Buchanan duo comes through in the clutch in revenge game in playoffs against Clovis North
Weeks after Buchanan suffered an upset loss to Clovis North, the Bears got sweet revenge in the Central Section high school football playoffs Thursday night.
Bears quarterback Jayden Mandal, a Fresno State commit, and running back Michael Runnels made it happen when both scored a pair of touchdowns to lead the second-seeded Bears to a 37-24 victory over No. 7 Clovis North in a Division I quarterfinal at Lamonica Stadium.
Buchanan coach Ross Wood said his team’s first-round playoff bye was both a challenge and a plus.
“It was awesome to see our kids respond,” Wood said. “We lost to them, obviously, earlier in the year and they weren’t feeling too happy these last two weeks, but having two weeks to prepare for a team, helps a lot, and the kids came out and battled.”
The win sets up a rematch between Buchanan and No. 3 Liberty-Bakersfield in the semifinals at Lamonica Stadium on Nov. 18. The venue at Clovis High is Buchanan’s “home field” while higher-seeded Clovis West lays claim to Veterans Memorial Stadium onn the Buchanan campus.
The teams met in Bakersfield in the regular season, won by the Bears 35-27 in a lightning-shortened game on Sept. 9.
Clovis North showed grit with wins against the Bears (28-21) and Central (35-28) in back-to-back weeks to end the regular season and a dominating first-round win over Centennial.
The Broncos on Thursday night made it a close game in the fourth quarter when Mario Cosma found Jacob Couch for a 10-yard touchdown to trail 31-24 with 5:31 remaining.
But the Bears sealed it when Runnels scored on a 40-yard run.
Colton O’Toole got in the act, too. He had a receiving touchdown and threw one to Mandal.
This story was originally published November 10, 2022 at 10:24 PM.
