Page 26 - Mid Valley Times 9-19-19 E-edition

OROSI
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was hoping to finally get over the Strathmore hump. But it was not to be, as once again missed oppor- tunities cost the Cardinals another upset victory over the Spartans. A stalled late fourth quarter drive gave Strathmore yet another one-score victory, 21-14,
over Orosi.
"They're good," said
Coach White. "They've got the mojo! Heck, they won the state title. And, they're well coached."
The game started just as many expected, with both teams going blow-for- blow. After the Spartans put together a seven-min- ute opening scoring drive, finding the end zone on a 2-yard run by Strathmore’s Christian Onsurez, Orosi responded. With the Car- dinals starting the ensuing possession on their own 14-yard line, Orosi me- thodically marched down the field behind the legs of junior tailback Dominic Martinez.
After a sustained drive that went three minutes in- to the second quarter, Mar- tinez was able to punch it in from one-yard out. With 9:21 left in the second quarter, both teams were tied 7-7.
But it didn’t last long.
With Strathmore at mid- field, a trick play helped give the Spartans a 14-7 lead when Trace Pugh turned a swing toss into a 52-yard touchdown pass to teammate Andre Bravo with less than two minutes taken off the clock.
Costly penalties and a series of turnovers gave Strathmore a distinct edge late in the first half. As the Spartans were knocking on the door deep in Orosi ter- ritory, the Cardinals were able to force a fumble and recover it on their own 8-yard line.
But on this Friday the 13th, luck was not on the Cardinal’s side. The very next play, Orosi High ju- nior quarterback Evan Lara floated one and threw his only interception of the game. The Spartans returned the pick to the Orosi 8-yard line with just 11 seconds left in the first half. Five seconds later, a fade route to Bravo gave him his second touchdown of the game, and the Spar- tans third.
Orosi did exactly what they needed to do in the third quarter, taking their second-half opening drive 77 yards to pay dirt as Martinez scored his sec- ond touchdown from two yards out with just under six minutes left in the quarter.
Defensively, the Car-
(Above) Orosi High School's Dominic Martinez is one of the top rush- ers in the Valley. The senior tailback has rushed for over 100 yards in each of the Cardinal's three games. In Friday night's game against Strathmore, Martinez put in a workload, carrying the ball 31 times for 171 yards and two touchdowns.
(Righ) Cardinal's junior wide receiver Aidan Rodriguez hauls in a 23-yard reception in the fourth quarter of Friday's matchup with Strathmore. The catch put Orosi in position for a final scoring drive to tie the game but the Cardinals were stopped on fourth and short.
Photos by Rick Curiel / Mid Valley Times
Thursday, September 19, 2019
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Mid Valley TiMes
dinals also did what they needed to do as they did what no other team has been able to do this season – keep the Spartan’s of- fense out of the end zone in the entire second half.
Offensively, however, though Orosi had (again) opportunities, the Cardi- nals came up short by just inches. Finding themselves first-and-goal on the Spar- tan’s 8-yard line early in the fourth quarter, Orosi tried four times to punch through Strathmore’s de- fense. But Cardinal’s se- nior Freddi Arciga came up short on fourth-and- goal, as he was stopped
just inside the Spartan’s 1-yard line.
Orosi would get the ball back midway through the fourth quarter. A 23-yard catch by Cardinal’s junior wide receiver Aidan Ro- driguez put his team in striking distance. It set up what looked to be the ty- ing score when Martinez found the outside to get past Strathmore’s second- ary for a 31-yard touch- down run. However, the play was called back on a block-in-the-back penalty.
With time winding down, Orosi still had a chance. But on third-and- eight, Martinez was in-
jured on a six-yard run, requiring him to sit out on fourth-and-two. In his stead, junior John Meraz was stopped short and the Cardinals turned the ball over on downs with 1:19 left in the game.
"It's kind of been that way the last three games," said White. "We've been good most of the game and then something happens down the stretch and they end up winning."
Martinez, who plays both sides of the ball, put in a workload as he ran for 171 yards on 31 carries, scoring both of the Cardi- nal’s touchdowns.
EMPERORS
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team on the board with just under five minutes left in the first quarter when he connected with senior wide receiver Brian Ortuno Campbell for a 47-yard touchdown pass. He then hit senior Cameron Amador on a goal line 1-yard touch- down pass to help give his team a 14-0 lead over the Miners with 1:15 left in the opening quarter.
Dinuba had no prob- lem running the ball either, as lead tailback Devon Mendoza ran for 116 yards on 18 carries and two touchdowns. The senior’s first score came in the second quar- ter on a break away run that resulted in a 30-yard touchdown. He tacked on another touchdown late in the third quarter on a 3-yard run deep in Minor’s territory.
Dinuba High junior wide receiver Bryan Ruiz also got into the mix early in the fourth quarter when he hauled in a 60-yard touchdown reception.
Magaña was able to
Orosi falls to 2-1 on the season while Strathmore improves to 3-0. The Car- dinals will host Avenal to- morrow night in a non-con- ference game. The Bucca- neers enter the matchup 0-4 on the season.
Next Friday, the Car- dinals face another big challenge when they host Caruthers. The Blue Raid- ers were one game away from facing Strathmore in the 2017 Division 6A State Championship game. They made it all the way to the Division 5 State Champi- onship game last year, but lost to Kennedy by two points.
put the ball in the hands of eight of the Emperor’s receiving corps. Rush- ing, Dinuba ran for 196 yards, giving them 436 total yards in the game.
Meanwhile, the Em- peror’s defense held the Miners to just 103 total yards on the game, and just 46 yards rushing.
Takeaways were also on Dinuba's side as four defensive players were able to come away with interceptions. Seniors Dario Sanchez, Jacob Marroquin and James Southern, as well as ju- nior Evan Garza, each walked away with a pick during Friday night's vic- tory.
Emperor’s senior place kicker Ceasar Lo- pez also went five for five on point after tries and also added a 23-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter.
Dinuba will travel to Fresno tomorrow night to take on Edison High (0-4) in a non-conference game at Ratcliff Stadi- um. They will then have a bye next week before starting conference play on Oct. 4, when they host Central Valley Christian.
Immanuel High’s Winston Williams (24) blocked a punt in the first quarter to set up the Eagles’ second touchdown against Viewpoint on Sept. 13. Williams had two blocked punts in the game.
Late surge propels Eagles to victory
MVT Staff Report
The Immanuel High Eagles erupted for three touchdowns in the final four minutes of the open- ing quarter building up a 42-7 halftime lead on their way to a 49-21 rout of the Viewpoint High Patriots on Sept. 13 at County Line Stadium.
Hector Davila, Matt Tiger and Emiliano Sosa rushed for more than 100 yards each with a touch- down, as the Eagles im- proved to 3-1 on the sea- son. Quarterback Davila (135 yards on seven car- ries) got the scoring start- ed with a 58-yard TD run.
On the ensuing pos- session, Winston Williams blocked a Patriots punt to put Immanuel in business at the 19-yard line. Three plays later Davila scored from 5-yards out. Follow- ing a punt, Davila broke free on a long run to set up a 10-yard TD run by Tiger (118 yards on 13 carries) with just over a minute to play to make it 21-0.
Immanuel kept light- ing up the scoreboard in the second quarter, sand- wiching a 17-yard TD
run from Andrew Her- rera and a 1-yard scoring run from Carlos Morales around a second blocked punt by the Williams. This one was returned for a score by Adrian Herrera.
The Eagles’ lone touch- down in the second half came early in the fourth quarter when Sosa (13 for 106) scored from 16 yards out. Immanuel fin- ished the evening with 477
yards rushing and 495 to- tal yards.
Defensively, the Ea- gles had four players with four tackles: Michael Kawagoe, Trace Pires and Herrera. In addition to Williams’ two blocked punts Camilo Maldonado recovered a fumble.
Quarterback Niko Candido completed 19 of 39 for 226 yards and two touchdowns for Patriots
from Calabasas in Los An- geles County.
Immanuel travels to Visalia on Friday, Sept. 20, to take on fellow Central Sequoia League member Central Valley Christian in a scheduled 6:30 p.m. kickoff. The Cavaliers (1- 2) come off an impressive 36-21 road win at Chow- chilla, which edged the Eagles 17-14 at County Line Stadium on Sept. 6.
Kirk Kawagoe / Photo Contributed
Immanuel High quarterback Hector Davila (8) sprinted down the sidelines for the Eagles’ first score in a 49-21 victory over Viewpoint High on Sept. 13 at County Line Stadium.
Kirk Kawagoe / Photo Contributed
Dominic Martinez
OROSI HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
Orosi High's Dominic Martinez was named this week's Athlete of the Week for his performance last week against Strathmore. The junior tailback ran for 171 yards on 31 carries and scored two touchdowns in a 21-14 loss to the Spartans.
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