Central Grizzlies capture fourth Central Section final, powered by stout defense
Central High captured its fourth Central Section championship in the past eight years and handed Clovis East its first loss of the season.
Behind a stout defense, the Grizzlies held the Timberwolves to just one touchdown in the second half as Central rallied from a three-point halftime deficit and secured a 33-24 victory Friday night in the Division I-AA championship.
Central (11-2), which was the No. 3 seed, allowed just 14 points in the second half over the past three playoff games combined.
The Grizzlies wouldn’t yield a score to the Timberwolves until Clovis East found the end zone with 4 minutes, 20 seconds remaining.
Central running back Brandon Smith, however, secured the win a couple of minutes later with a 65-yard touchdown run with about 2 minutes remaining.
“I knew I could use my speed on them to get on the edge and score,” Smith said. “I knew they weren’t going to catch me.”
Central had lost to Clovis East during the regular season, falling 34-26.
But this time, the Grizzlies were more locked in coming out of halftime when they trailed 17-14. Central forced Clovis East into two turnovers of possession on downs.
“We knew we had to play better,” Central quarterback Jelani Dippel said. “It’s the best feeling, coming into their house, felt good to beat them here.
“Just feels amazing.”
Post-game notes: Central coach Kyle Biggs has a career record 108-26 with four section championships, according to section historian Bob Barnett. Prior to coaching at Central, Biggs spent two seasons at Fowler.
▪ Clovis East once again played without running back Lindsey Graves. He was questionable going into the game because of a fractured collarbone.
▪ How cool was it to see the field painted in Clovis East colors? That was a new look Clovis Unified OK’d Clovis East with.
▪ Central will await to see who they will face in the NorCal final. The word will not come in until another week as the rest of the championships throughout California takes place next Friday.
Clovis East 17, Central 14
Box score
Central 33, Clovis East 24
Central 7 7 7 12 - 33
Clovis East 10 7 0 7 - 24
CE: Blake Mathieu 30 pass from Tyus Miller (Francisco Damas kick)
CE: FG Damas 27.
C: Brandon Smith 1 run (Xavier Jones kick)
CE: Miller 16 run (Damas kick)
C: Bayon Harris 19 pass from Jelani Dippel (Jones kick)
C: Daylon Scott 21 pass (Jones kick)
B: Harold Duvall 7 pass from Miller (Damas kick)
C: Smith 65 run (kick failed)
Rushing: Central, Smith 25-144, Dippel 11-43, Jeffrey Amosa 14-0-19, Team 1-(-2). Clovis East, Taemell Horton 10-51., Tyrone Bishop 1-1, Miller 16-94, Caleb Slocum 1-0.
Passing: Central, Dippel 18-28-0-214. Clovis East, Miller 13-23-1-231. Clovis East, Miller 13-23-1-231.
Receiving: Central, EJ Morgan 4-34, Smith 1-8, Daylon Scott 6-26, Zeb White 4-69, Harris 10-77. Clovis East, Harold Duvall 10-55, Mathieu 6-73, Horton 1-27, Booker Jr. 4-76, Jamie Spurgeon 1-0.
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This story was originally published November 22, 2024 at 7:04 PM.
