Week 2 Prep Blitz: Bullard knocking on state door, with mighty Grant looming large

All Bullard High has to do to surely leap into the state’s Top 25 in football is beat an already state-ranked opponent in 90-degree heat Friday night at McLane Stadium.

That’s all.

But what to do with Deshawn Collins and Mike Green?

They’re running backs from Grant-Sacramento, which is 2-0, ranked No. 8 in the state by Cal-Hi Sports and coming off a 14-1 season.

Collins and Green combined for 259 yards rushing and four touchdowns last week in a 55-7 drubbing of Central. And that followed a combined six-TD performance in a 50-14 win over Burbank-Sacramento.

They share the tailback position, running behind a fullback and massive line.

“They will be the biggest team we’ll face by far,” says coach Donnie Arax of Bullard, which is 2-0, ranked second by The Bee in the Central Section and on Cal-Hi’s Top 25 bubble list.

The Knights, in a 28-14 loss, were one of four teams to play the Pacers of the Sac-Joaquin Section competitively last year.

Grant lost only to Folsom for the Northern California Division I title. Then Folsom completed a 16-0 season by crushing Oceanside 68-7 for the state D-I crown. And consider that Oceanside had beaten Edison 37-22 in the SoCal D-I championship.

“Grant’s a little better this year and we’re considerably better,” Arax says. “We think we’re going to win the game.”

Bullard will counter Collins and Green with Charles Williams, who has rushed for 349 yards and scored five touchdowns.

The Grant-Bullard junior varsity game, scheduled for 5 p.m., has been canceled because the Pacers didn’t want to risk traveling and having the game possibly scratched because of poor air quality, Knights athletic director Brandon Gilbert said.

Games of the week (all Friday)

No. 1 Clovis (2-0) at Atwater (1-1): Clovis, holding at No. 22 in the state, defeated the Falcons of the Sac-Joaquin Section 19-7 last year. Cougars senior Sean Kuenzinger, 5-0 as a starter in two seasons, is the section’s hottest quarterback. He’s completed 29 of 48 passes (.604) for 550 yards and six touchdowns with only one interception.

No. 2 Liberty-Bakersfield (0-2) at Central (0-2): Compelling only because Liberty quarterback Jordan Love is expected to return after missing a 29-14 loss to Ridgeview with concussion symptoms.

No. 5 Buchanan (1-1) at No. 11 Lemoore (1-1): Both attempting to rebound from losses to ranked opposition – the Bears 21-16 to Bullard and the Tigers 41-24 to No. 1 Clovis. The game will be televised live on KFRE (Channel 59.1).

No. 6 Edison (1-1) vs. Merced (1-1), at Golden Valley High: Potential trap game for Edison, coming off emotional games (16-14 last-second loss to Buchanan; 14-7 win at Bakersfield) and with No. 12 Clovis North looming next week.

No. 8 Hanford (2-0) at No. 13 Dinuba (2-0): Splended combination of quarterbacks/running backs will match Hanford’s Ryan Johnson and Joseph McDaniel against the Emperors’ Isaac Leppke and Elijah Benham. Hanford is the section’s defending D-II champion; Dinuba placed second in D-III.

This story was originally published September 10, 2015 at 5:40 PM with the headline "Week 2 Prep Blitz: Bullard knocking on state door, with mighty Grant looming large."