No. 4 Hanford became the first section team to score 80-plus points this season in an 84-21 victory over No. 13 Ridgeview.
The Bullpups led 63-14 at halftime.
Hanford will host No. 5 Bakersfield Christian after the Eagles rallied for a 22-21 victory over No. 12 Edison on a two-point conversion in overtime.
Edison had the lead 14-0 before Bakersfield Christian stormed back in the fourth quarter.
Bryson Waterman converted on the two-point conversion in OT after a passing touchdown.
Eagles coach Darren Carr is impressed with Edison senior QB Ya’j Vance, who finished with one touchdown pass and had 98 yards rushing.
He even told the Bakersfield Californian that they went for two because of Vance.
“I ran up to (offensive coordinator) Dave (David Carr), I’m like, ‘We can’t let No. 10 (Vance) get back on the field, man,’” Carr said. “So we got the ball right now, we scored on that double pass ... It was all or nothing, man.”
Darren Carr expressed his admiration on Twitter encouraging Fresno State to recruit Vance.
Division III upsets
Sunnyside did some damage at Bob Mathias Stadium defeating Tulare Union behind Tanner Wilson’s four touchdowns.
The Wildcats came in as the 11th seed, but they showed anything but that against the sixth-seeded Tribe in a 41-22 win.
No. 2 Porterville was left in shock after a 28-7 loss to No. 15 Independence.
The Panthers could never get going and the Falcons scored 21 points in the fourth quarter.
Game balls
Gage Armbruster, Corcoran: Passing touchdown, rushing touchdown and an interception return for a touchdown as the Panthers defeated McLane 28-12 in Division V.
Xaidyn Camacho, Riverdale: Passed for two touchdowns and had one receiving touchdown to help the Cowboys to a 41-36 victory over Chowchilla in Division VI.
Jackson Cinfel, Clovis North: 13 carries for 119 yards and two touchdowns in the Broncos’ 40-7 victory over Centennial.
Vincent Cordoba, Clovis North: Five receptions for 118 yards and two touchdowns helped the Broncos beat Centennial.
Adam Delgado, Kerman: Three touchdowns including one on an interception return to help the Lions to a 49-3 victory over Santa Ynez in Division III. He finished with two interceptions.
Andre Flores, Dos Palos: Ran for three scores and totaled 113 yards on nine carries in the Broncos’ 45-13 victory over West.
Jacob Gonzalez, Sanger: Stingy defense keyed by Gonzalez’s sack in the first half as the Apaches shut out Paso Robles 21-0.
Kenny Jackson, Mission Oak: Nine carries for 100 yards and ran for three scores to lead the Hawks to a 30-25 victory over San Luis Obispo in Division III.
Cayden Muir, Hanford: He had four touchdown passes and ran for one score in the Bullpups’ victory.
Ray Osuna, Coalinga: He had a 4-yard rushing touchdown and also had an interception the Horned Toads’ 22-6 victory over Exeter in Division IV.
Ahmed Sharhan, Madera South: Set the tone when he scored the Stallions’ first two touchdowns (rush and a pass) in a 40-34 win over Santa Maria in Division V.
Dayton Tafoya, Central: He completed 19 of 28 for 292 yards and four touchdowns in the Grizzlies’ 48-21 win over Centennial.
Bee’s playoff predictions
In the opening round of the playoffs, The Bee went 30-7.
The Bee picked No. 11 Sunnyside to beat No. 6 Tulare Union and that’s what they did in a 41-22 victory in Division III.
The Bee is now 82-21.
