Madera, Bullard enjoy exciting finishes. Memorial overcomes Clovis East

Week 5 of the Central Section high school football season saw the top teams dominate while those in the middle produced some epic games.

In Selma, Madera and the host Bears went double-overtime before the Coyotes won 57-55. Madera quarterback Colt Nelson had the game of the night, completing 23 of 35 passes for 374 yards and seven touchdowns.

Bullard beat Clovis West 37-35 on Cameron Simon’s winning 35-yard field goal in the final seconds.

And in Bakersfield, Clovis North rallied for a late touchdown to force overtime only to fall to Ridgeview 20-14.

Central, No. 1 in The Bee’s section Top 10 rankings, routed Turlock 54-14. The Grizzlies (5-0) get a bye next week before a showdown with No. 2 Buchanan on Sept. 28 in a Tri-River Athletic Conference opener. Grizzlies QB Trent Tompkins completed 21 of 32 for 412 yards and seven TDs.

Buchanan had its bye Friday night ahead of a game at home next Friday against national power De La Salle-Concord.

No. 4 San Joaquin Memorial also moved to 5-0, rallying after up-and-coming Clovis East took a 21-0 lead for a 28-21 win. The key for the Panthers was bottling up outstanding Clovis East running back Ryan Hunt after a big first half.

Clovis had jumped to No. 6 in the rankings but No. 5 Liberty-Bakersfield set the Cougars back with a 48-10 win.

Nathan Lamb tied a school record by throwing for seven touchdowns as No. 7 Tulare Union beat Lemoore 49-0 for its 21st consecutive regular-season win. Lamb’s first pass was incomplete, then he completed his last 15 for 225 yards.

McLane won its fourth straight, beating Yosemite 42-13 in coach JD Burnett’s “homecoming” game. Burnett is a former Yosemite star who coached the Badgers the past three seasons.

This story was originally published September 14, 2018 at 11:06 PM.