Week 4 prep football rewind: Bullard’s new offense hits stride in key victory

Bullard High hit a higher gear on a night when many of the contenders for the Central Section’s Division I football championship either lost or proved vulnerable.

The Bee’s No. 4-ranked Knights, displaying a consistent and potent offense for the first time this season, powered past No. 3 Clovis West 42-23 on Friday at Veterans Memorial Stadium in the most authoritative performance of the night among teams chasing the D-I title.

That made Bullard (4-1) a clear benefactor when considering developments around the rest of the section, including:

▪ Top-ranked Clovis (5-0) surviving 28-27 against No. 16 Centennial thanks to Josh Hokit’s blocked point-after kick late in the third quarter after the Hawks had tied the score.

▪ No. 2 Liberty-Bakersfield committing eight turnovers in a 24-10 loss to Cathedral Catholic of the San Diego Section, dropping to 1-4 on the season.

▪ No. 7 Stockdale, which gave Clovis a scare during a 49-42 loss on Sept. 18, getting blown out by defending D-II champion and fifth-ranked Ridgeview 43-22.

So Bullard, with only a loss to then state No. 8-ranked Grant in a game moved from Fresno to Sacramento on Sept. 12 because of poor air quality, looks as strong as anyone through five weeks and with its victory against Clovis West, figures to possess a major trump card come playoff seeding time in mid-November.

“We felt all along that we can compete for a Valley championship,” Bullard coach Don Arax said. “But there is still a long way to go.”

Arax was encouraged by an offense, after switching to the West Coast wing-T this season from the spread, that exploded for 533 yards against the Golden Eagles (2-1).

The Knights rushed for 365 yards and passed for 168, up from their season averages of 272.8 and 109.5. Leading the way was Charles Williams, who rushed for 249 yards and three touchdowns on 37 carries, and Jack Taylor, who completed 10 of 15 passes with one touchdown.

Bullard was particularly strong when it counted – scoring on all three of its fourth-quarter possessions to break open a 21-16 game behind an offensive line of left tackle Chris Milburn, right tackle Jacob Markarian, guards Isaiah Maldonado, Josue Gutierrez and Andrew Mena, center Connor Vikupitz and tight ends Cameron Lamanuzzi, and Cvaughn Stewart.

“We’ve been looking for that kind of offensive explosion,” said Arax, who also assumed play-calling duties this season. “We’ve shown hints of it, but this was our breakout.”

Bullard, which was coming off a 21-17 win over a then-winless Central, caught Clovis West at the end of a two-week break caused by the poor air quality on Sept. 11 and a scheduled bye last week.

Said Clovis coach Rich Hammond: “People are going to get fired up about Bullard’s win, and they should. But Bullard just got by Central the week before, so it just goes to show how evenly matched the teams are in Division I. Anyone can beat anyone.”

Clovis happy to win in Bakersfield – Hammond admitted the Cougars’ victory over Centennial came with flaws, particularly the two kickoff returns for touchdowns that Clovis allowed along with a punt return for a score that was erased by a penalty.

But the bottom line was the Cougars emerged as the only remaining undefeated D-I team while winning for the seventh time in eight trips to Bakersfield since Hammond took over as coach in 2009.

“It wasn’t pretty and there were lots of things we want to fix about it,” Hammond said. “You can’t give up two kick returns for touchdowns with another one called back. You make it tough on yourself when you give away points on special teams.

“And that’s something we have to rectify. But at the same time, to go down there and get a win is a good thing.”

The Cougars’ high-flying pass offense was limited for a night by Centennial, with quarterback Sean Kuenzinger completing 6 of 18 passes for 107 yards and one interception.

But the running game picked up the slack. Nash Vidmar (12 carries, 93 yards and a touchdown) and Christian Copeland (10 carries for 77 yards) did most of the damage as Clovis rushed 31 times for 234 yards.

The Bakersfield Californian reported two Cougars were taken away by ambulance after suffering injuries against Centennial. Hammond declined to name the players, citing a student confidentiality contract, but did say the team suffered no injuries that would keep any players out of the next scheduled game Oct. 9 at home to open Tri-River Athletic Conference play against Clovis East.

Lemoore getting healthy – While Ridgeview (4-0) and No. 15 Tulare (4-0) appear to be sprinting toward the top two seeds in Division II, don’t forget about No. 13 Lemoore, which received five touchdown passes from Logan Ahlin in a 41-6 West Yosemite League-opening win over Redwood.

Ahlin had missed the previous two games for the Tigers (3-2) – a 24-0 loss to No. 9 Buchanan and a 21-19 victory against No. 14 Sanger last week – after suffering a concussion Sept. 4 during a 41-24 loss at Clovis.

Ahlin delivered a pair of touchdowns to Allen Perryman, and one each to A.J. Bow, Reggie Davis and Jordan Perryman.

“Having Logan back really helped because he brings us another dimension,” Lemoore coach Shannon Pulliam said. “He throws the ball deeper and he can run, too. When he gets out of the pocket, he’s pretty quick.

“Sometimes you wonder what the heck he is doing. Then you’re like ‘Oh, OK. He’s got this.’ He does a good job of keeping his eyes downfield and finding those guys.”

Lemoore had starting running back Trey Perryman and guard Mitchell Ford back in the lineup. Perryman has been fighting an ankle injury since the Tigers’ opener Aug. 27 against Monache, while Ford missed the Sanger game with a knee injury.

“Having three offensive starters back was a real mental lift,” Pulliam said. “It’s really good when the kids know they are playing at full strength.”

Harris cleared for return – Tulare’s Romello Harris, the section’s fourth-leading career rusher who was injured while playing safety in the opening moments of the Redskins’ 45-19 win over Kingsburg on Sept. 18, has been given a doctor’s clearance to return to action less than a week after undergoing surgery to insert a plate and seven screws in his broken left ring finger.

But whether the senior with 6,315 career yards – trailing only Bakersfield’s Steve Wofford (7,100), Tulare’s Dominique Dorsey (7,761) and Mendota’s Edgar Segura (8,029) in section history, according to Bob Barnett – is not a sure thing to play Oct. 2 when No. 15 Tulare (4-0) hosts No. 18 Dinuba (3-2) in its homecoming game.

“He’s ready to go but it’s a matter of how bad I want to play him,” said Tulare coach Darren Bennett, whose team had a bye this week. “I need him 100 percent when we get to the playoffs, not Week 5. So we’ll see.”

Bennett will play it cautious with Harris for two reasons: He doesn’t place a high importance on winning the nonleague game given D-II top-ranked Ridgeview’s 4-0 start, and the emergence of sophomore running back Kazmeir Allen, who rushed for 321 yards and four touchdowns in Harris absence.

Looking forward – The biggest games next week are set for Veterans Memorial Stadium and Griffith Field, with Clovis West hosting No. 10 Edison (1-3) in Clovis and No. 11 Bakersfield (2-2) hosting Ridgeview in D-I showdowns.

Other potential rankings shakers are Central (1-3) at No. 8 Frontier (3-1) in D-I, and a D-IV clash of rivals when Madera South (3-1) plays at Liberty-Madera Ranchos (4-0).

This story was originally published September 26, 2015 at 6:49 PM with the headline "Week 4 prep football rewind: Bullard’s new offense hits stride in key victory."