Prep football Week 2 roundup: Tulare wins behind Harris’ record rush

Romello Harris moved into fourth place on the Central Section’s career rushing list with a school-record 390-yard performance as No. 9 Tulare High School beat Redwood 49-41 on an abbreviated night of action in Week 2 of the football season.

Harris has 6,315 yards in a three-plus seasons for the Redskins, trailing Bakersfield’s Steve Wofford (7,100 from 1992-94), Tulare’s Dominique Dorsey (7,761 from 1998-2001) and Mendota’s Edgar Segura (8,029 from 2011-13).

Harris scored on runs of 4, 33, 77 and 3 yards to help Tulare (3-0) rally from a 21-6 deficit in the first half at Bob Mathias Stadium. His final touchdown put Tulare ahead for good at 43-35 in the fourth quarter.

Jace Pimentel’s 41-yard kickoff return for a score right after a 1-yard touchdown run by Redwood’s Frankie Ayon helped seal it for Tulare, which also received a big night from linebacker R.J. Cortez with two sacks, a fumble recovery and a blocked extra point.

Justin Williams carried the Rangers (0-3) with 252 rushing yards and 101 receiving yards with touchdown runs of 62, 31 and 58 yards and a scoring catch of 73 yards.

Buchanan 24, Lemoore 0 – Mitchell Souza provided the only points the Bears (2-1) – ranked fifth in the section by The Bee – would need with a 32-yard first-quarter field goal, and Trevor Ervin rushed for 186 yards and two touchdowns against the No. 11 Tigers (1-2).

Ervin scored on runs of 3 and 10 yards and Buchanan piled up all of its points in the first half.

The defense also got in on the scoring as Carter Winn returned an interception 16 yards.

Lemoore played without quarterback Logan Ahlin, who was injured in a 41-24 loss to Clovis last week.

Merced 18, Edison 6 – The No. 6 Tigers (1-2) were limited to 45 rushing yards on 30 carries in a loss to the Bears of the Sac-Joaquin Section.

Matthew Torres converted a fourth and goal from the half-yard line on a quarterback sneak for Edison’s only points, which trimmed Merced’s lead to 11-6 with 8:47 to play.

Central Valley Christian 44, Lindsay 0 – Aaron Daggs threw two touchdown passes and Kolin Stock and Connor Paden punched in two each on the ground to lead the Cavaliers past the host Cardinals.

Daggs finished 11 of 23 passing for 235 yards with one interception and two scores to receiver Dalton Daily.

Daily caught five passes for 91 yards, while Steve Van Grouw led unbeaten Central Valley Christian (3-0), ranked No. 2 in Division IV, with 106 receiving yards on three catches. Stock had a game-high 101 rushing yards.

Lindsay is 0-3.

Immanuel 17, Chowchilla 8 – After his team trailed 8-7 at the half, Viktor Cooper drilled a 33-yard field goal to put the Eagles in front, and Caleb Paulson found Chris Rosedale for a 4-yard strike in the third quarter to seal a victory over the host Redskins.

T.J. Specht put Immanuel (3-0) in front with a 4-yard TD catch from Paulson in the first quarter. Chowchilla (2-1) responded in the second quarter on a 7-yard TD keeper from quarterback Giovanni Ruacho, and fullback Alex Gutierrez punched in the two-point conversion for the lead.

The Redskins were led on the ground by Anthony Stewart, who had 120 rushing yards on 19 carries. Kyle Dunigan led the Eagles on the ground with 92 yards on 28 carries. Paulson was 8 for 18 passing for 99 yards.

Exeter 37, McLane 34 – The host Monarchs escaped with a win over the Highlanders, holding off a fourth-quarter comeback to remain unbeaten.

Exeter jumped to a 28-point lead in the third quarter, but McLane answered with three touchdowns in a row to cut its deficit to eight on an 11-yard TD pass in the fourth quarter.

Ryan Buchanan made an 18-yard field goal to push the lead to 11. The Highlanders (2-1) scored again on a 15-yard TD pass to make it a three-point game and recovered the ensuing onside kick but couldn’t overcome the Monarchs’ defense in a final drive.

The Monarchs (3-0) also stopped three McLane two-point conversions (one in the second quarter and two in the third).

Exeter safety Skylar Miller suffered what was described as a major leg injury. After the game, both teams joined at midfield to pray for Miller.

Selma 41, Shafter 7 – Henry Ramirez Jr. passed for two touchdowns and ran for two to power the Bears over the Generals.

Ramirez scored on runs of 3 and 11 yards and threw touchdown passes of 70 yards to Tiveon Stroud and 24 yards to Joel Aranda while Selma (2-1) bolted to a 34-0 first-half lead.

Ramirez passed for 253 yards, completing 9 of 11 attempts, while rushing for 58 yards on eight carries. Aranda caught five passes for 114 yards.

This story was originally published September 12, 2015 at 11:37 AM with the headline "Prep football Week 2 roundup: Tulare wins behind Harris’ record rush."