Central’s dominant victory over Clovis North secures Central Section championship berth
Jelani Dippel knew a better game from him than the last meeting with Clovis North would be needed to take down the defending Central Section champions.
It certainly helped that the Grizzlies defense did their part too in slowing McKay Madsen despite one rushing touchdown.
Dippel completed 18 of 30 for 229 yards and a touchdown and he also ran for 78 yards and a score to lead the Grizzlies to a 27-10 victory over Clovis North in a Division I-AA game played at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Clovis
“I want this ring,” Dippel said. “We lost three years in a row. I wasn’t going to disappoint this one.”
Dippel was referring to his struggles against Clovis North earlier this year.
In that game, he misfired on passes that hit the ground. The Grizzlies never recovered in that 26-21 loss.
The Grizzlies have appeared in the section championships every year since 2016 except for 2022 when Liberty-Bakersfield played San Joaquin Memorial.
The 2023 championship saw Clovis North defeating Central 24-14.
“We’ve been there a lot of times,” Central coach Kyle Biggs said. “We want to win it. We don’t care who we’re playing. We got to play our best game and worry about ourselves and play our best football.”
Central will face top-seed Clovis East, which easily dismantled No. 5 Clovis 47-13.
The Grizzlies also lost to the Timberwolves in the TRAC in a close one, 24-16.
The title game is set for 7 p.m. Nov. 22.
Brandon Smith finished with two rushing touchdowns for the Grizzlies.
But before focusing on that game Saturday morning, Biggs was excited for Dippel and the defense.
“I like this guy,” Biggs said with a smile. “Plain and simple, he showed up and made plays all night long.
