Central East powers past Clovis North, plus Clovis West stuns Clovis East
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Central East routed Clovis North 56-13 in Tri-River opener at Veterans Memorial.
- Bengals scored on all but two possessions; Dippel threw three TDs and 102 yards.
- Running backs Smith and Garcia combined for five TDs as Central East projects dominance.
The Bee’s top-ranked Central East proved on Thursday they will be tough to beat in the Tri-River Athletic Conference, but don’t look now because No. 3 Clovis West is suddenly making noise after a huge win over No. 2 Clovis East on Friday at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
No. 8 Clovis had little trouble against No. 7 Buchanan at Lamonica Stadium.
All that means is the Bengals seem primed to go on a dominant run unless the Golden Eagles have a say-so.
Same with the Cougars behind QB Deagan Rose and RB James Caruso.
Central East 56, Clovis North 13
Ever since Central East lost to Grant-Sacramento earlier in the season, the Bengals have been showing no mercy to opponents.
Sure, Central East barely got by Liberty-Bakersfield 35-33, but perhaps that demoralizing loss to Grant was needed for head coach Kyle Biggs and his team because they’ve been answering the call since.
Thursday’s Tri-River Athletic Conference opener might’ve served notice that Central East isn’t messing around.
The Bengals scored on every possession but two in the thumping of No. 3 Clovis North at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
Bengals quarterback Jelani Dippel passed for three touchdowns, but it was the running game that proved to be too much for Clovis North (5-1, 0-1).
Running backs Brandon Smith and Andrew Garcia combined for five touchdowns. Smith finished the game with 139 rushing yards (three TDs), while Garcia had 61 yards (two TDs). Dippel got in the act, finishing with 102 yards.
The Bengals outgained the Broncos 502-242. Biggs gave plenty of credit to his defense after giving up the 33 points to Liberty.
The Bengals (5-1, 1-0) recovered a fumble by Garcia and made a fourth-down stop. Smith had two pass deflections.
“They played phenomenal,” Biggs said. “They got their groove back.”
Central East seems primed to repeat as Central Section Division I-AA champion, but still has yet to face other TRAC powers and could be tested.
Since the Grant loss, the Bengals have outscored opponents 190-83.
Clovis West 28, Clovis East 21
For a bit in the first half, it seemed the Timberwolves were going to an easy win.
Not so fast, says Golden Eagles coach Eric Brown and sophomore QB JJ Howard.
Clovis West reeled off 28 unanswered points to stun Clovis East 28-21.
Howard finished with four touchdown passes after he had a shaky start in the first half before a late touchdown to trail 21-7 at the half.
“I told them there’s a lot of potential in the room and I’m tired of potential and I want execution,” Brown said. “I think they felt the same way. It’s a young group that has a bunch of potential and talent, and that’s all we keep hearing. I wanted these guys to show in the second half that we’re more than that.”
That they were.
The Golden Eagles were no pushovers. Instead, they showed grit and determination.
Howard, who was sacked at least three times and threw an interception in the first half, rebounded in a big way with timely touchdown passes.
“We just had to keep faith,” Howard said. “Faith is going to take us as far as we need to go. That’s a really good football team over there ... a really good football team. They’re going to be somebody to watch out for in the TRAC, but I’m saying our guys are great. Our guys are D-1 athletes. We just got to keep fighting.”
Clovis 25, Buchanan 0
It was the James Caruso show at Lamonica Stadium.
He ran for four scores and also had an interception to lead the Cougars to the win.
Caruso is being relied on after Maddox Merrill is done for the season because of an injury.
This story was originally published October 2, 2025 at 11:12 PM.
