Prep notebook: Three football games rescheduled

The rivalry football game between Kingsburg and Washington will be played after all, thanks to an assist from Sierra.

One of several Fresno County games scratched last Friday because of poor air quality, the nonleague game between the Vikings and Panthers has been rescheduled for Oct. 9 in Easton.

Sierra made that possible for agreeing to move its game at Washington from Oct. 9 to Oct. 2. Originally, both the Chieftains and Panthers had byes that night.

A home football game with Kingsburg and its homecoming game – which happens to be Oct. 23 against Liberty-Madera Ranchos this season – typically are Washington’s largest sports revenue producers of the year, generating about $10,000 each, Panthers athletic director Jeff Freitas said.

Central and Roosevelt were also involved in rescheduled home games.

Central, making up for a cancellation with Liberty-Bakersfield, has arranged a nonleague game with Buhach Colony-Atwater Sept. 24 at 7 p.m. at Koligian Stadium.

Roosevelt’s nonleague homecoming game with Mendota has been moved to Oct. 1 at 7 p.m. at Sunnyside Stadium.

Avila returns to Fresno

Dan Avila has returned to Fresno High without having coached a girls basketball game at Bullard.

He’s been replaced at Bullard by Cheyanne Alcala, who has been assisted Fresno City College men’s coach Ed Madec.

Avila said he came back to Fresno because he was offered a full-time position as a special education teacher. He would have been a substitute teacher at Bullard.

“That was the only legitimate reason I would leave,” he said. “I don’t want a bad reputation for jumping ship for no reason.”

Avila went 74-41 in a Warriors D-III program that had gone 24-67 in four seasons before he arrived. They placed second to Mission Oak in the section finals last season.

Alcala, 24, played at Lemoore, Fresno City and Cal State Los Angeles.

Exeter loses Miller to broken leg

The loss of receiver/defensive back/ kick returner Skylar Miller to a broke leg during Exeter’s 37-34 victory over McLane on Friday leaves a huge void for the Monarchs football team.

But the lesson learned in sportsmanship following the accident has left a lasting impression on second-year Exeter coach Chris Frankland.

“Both teams, as we walked off the field, realized there are much bigger things than football,” Frankland said. “I can’t put into words my respect and appreciation for the amount of class McLane showed.”

Skylar, a 6-foot-5, 180-pound junior suffered a gruesome broken left left between the knee and ankle – Frankland said the leg laid at a 90-degree angle after the break – on a fourth-quarter kickoff return.

McLane trainer David Holford immediately responded and held Miller’s leg still for approximately 35-40 minutes until an ambulance with paramedics arrived to take over. And Highlanders players and coaches did all they could to help comfort Miller and members of his family who gathered on the field.

Frankland said Miller, also a basketball standout, underwent surgery Saturday and is expected to make a complete recovery. Doctors hope he’ll be able to return to action by the second half of basketball season.

Miller caught four passes for 34 yards, made 11 tackles and two interceptions, returned six kickoffs for an average of 29.3 yards and returned four punts an average of 20.3 yards during a 3-0 start for the Monarchs.

Clovis West wins volleyball tourney title

Behind Tiersa Bailey and Micah Hebert, the Clovis West girls volleyball team went 8-0 through the Central California Classic Varsity Tournament over the weekend, capped by a 17-25, 25-23, 15-13 victory against Tri River Athletic Conference rival Central in the final.

Bailey was named the MVP and Hebert first-team all-tournament after contributing 45 and 55 kills, respectively, in 18 sets during the tournament in Modesto. The Golden Eagles also received 108 assists, 33 kills, 32 digs, 12 aces and six blocks from Sarah Armendariz, 87 digs from Lili Tavlan, 69 assists and 33 digs from Maddie Frediani and 39 kills and 42 digs from Kegan Simas.

Clovis West (12-3) beat Tracy 25-21, 21-25, 15-11 in one semifinal, while Central (21-4) downed defending CIF State Division I runner-up Pitman-Turlock 25-21, 19-25, 15-11 in the other.

The Grizzlies received 47 kills from Makayla Lewis, 45 kills from Makayla Riddlesprigger and 43 kills from Shanea Laird a weekend after finishing in a four-way tie for fifth place at the Clovis Varsity Challenge, which was won by the host Cougars behind tournament MVP Taylen Ballard.

TRAC schools Clovis (No. 2), Clovis West (No. 5) and Central (No. 6) make up three of the top six in The Bee’s Central Section rankings, all behind top-ranked Centennial.

This story was originally published September 15, 2015 at 5:50 PM with the headline "Prep notebook: Three football games rescheduled."