High school football: Clovis North the outright TRAC champion after win over Central
It was a bit of a relief for Clovis North coach Mike Jacot.
Finally, the Broncos are Tri-River Athletic Conference outright champions.
The Bee’s top-ranked Clovis North held off No. 4 Central 27-20 to keep its undefeated season intact on Thursday night at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
It was the Broncos’ first TRAC title since the 2013 season and will head into the Central Section playoffs at 10-0.
“Obviously a big improvement,” Jacot said after they had gone 7-5 last season. “Our senior leaders ... those are the same guys that played last year. We got a good junior class.”
The Broncos relied heavily on their run game as they have always done all season.
Leading the way for Clovis North was Jackson Cinfel, who crossed the end zone twice and rushed for 205 yards.
McKay Madsen and Andrew Chavez also ran for a score for the Broncos.
Clovis North led 20-6 in the third quarter, but the Grizzlies scored a touchdown on David Marquez’s 1-yard run.
Central forced the Broncos to punt in the third quarter and were driving down the field to Clovis North’s 18-yard line before turning the ball over on downs.
The Broncos put away the game on Chavez’s 4-yard touchdown run with 1:19 remaining.
Despite the loss, Grizzlies coach Kyle Biggs saw a lot of positives from his team heading into the playoffs.
“They did everything we asked them to do,” he said. “They played as hard as they could for 48 minutes. (Clovis North) made a few more plays than we did and they got the win.
“We just got to keep working hard and keep grinding. We’re a few plays away here and there and hopefully we get better, and in the playoffs, those breaks kind of go our way.”
Jacot said for now they Bears will enjoy the TRAC title and will await to see where they will be seeded when playoff pairings are announced Saturday afternoon.
The Broncos could be the top seed.
“I don’t even know what I can tell you,” Jacot said. “I’m too happy for our program and celebrating where we’re at right now. I have no idea what the seeds look like. When we find out, we’ll get back to work.”
Clovis too much for Clovis West
Deagan Rose shined for No. 17 Clovis in the annual Range Rider Trophy game against Clovis West.
Rose passed for two touchdowns and ran for three in the Cougars’ 48-34 victory over the ninth-ranked Golden Eagles at Lamonica Stadium.
The scores was tied at 34 before Clovis reeled off 14 unanswered points.
Clovis will head into the playoffs after finishing the regular season at 7-3 and 3-2 in the TRAC.
Clovis West is now 5-5 and 1-4.
Clovis East rolls past Buchanan
No. 5 Clovis East built a 21-0 lead and went on to defeat Buchanan 48-24 at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
It was the Timberwolves’ first win against the Bears in 15 years.
Tyus Miller finished the game with three passing touchdowns and ran for a score. Tommy Nix and Tyrone Bishop each scored twice.
Clovis East improved to 8-2 and 3-2 while the Bears fell to 2-8 and 0-5.
This story was originally published October 27, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
