Page 13 - Mid Valley Times 2-20-20 E-edition

Sanger hoops host
opening rounds
Thursday, February 20, 2020
Dinuba pulls out overtime thriller
MVT Staff Report
On paper, there is a very strong chance that the Sanger High varsity boys basketball team will be hosting a Division III quarterfinals game to- night after the No. 4 seed- ed Apaches took on No. 13 Frontier on Tuesday night, after press time.
Though the Apaches finished the regular sea- son winning only one of their last six games, many of Sanger’s losses this year came against much tougher opponents – including the CMAC’s most dominant team San Joaquin Memorial, who ran away with this year’s title by going undefeated in league.
Rick Curiel / Mid Valley Times Sanger High freshman Frankie Piceno is one of four underclassmen who helped Sanger earn a No. 4 seed in the Division III
playoffs.
That strength of schedule earned the Apaches their high seed- ing and home games for at least their first two games in the playoffs, assuming they win them.
With a 15-13 overall record, Sanger’s numbers favored them in most cat- egories against the 11-17 Titans of Bakersfield – in- cluding an average score of just over 60 points for Sanger versus just under 50 for Frontier.
A win on Tuesday would move the Apaches into the quarterfinals to- night to face the winner between No. 5 North and No. 12 Morro Bay. If the Apaches can pull of the win tonight they will ad- vance to the semifinals on Feb. 25.
The Division III championship game is scheduled for Feb. 28.
•••
The Lady Apaches also played their first playoff game this week, hosting No. 11 Morro Bay on Wednesday night, Feb. 19. Sanger, who received a No. 6 seed in the Divi- sion III playoff bracket, went 17-11 this season while putting together a 4-6 league campaign.
A win against Morro Bay would advance the Lady Apaches to the quarterfinals, where they will play the winner be- tween No. 3 Frontier and No. 14 Golden West.
Victory left Emperors one win away from title game
MVT Staff Report
Dinuba High’s boys soccer team defeated Madera in overtime, 2-1, advancing to the Central Section Division 2 play- offs.
After a bye in the opening round, the Em- perors were rested and fired up to defend their home turf.
Dinuba (21-3-2) came out aggressive in the matchup controlling the ebb and flow of the match from the opening whistle. The lone problem for the Emperors was the inabili- ty to score as they had nu- merous chances to jump out early.
A penalty kick by Madera in the second half gave the Coyotes a 1-0 lead. Dinuba quickly an- swered as a free kick by Andres Mendoza hit the top of the cage and Jorge Duran headed the re- bound in to tie the game.
The eventual game- winning goal came on a free kick by Chris Ra- mos with three minutes remaining in the first overtime period. Once the final whistle blew to end the match, play- ers and fans celebrated as Dinuba moved on to
George M. Villagrana / Mid Valley Times
Dinuba tied the game with less than 23 minutes in regulation on a header by Jorge Duran, who is pictured celebrating in a quarterfinals win over Madera on Feb. 13.
Reedley basketball teams draw home playoff games
Sanger boys and girls soccer both reach playoff semifinals
the semifinals where the Emperors were sched- uled to square off against No. 6 Tulare on Feb. 19. The Tribe pulled off a second round upset win on the road defeating No. 3 Pioneer Valley. A win against TU would move No. 2 Dinuba into the championship match to
face either No. 1 Sanger or No. 5 Madera South, the defending Northern California Regional Divi- sion III champions.
Lady Emps upset bid comes up short
The Lady Emperors soccer team fought to the
Apaches
title bids
very end as No. 2 Orcutt Academy held on for a 1-0 win on Feb. 12.
Dinuba ends the sea- son with a 9-12-2 overall record.
The Lady Spartans (20- 5-2) scored within the first five minutes of the match on a goal by Hope Smith.
play for
in soccer
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
Reedley High’s var- sity basketball teams both earned first-round home games in their respective Central Section Division 4 playoff brackets after seedings were announced on Feb. 15.
The Pirate boys (16-10) drew the No. 3 seed, giving them a Feb. 18 home game against No. 14 seed Yo- semite High of Oakhurst Results were unavailable at press time, but a win would set up a quarterfi- nal home game at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 20, against the winner of No. 6 Califor- nia City and No. 11 South Bakersfield.
Reedley’s girls (18-10) were seeded seventh and received a Feb. 19 home game against No. 10 Mira Monte from Bakersfield. If the Pirates won, they would likely travel to the Central Coast to face No. 2 seed Orcutt Academy from Santa Maria.
The Pirates teams en- ter the playoffs with con- trasting momentum. The
boys have won three of four to finish 4-6 in North Yosemite League play, while the girls (4-6, fourth in NYL) have dropped five of six while losing leading scorer Miah Paz to a sea- son-ending concussion.
Reedley’s boys rallied in the fourth quarter to pull out a 65-51 win over Sunnyside on Feb. 12 at RHS. Senior Augie Vil- larreal scored 12 of his game-high 30 points in the period, including four clutch free throws in the final 40 seconds. Israel Vildosola scored 11 points while Marcus Heinrichs added nine points includ- ing a game-clinching layup with 12 seconds left.
The girls dropped their league home finale by a 63- 31 score to second place Hoover on Feb. 11, then fell 51-29 at Sunnyside High on Feb. 13. Madison Haney scored a team-high 17 points against Hoover, and the Pirates did re- ceive a boost with a return from point guard Precious Hawkins, who had been sidelined since December with a knee injury.
Not surprisingly, the Pirates have struggled to score points since the inju-
ry to sophomore Paz, who led the team with an aver- age of 20 points per game.
MVT Staff Report
After winning their first league title since 1981, the Sanger High varsity boys soccer team drew one game closer to a Valley championship after defeating Edison on Feb. 13 in the quarter- finals round of the Cen- tral Section’s Division II playoffs.
The Apaches ad- vanced by scoring two goals in overtime against the Tigers after both teams ended regulation tied at one goal apiece.
As a reward, Sanger received a semifinals matchup against league rival, and No. 5 seed, Madera South in a game played last night, after press time.
The Stallions were a hurdle for the Apaches this season. Both match- ups this season ended in a stalemate for both teams, as the two teams ended in a 1-1 tie after two overtime periods on Jan. 17. They faced off again on Feb. 4 and that game ended in a score-
less tie.
A win would put the
Apaches in the Division II Championship game against the winner be- tween No. 2 Dinuba and No. 6 Tulare Union.
The Division II cham- pionship game will be played tomorrow night on the field of the high- est seeded team.
•••
The Lady Apaches soccer team found them- selves in the same posi- tion as their male coun- terparts after also reach- ing the semifinals of the Division II playoffs.
Sanger, the No. 6 seed, advanced after beating No. 11 Monache, 4-1, in the first round on Feb. 12. They then went on to shut out No. 14 Liberty, 3-0, on Feb. 14 to advance to yesterday’s semifinal match against No. 2 Tu- lare Union.
A victory would put the Lady Apaches in the championship game against the winner of No. 1 Centennial and No. 5 Hanford tomorrow at 3:30 p.m.
Reedley High’s Marcius Heinrichs shot over Sunnyside’s Sammie Little to score the Pirates’ final basket in a 65- 61 victory on Feb. 13. Reedley opened the Central Sec- tion Division 4 postseason at home against No. 14 seed Yosemite on Feb. 18. If the third-seeded Pirates won, they would host the winner of No. 6 California City and No. 11 South Bakersfield on Thursday, Feb. 20.
Jon Earnest / Mid Valley Times