Page 13 - Mid Valley Times 11-14-19 E-edition

Thursday, November 14, 2019
Emperors score upset over No. 4 Apaches
Dinuba will face No. 5 Tulare Western tomorrow night at Bob Mathias Stadium
By Rick Curiel
Mid Valley Times
The Dinuba Emperors scored the biggest upset in the Central Section CIF playoffs this year after beating the No. 4 seeded Sanger Apaches at Tom Flores Stadium on Nov. 8 by a score of 28-14.
After splitting their games during the regu- lar season, four of which were one-score losses, the Emperors picked up momentum late in the season as they entered the Division II playoffs. They used their final two games of the regular sea- son to give some of their players some much need- ed recovery time, simulta- neously putting up more than 100 points.
The rest, according to first-year coach Car- los Barajas, did the team well as they looked strong for four quarters against the favored Apaches. “The scheme was great,” said Barajas after Friday night’s victory. “We hadn’t played a full game all sea- son and tonight the kids did that. They executed everything we asked them to do. They’re going to be dangerous if they continue to play like that.”
Barajas added that the team is a much better group at this point in the season.
“They’re healthy, they’re believing in each other and they got a lot of momentum,” Barajas shared about his team. “They’ve got a lot of fight in them.”
That fight came on both sides of the ball for the Emperors on Friday night, as they controlled the line of scrimmage against Sanger’s explosive triple-option offense. Di- nuba held Sanger to just 76 yards rushing while bottling up Apache’s Kosi Agina, who carried the ball 13 times for just 38 yards.
They also controlled the time of possession, with Dinuba using up about 29 minutes of the clock compared to Sanger’s 19 minutes. And the Emperors made the best of that time, scoring three touchdowns and two field goals – scoring in ev- ery quarter.
Their first score came after a big stop on Sanger’s opening posses- sion. With Dinuba win- ning the coin toss and electing to defer to the second half, Sanger quick-
Rick Curiel / Mid Valley Times
Dinuba's senior quarterback Josh Magaña, right, celebrates with offensive lineman Isaiah Torres after scoring a fourth- quarter touchdown in the Emperor's 28-14 victory over No. 4 Sanger on Nov. 8.
Cardinals' junior tailback Dominic Martinez skips past a Granite Hills defender on his way to a touchdown during Orosi's 56-24 first round victory in the CIF Division VI playoffs on Nov. 8. Martinez had another monster game on Friday night, rushing for 203 yards on 21 carries, scoring three touchdowns.
Orosi skips into second round with rout over Granite Hills
By George M. Villagrana
Mid Valley Times
A second half explosion lifted the Orosi High football team to a 56-24 win over visiting Granite Hills in an opening round Central Section Divi- sion VI playoff game Friday night.
The Cardinals (9-3) had a 19-10 halftime lead cut to two points after a 16-yard pass play from Grizzlies quarterback David Ramirez to Rob- ert Ortiz with 9 minutes, 49 seconds in the third quarter. Orosi then reeled off 29 straight points as the Cardinals received a pair of TD’s from running back Dominic Martinez and Aidan
Rodriguez along with Bryan Chavez each caught a scoring pass from quarterback Evan Lara.
Granite Hills ended the run with a TD from junior fullback Carlos Co- rona, 49-24.
Freddi Arciga ended the scoring for OHS with a 59-yard TD run as the Cardinals move on to the quar- terfinals and will host Mission Prep tomorrow evening. The Royals are coming off a 49-21 win over Mira Monte.
Orosi scored the game’s first TD on a short 4-yard run by Martinez.
See OROSI page B11
Jon Earnest / Mid Valley Times
Immanuel High’s Winston Williams shouted in celebration as he embraced teammate Amren Purewal (13) follow- ing the Eagles’ 16-0 victory over Reedley High in the first round of the Central Section Division 5 playoffs on Nov. 8.
ly moved into Emperor territory after Apache’s Fernando Gonzalez took the opening kickoff to the Dinuba 25-yard-line.
But Dinuba’s defense held strong and stopped Sanger after they went on 4th and 10.
The Emperors then marched down the field and moved into Apache territory on a deep con- nection from senior quar- terback Josh Magaña to wide receiver Cameron Amador. They marched all the way to Sanger
4-yard-line before com- ing up short and settling for a 22-yard field goal by Dinuba’s Cesar Lopez with just over three min- utes left in the quarter.
After an exchange of punts, Sanger was able to take their first and
only lead of the game on a 6-yard touchdown run by Agina, putting the Apache’s up 7-3.
The Emperors, how- ever, would respond on their ensuing possession
See EMPERORS on page B12
George M. Villagrana / Mid Valley Times
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
A ground-oriented, ball-control offensive at- tack and aggressive de- fense were the winning ingredients for the Im- manuel High Eagles in their first-ever varsity football meeting with their city neighbors, the Reedley High Pirates.
Powered by the one- two rushing punch of running back Matt Tiger and quarterback Hector Davila along with a de- fensive effort that shut down Reedley’s running game, the Eagles posted a 16-0 shutout victory at Sal Gonzalez Field on Nov. 8 in the opening round of the Central Section Divi- sion 5 playoffs.
The triumph earned No. 9 seed Immanuel (9- 2) a 7 p.m. quarterfinal contest at top-seeded Ca- ruthers High on Friday, Nov. 15. It also ended a 6-5 season for Reedley, which finished second in the North Yosemite League and made its first post- season appearance during Tony Gates’ first season as RHS head coach.
“We played really well. [Reedley has] a high-pow- ered offense, and we felt if we took some of their
Immanuel wins Reedley's Division 5 playoff battle
option and their run game away that we would be successful,” said Eagles first-year coach Drew Halstead. Stuffing the line of scrimmage with extra defenders, Immanuel’s defense limited the Pi- rates to 56 rushing yards
and 124 total yards on 36 offensive plays.
“First of all, hats off to Coach Halstead and Im- manuel. Fantastic job,” Gates said. “ They were really prepared, they did
SeeIMMANUELonpage B2