Huge TRAC showdown between Central East and Clovis set after pair of wins
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Central East and Clovis meet Friday at Koligian Stadium after Week 9 wins
- Central East rallied from 20-7 down to beat Clovis West; Biggs earned 100th win
- Clovis quarterback Deagan Rose passed and ran for scores to control the game
The stage is set.
No. 1 Central East to take on No. 5 Clovis.
Both teams picked up wins in Week 9. The Bengals defeated No. 2 Clovis West 46-39, and the Cougars were 42-15 winners over No. 6 Clovis East.
That sets up a huge showdown on Friday at Koligian Stadium, with quarterbacks Jelani Dippel and Deagan Rose leading the way.
There will be plenty of fireworks in the game between Central East and Clovis.
But first, here is how both teams got there undefeated at 3-0 in the TRAC.
Central 46, Clovis West 39
It wasn’t easy for the Central East football team on Thursday night.
After blowing out Tri-River Athletic Conference opponents in the first two contests, The Bee’s top-ranked Bengals found out how good No. 2 Clovis West is.
Especially when the Golden Eagles (6-2, 2-1) have sophomore sensation quarterback JJ Howard leading the way.
Yet, it was Central East (7-1, 3-0) who overcame a 20-7 deficit to defeat Clovis West 46-39 in a TRAC game at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
Bengals running back Brandon Smith put the finishing touches when he scored on a 55-yard run with 2:44 remaining, giving coach Kyle Biggs his 100th victory at Central East, according to Central Section historian Bob Barnett. He said Biggs is 100-21 at the school and 116-31 overall as the head coach between Fowler and Central East.
“I’m proud of the guys for showing some fight,” Biggs said. “We didn’t play well at all. Clovis West did a heck of a job. A ton of credit goes to them. They put us in some situations that we had to fight back and respond to, and I’m proud of our guys for responding and fighting back and finding a way to win.”
Central East opened the TRAC, rolling past Clovis North 56-13 and Clovis East 50-20. Clovis West showed they are no pushovers and belong with the elite teams in Division I after picking up wins against Clovis East (28-21) and Buchanan (29-7), and led several times against Central East.
One of those leads came when Aamir White returned a kickoff return for a touchdown for a 20-7 lead with 11:37 remaining in the second quarter.
Both teams traded touchdowns in the second quarter until the Bengals scored quickly when Smith scored on a 10-yard run with 55 seconds remaining.
The Bengals held Clovis West out of the end zone before the end of the first half and answered in the second half, scoring on their opening drive.
The second half was the same as the first half, but Central East stepped it up in the fourth quarter and got a key first down from Jelani Dippel to Bayon Harris for a first down.
“I knew I could trust my receiver running that route,” Dippel said. “I threw it up to him. We needed these types of games because we were all hype up, blowing out all those teams. We needed (a win like this).”
Clovis 42, Clovis East 15
Rose was efficient against the Timberwolves.
Clovis East never found an answer to Rose.
The Fresno State commit passed for three touchdowns and ran for a score to lead the Cougars in the Golden Boot game.
It wasn’t just Rose. It was running back Jamie Curoso. He finished with two touchdown runs, including a 58-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
Clovis’ defense made a mark, too.
Brenden Kuraspediani intercepted Jamie Spurgeon’s pass and returned it for a touchdown that gave Clovis a 35-8 lead with 3:47 remaining in the third quarter.
Buchanan 30, Clovis North 20
The 14th-ranked Bears won the Victory Bell for the first time since 2021.
Buchanan built a 16-7 lead in the first half, but the seventh-ranked Broncos wouldn’t go away and would score a touchdown to cut into the lead in the third quarter.
But every time Clovis North would score, the Bears would respond with a touchdown.
It was a big win for Buchanan, who improved to 6-2 and 1-2.
This story was originally published October 16, 2025 at 11:38 PM.
