High school football: Top games recap; game balls; player of the week winner is ...
Week 1 of the Central Section high school football season saw plenty of schedule shuffling with cancellations and two games called because of dangerous air quality.
Here’s a look at how some of the top matchups went:
Clovis West 28, Damonte Ranch-Reno 6
Both teams were needing an opponent after games were canceled.
Damonte Ranch was already in Fresno when its game at Central game was canceled because of safety concerns. The Golden Eagles’ game against Redwood was called off due to COVID-19 concerns with the Rangers.
That led to a hastily arranged 5 p.m. matchup on the practice field inside Clovis West’s track.
Eric Brown got his first coaching victory at his alma mater. Another former Golden Eagle, Kendall Brock, was on the opposite sideline as a Damonte Ranch coach. Brock finished his collegiate career at Nevada in 2014.
Buchanan 27, Bullard 0
The Bee’s top-ranked Bears beat their second straight Top 25 opponent after opening the season with a 33-7 victory at No. 13 Kingsburg.
Buchanan broke the game open in the second half, outscoring No. 10 Bullard 21-0. Bears quarterback Jayden Mandal finished with two touchdown passes.
Clovis 34, Bakersfield 14
On Jenna Prandini night, the fifth-ranked Cougars rolled behind three touchdowns by Tristan Risley. He had two touchdown runs in the first half before No. 9 Bakersfield tied the game at 14-14 in the third quarter. Clovis scored 20 unanswered points. Risley added his third touchdown in the third quarter when he scored on a 22-yard run.
Hanford at San Joaquin Memorial
The No. 14 Bullpups led 7-0 in the second quarter on Trace Gonzales’ 1-yard run. The fourth-ranked Panthers answered on a 2-yard touchdown run by Brandon Ramirez. Memorial added a two-point conversion on Brock Harrington’s pass to James Mahoney.
The game was suspended at halftime because of the poor air quality. It was not immediately known if or when the remainder of the game would resume, or if it’d be called a no-contest. Memorial has a bye week coming up on its schedule. Hanford’s bye week, however, already passed after the Bullpups did not play during Week 0.
Game balls
▪ Dos Palos senior running back Trent Calvert ran for three scores in the Broncos’ 21-7 victory against Kerman.
▪ Bryson Donelson had four touchdowns in El Diamante’s 47-44 win over Tulare Union. He had three touchdowns in the second quarter.
▪ Mikey Olvera broke Dinuba’s school record when he finished with 276 receiving yards in the Emperors’ 48-20 win over Tulare Western. He also finished the game with three touchdowns. Dinuba quarterback Casimiro Barragan threw for 429 yards and four touchdowns, and rushed for another.
▪ Clovis’ Tristan Risley scored three touchdowns and ran for 193 yards in the 34-14 victory over Bakersfield. He also had two receptions for 34 yards.
▪ D’Marcus Watson finished with 10 tackles, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, one interception and had a receiving touchdown in Lemoore’s 47-6 victory over Chowchilla.
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Clovis East, McLane win shortened games
The Clovis East-Atwater game was called at halftime because of the poor air quality made dangerous by smoke from the fires in Northern California.
Clovis East was declared the winner after leading at halftime 34-0. Timberwolves freshman quarterback Ty Miller completed 7 of 11 for 123 yards and two touchdowns and was effective on the ground with four carries for 71 yards and a touchdown.
The game between McLane and Orosi was called with eight minutes remaining in the fourth quarter because of the air quality with no plans of finishing the game.
McLane’s Adrian Salinas hit Dominque Newhouse for a 16-yard touchdown to extend the Highlanders’ lead to 21-12 in the fourth quarter. The Cardinals cut into the lead on Andrew Camarillo’s 5-yard touchdown run.
McLane won 21-18 to reach 2-0 on the season.
Sunnyside, Reedley 2-0
Two other North Yosemite League teams are 2-0.
Sunnyside went to 2-0 after defeating South 23-13 at Golden Valley Stadium in Bakersfield.
No. 21 Reedley also went to 2-0 after a 33-21 win over Sierra Pacific. Ryan Warkentin had a 50-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to extend the Pirates’ lead to 26-7.
Next week, Sunnyside will face Selma, Reedley hosts Woodlake and McLane plays Corcoran.
Coach picks up first win at alma mater
C.J. Lester picked up his first career win as Dinuba rolled to a 48-20 win over Tulare Western.
Lester played at Dinuba for then-coach Kevin Scharton. He moved on to play at College of the Sequoias before joining Delta State.
Player of the Week winner is ...
Tanner Wilson of Sunnyside is The Bee’s Week 0 Player of the Week winner.
The freshman QB completed 28 of 38 for 440 yards and four TDs, leading the Wildcats to a 30-28 win over Golden Valley-Merced.
He picked up 49.5% of the votes, ahead of Andrew Camarillo of Orosi who had 39.5%. Rounding out the top five is Dayton Tafoya of Central (8.4%), Jaydan Mandal of Buchanan (2.5%) and Michael Iriye of Mission Oak (2.0%).
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How The Bee’s Top 25 fared
1. Buchanan (2-0) defeated No. 10 Bullard 27-0
2. Liberty-Bakersfield (2-0) defeated Ridgeview 51-0
3. Central (1-0) did not play, game canceled against Damonte Ranch-Reno
4. San Joaquin Memorial (1-0) game vs. No. 14 Hanford suspended due to air quality, Memorial leading 8-7
5. Clovis (2-0) defeated No. 9 Bakersfield 34-14
6. Frontier (2-0) defeated No. 12 St. Joseph 35-33
7. Garces (2-0) defeated Paraclete-Lancaster 45-31
8. Sanger (1-1) defeated Roosevelt 27-7
9. Bakersfield (0-2) lost to No. 5 Clovis 34-14
10. Bullard (0-2) lost to No. 1 Buchanan 27-0
11. Tulare Western (0-1) lost to Dinuba 48-20
12. St. Joseph (0-2) lost to No. 6 Frontier 35-33
13. Kingsburg (0-1) did not play. Game canceled against Washington Union
14. Hanford (0-0) game vs. No. 4 San Joaquin Memorial suspended due to air quality, Memorial leading 8-7
15. Central Valley Christian (2-0) defeated Mt. Whitney 31-0
16. Bakersfield Christian (1-1) defeated Edison 55-28
17. Paso Robles (1-1) defeated Independence 14-6
18. Tulare Union (0-1) lost to El Diamante 47-44
19. Nipomo (2-0) defeated Cabrillo-Lompoc 56-0
20. Centennial (2-0) defeated Arroyo Grande 47-21
21. Reedley (2-0) defeated Sierra Pacific 33-21
22. Redwood (0-1) game canceled against Clovis West
23. Golden West (0-1) lost to Tehachapi 12-3
24. Righetti (0-1) lost to Lompoc 42-20
25. El Diamante (1-0) defeated Tulare Union 47-44
This story was originally published August 28, 2021 at 12:42 PM.
