Prep football roundup: Sanger again gets best of CMAC rival Memorial

Any thoughts that a rematch between Sanger and Memorial highs in the playoffs would be any different than the regular-season meeting were quickly dispatched Friday night.

Running back Sawyer Pittman broke free for an 86-yard touchdown run on Sanger's first play from scrimmage and the No. 4-seeded Apaches throttled their County/Metro Athletic Conference rivals 49-26 in a Central Section Division II quarterfinal.

The reward is a trip to Bakersfield, where Sanger will face top-seeded Ridgeview (10-1) in a semifinal.

Sanger (8-3) waited until the third quarter of the regular-season finale before hanging 21 on Memorial en route to a 24-7 win.

This time, it was over by halftime, as the Apaches rolled to a 35-7 lead, helped along by scoring runs from quarterback Travis Turner, running back Brandon Gonzalez and two more from Pittman — who finished with 136 yards rushing on nine carries.

The Panthers (8-4) were held to 23 yards rushing.

Ridgeview beat eighth-seeded Tulare 55-27.

Isaac Leppke threw third-quarter touchdown passes of 35 and 41 yards to Emiliano Huerta to break a 6-6 tie. Michael Wright’s second touchdown, a 2-yard run, and a third Leppke-to-Huerta score gave Dinuba breathing room.

Wright finished with 189 yards on 24 carries.

Josh Sierra was 14 of 32 passing for 153 yards and a score for Kingsburg (6-6).

Spencer Montgomery was a bright spot for Tulare (7-5) with 181 yards and two TDs receiving. 

Division I

Liberty held the Eagles (6-6) to negative-16 rushing yards in the second half, with the Hawks defense delivering four sacks and seven tackles for loss.

Meanwhile, the Liberty offense woke up to produce two fourth-quarter touchdowns on a 14-yard Jordan Love run and an 18-yard highlight-reel pass from Love to Braylin Scott, who caught the ball with one hand in the corner of the end zone to produce the final score with 8:01 left.

Nicholas Marrone kicked field goals of 30 and 21 yards to put the Eagles on the board early, but Liberty took a 7-6 lead into the break because of Krys Barnes, who intercepted Kordel Hoffman midway through the second quarter and raced 71 yards into the end zone.

Hoffman finished the game 18 of 29 for 155 yards passing and one interception and led the Eagles in rushing with 36 yards on 22 attempts.

Caleb Kelly had 84 yards receiving on five catches to lead Clovis West.

The Bears cut a 21-point deficit to four, scoring 17 unanswered points in the second quarter before a second-half fallout saw the Drillers score four straight touchdowns.

Division III

The Hanford Sentinel reported that the teams were separated after the game, with Hanford sent to its weight room and Fresno kept on the field.

Khory Day scored on the first play of the fourth quarter to pull the No. 9 Warriors within 28-10, and later Fresno mounted a drive only to see Francisco Ramirez return a fumble 95 yards for a score that sealed it for the top-seeded Bullpups, who host No. 5 Bakersfield Christian (a 20-7 winner over Tulare Western on Thursday) in the semifinals.

Jesus Jimenez scored on a 62-yard run on the second play of the game and the rout was on. Jimenez added a 3-yard TD run after an interception, and quarterback Nathaniel Nelson and Kristopher Bueno hooked up on scoring passes of 81 and 53 yards to help Madera build its lead.

The second Nelson-Bueno TD came with 18 seconds left in the quarter, one play after South scored.

Trey McJunkin was 18-of-25 for 273 yards and three scores and added 73 yards rushing on 11 carries for Mission Oak, which hosts Madera in the semifinals.

Defensively, Koby Tripp had an interception and fumble recovery and Jaden Enriquez had a 19-yard blocked punt return.

Division IV

Golden West (7-4) scored on its first two drives of the second half, getting a 57-yard TD run by Sheldon White for the go-ahead points.

Liberty beat the Lions (7-5) 34-16 just three weeks ago en route to their first outright North Sequoia League championship.

Next up is a date with Golden West in Madera Ranchos.

Division V

Desmond Curtis had six sacks for Corcoran, which also intercepted Metcalf three times.

Nico Portillo threw a touchdown pass to Dillon Fugate on the first play of the fourth quarter to put the Panthers comfortably ahead 20-7.

Rangel’s 8-yard return accounted for the last touchdown of the game as Mendota (9-3) advanced to another home game, against No. 8 Corcoran.

This story was originally published November 21, 2014 at 10:57 PM with the headline "Prep football roundup: Sanger again gets best of CMAC rival Memorial."