Fresno-area high school football: Showdown is next. How Buchanan and Central set it up
Imari Conley was thinking touchdown.
Never mind that he fumbled along the way.
Conley returned a 97-yard kickoff for a touchdown to give The Bee’s third-ranked Central High Grizzlies a 27-20 victory over No. 10 Clovis in a Tri-River Athletic Conference football opener Friday night at Deran Koligan Stadium in Fresno.
“I ran the ball and I fumbled the ball and I picked it up and just started running like my life depended on it, and then 27-20,” Conley said.
Clovis had taken a 20-19 lead after an 18-yard touchdown run by Tristan Risley with 4:07 remaining.
Conley then took over, but not before fumbling at the Grizzlies 25-yard line. The ball bounced back up to him and he ran to the end zone with 3:54 remaining. Ah’marion Gaines-Smith ran it for a two-point conversion.
Clovis got the ball back and was in Grizzlies territory.
The Cougars went for it on a fourth down and hit a pass play, but Gaines-Smith made a big hit short of the first-down marker that sealed the win.
“I thought our defense played really well,” Central coach Kyle Biggs said. “I thought defense got after it and they did a great job, and offensively we got away a little bit. Credit to Clovis High in their defense. They confused us a little bit and they did some good things.”
Buchanan 44, Clovis West 14
No. 1 Buchanan took care of business early and often over the 12th-ranked Golden Eagles.
Jayden Mandal threw three touchdown passes to lead the Bears.
“He’s growing and we just got to continue to help him grow,” Buchanan coach Matt Giordano said. “I’m sure there are passes he wants back, but that’s the type of kid he is. He’s a competitor and he’s always humbled and he’s doing great things.”
The win sets up a TRAC showdown with Central at Veterans Memorial Stadium at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.
Buchanan won the TRAC championship earlier in the spring after defeating the Grizzlies 31-28. Central had beaten the Bears six straight before that.
“It’s turned into a great rivalry,” Giordano said. “It’s good for our league, it’s good for the Valley and it’s good for high school and the kids. I’m excited about it, but right now I’m going to enjoy this win tonight and we’ll focus on Central.”
Clovis North 23, Clovis East 6
Jake Parnagian’s two touchdown runs helped the Broncos roll to a TRAC victory.
Clovis North took control from the early going, jumping out to a 7-0 lead on Andrew Chavez’s touchdown run.
Vincent Cordoba had two interceptions for the Broncos.
Clovis North had a 23-0 halftime lead.
Game balls
Gabriel Basulto had 13 carries for 137 yards and two touchdowns in Selma’s 43-7 win over Hanford West.
Mikey Bell had three touchdown passes and ran for a score, leading San Joaquin Memorial to a 42-7 win over Madera.
Interception returns for touchdowns by Jadon Cordova and Jaiden Young on consecutive passes in the fourth quarter broke open a close game in Tulare Union’s 26-0 win over Monache.
Imari Conley ran back a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to lift Central to a 27-20 win over Clovis.
Vincent Cordoba had two interceptions in Clovis North’s 23-6 win over Clovis East.
Carmine Ficher threw for 199 yards and four touchdowns in Tulare Western’s 56-21 win over Delano.
Cayden Muir threw for 358 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions in Hanford’s 59-32 win over El Diamante.
Danny Olivera ran for 198 yards and five scores, leading Firebaugh past Tranquillity 48-0.
Ashton Rodriguez ran for three scores and finished with 121 yards in Sanger’s 28-13 win over Edison.
Jack Rogers’ 95-yard kickoff return in the first quarter was more than enough in Kingsburg’s 35-7 win over Exeter.
Demel Turner had an interception return that went 71 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter, helping Lemoore to a 21-14 victory over Redwood.
Ryan Warkentin had 173 rushing yards and three touchdowns in Reedley’s 42-6 win over Hoover. He also had a TD reception.
Air quality affects games
Poor air quality forced the TRAC opener between Buchanan and Clovis West to be pushed back for an hour because of bad air quality because of the wildfires in and around Sequoia National Park.
Kickoff was scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Stadium. The game got started at 8 p.m.
Strathmore’s homecoming game against Woodlake is postponed and moved to 6:45 p.m. Monday.
Player of the Week winner
Cayden Muir of Hanford is the winner of The Bee’s Player of the Week for Week 5.
Muir had 7,019 votes (47%) finishing ahead of Trent Calvert of Dos Palos who had 5,884 votes (40%).
Finishing third is Duran Delgado of Selma who finished with 1,728 votes (12%).
Muir joins past winners Tanner Wilson of Sunnyside (Week 0), Beau Green of Madera (Week 1), Andrew Camarillo of Orosi (Week 2), Ah’marion Gaines-Smith of Central (Week 3) and Caleb Hall of Edison (Week 4).
The Week 6 poll begins Monday.
Top 25 fared
1. Buchanan (5-1) defeated Clovis West 44-14
2. Liberty-Bakersfield (4-2) defeated Garces 26-7
3. Central (5-0) defeated Clovis 27-20
4. San Joaquin Memorial (5-0) defeated Madera 42-7
5. Centennial (4-0) Saturday at Bakersfield
6. Garces (3-3) lost to Liberty-Bakersfield 26-7
7. Hanford (4-0) defeated El Diamante 59-32
8. Frontier (4-1) defeated Stockdale 23-17
9. Bullard (3-3) defeated Madera South 35-7
10. Clovis (4-2) lost to Central 27-20
11. Kingsburg (4-2) defeated Exeter 35-7
12. Clovis West (2-3) lost to Buchanan 44-14
13. Mission Prep (5-0) defeated Atascadero 27-7
14. Sanger (4-2) defeated Edison 28-13
15. Central Valley Christian (5-1) defeated Dinuba 24-21
16. Nipomo (6-0) defeated Righetti 21-13
17. Reedley (5-0) defeated Hoover 42-16
18. Lemoore (4-1) defeated Redwood 21-14
19. Clovis East (4-2) lost to Clovis North 23-6
20. Paso Robles (3-2) defeated St. Joseph 26-21
21. Mission Oak (5-0) game vs. Porterville canceled
22. Bakersfield Christian (3-2) defeated Independence 42-28
23. Tulare Western (4-2) defeated Delano 56-21
24. Clovis North (4-2) defeated Clovis East 23-6
25. Dinuba (3-3) lost to Central Valley Christian 24-21
