Page 9 - Sanger Herald 12-13-18 E-edition

SangerSports
SANGER HERALD * PAGE 1B * THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2018
Apaches win thriller at buzzer with Stanley's shot
By Mike Nemeth Sanger Herald
The referee handed Apache senior Cameron Stanley the ball on the sideline underneath the basket on the Sanger end of the court.
Just 2.5 seconds remained in the Dec. 5 game against a hot-shooting Roosevelt team, and the Apaches trailed by a point. The Rough Riders had the lead, 60-59. The game remained close the entire night, and about 300 fans in the Coach Dean Nicholson Gym at Sanger High paid attention to every play.
Roosevelt’s Quiant Myers, a sophomore point guard, had just made both free throws after getting fouled with 26 seconds remaining. Sanger immediately called a time out. But the Apaches' subsequent play fizzled under the Rough Riders’ defense, leaving just one attempt left.
No mistakes.
Stanley, now in his fourth year on the varsity squad, didn’t let the noise in the gym or the hands in his face from the defending players intrude. He had a clutch play to make. Time slowed down. He signaled rock solid senior forward Sahildeep “Sal” Dhillon and passed him the ball while bounding slightly to Dhillon’s right.
The clock engaged. Sanger fans, the Apache bench and the Roosevelt
Mike Nemeth / Sanger Herald
Cameron Stanley makes a play in what was a dominating performance as the Apaches edge rival Roosevelt.
“I’m glad we got a win,” Stanley said. “It was a close game. We knew it was going to be four quarters.”
Roosevelt wanted the win, but the battle appeared to have brought out some of the best in the two teams. Rough Rider coach Jamarr Chisom agreed the contest was a good one but wanted a different outcome. Still, he said he’s confident his team is strong this year.
“We’ll be good,” Chisom said. “We’re very young. We’re trying to figure it out as we go. The program is up and coming.”
Chisom said he’s starting a couple sophomores and has four freshmen on the team.
Likewise, Sanger skews young with a couple freshmen and a couple more sophomores, a list that includes Dillon’s younger brother Jonathan, who scored 17 points, just as many as Stanley, that night.
“This was a good game tonight for these guys,” said Sanger head coach Al Alvarado III. “I love it though. It’s going to be a little rivalry (between the two teams).”
Alvarado started his coaching career at Roosevelt and knows many of the officials and some of the teachers there. He said the Apaches this year have talent. The team had just come off playing the Ojai 75th Annual Nordhoff Tournament, where it reached the championship
game against Buena- Ventura.
Alvarado said the loss in that championship game Dec. 1 rekindled some memories and “brought back that old feeling” of previous big-game losses in a division championship a couple years in a row at Selland Arena. He said his team realizes it needs to improve its defense and offense.
“We’ve got a little potential,” Alvarado said. “We’ve got to get back to the lab and get better. (But) we’ll be competitive, and we’ll play hard.”
Dhillon agreed. “It’s going to be kind of sloppy,” he said, referring to working the kinks out during preseason play. “We have a lot of things to clean up. Little things. We need to be more mentally strong, myself included. Don’t let anything get in the way.”
The other Dillon, Luke, said, after mentioning he loved his brother, that the team appears to be figuring things out quickly. “We trust each other,” he said. “The whole team. We just have to keep working.”
Jon Pena, a sophomore, said much the same thing, adding, “We’re still trying to figure it out, working on offense and defense.”
Damian Duarte, a senior who nailed two clutch threes and pulled down three rebounds, predicted a good season. In fact, he made a prediction — that Sanger would reach the
final game in the season playoffs. “Not just to get there but actually win it this time,” he said.
Duarte said he wasn’t worried about Roosevelt. “Naw,” he said, addressing what his team needs to do to improve. “It’s just building team chemistry. That’s what we’re trying to focus on. We actually have to hustle this time.”
A couple of former Apaches attended the game, one a Fresno State Bulldog and the other who has signed with the university’s football program. Arron Mosby and Jalen Cropper. Before the game and after Mosby denied being a celebrity (he is — watch the highlight reel), Cropper said he’d heard the basketball team was good this year. He said he would share his thoughts on the team after the game.
And he did.
“They’ll take it all the way this year,” he said, right after Stanley sunk that game-winning layup.
Sanger defeated the Wildcats on Dec. 7 by a score of 72-65 in Sunnyside. The Wildcats pulled ahead by two points late, and the Apaches went on a scoring drought. But they won. Stanley had a game high 27 points and Dhillon 20 to lead the Apaches.
The reporter can be contacted by email at sangerheraldsports@gmail. com or by phone at the Herald at (559) 875-2511.
contingent appeared to hold their breaths.
Dhillon swept the ball past a couple Rough Rider defenders, passing it seamlessly back to Stanley, who took it mid-stride and laid it perfectly up and into the basket, leaping between Roosevelt’s Myer and Nico Thomas. The buzzer sounded as the ball dropped through the net.
Final score: 61-60 Sanger.
The varsity cheerleaders leapt up from the court- side bleachers as did the rest of the Apache team on the bench. Every Sanger
voice in the gym sounded like it had amped up to full volume. Stanley got a pat on the back, hug or handshake from every person he encountered on the floor.
“Crazy,” said Noah Collazo, who came late to watch the game. “I got here with 50 seconds left (on the clock), but my blood was already boiling.”
Luke Dillon, a sophomore guard who had 12 points and five rebounds, knew Stanley had the shot. “We just trusted the play,” he said. “And it worked.”
Boys soccer still making adjustments
By Mike Nemeth
Sanger Herald
Maybe the proximity of the annual Electrical Farm Equipment Parade staging just over the fence at Reedley High’s Sal Gonzalez Field spurred the Pirates varsity boys soccer team to play their best.
Maybe their performance had something to do with the visiting Apaches, always a perennial rival and thorn in the Pirates’ side.
Whatever the motivation, Reedley scored about 16 minutes into the second half Dec. 6 and kept Sanger’s offense off balance for the remainder of the game, winning the match 1-0. The loss was the third in a row since the Apaches beat Buchanan on their home turf Dec. 1, and it led to some introspection for the team.
“I’m tired of being a little freaking floor mat for all these teams we should be beating,” said senior Ryan Serrano after he gave his teammates a post-game grilling that was part pep talk. “Things got to get a lot more serious. I see a lot of talent on this team, talent that can’t be wasted out there.
“We’re here to make Sanger history. We want to change the perception that Sanger is not known for soccer. Most definitely these guys can do it.”
Coach Alex Gutierrez, now in his second year, expressed his disappointment to the team. “How bad do you want this?” he asked. His team gathered around tightly, ignoring weather
Mike Nemeth / Sanger Herald
Senior Hunter Reick heads the ball late in the game with Reedley on Dec. 6.
right field in the closing minutes of the first half just to have it caught. The effort capped a flurry of offensive activity from the Apaches that included a big cross from junior forward Gabriel Torres that sophomore Sebastian Padilla just missed kicking in for a score.
And Cristian Torres, a sophomore, also came close to scoring in the final seconds of that first half. Sanger goal keeper Eddie Cuevas, a junior, got a big save when Reedley recovered the ball and made a charge on the Apache goal.
Cuevas continued trying to prevent the Pirates from scoring in the opening minutes of the second half nabbing a save on a free kick by the opposing team. And Sanchez didn’t quit, nearly scoring after an assist from Padilla about 4 minutes in the final period.
Serrano said his Apaches lost some of their cohesiveness midway through the game. “Everyone started to get individual,” said. “(And) once that first goal went in, everybody lost their heads.”
Soccer requires constant teamwork with every player anticipating a teammate’s move while mentally juggling the probabilities of what the other players will do and how to counter each shift of the ball. As the game unfolds, the complex pattern can be unforgiving to the team less able to predict variables and read the moves of teammates.
“This team has what it takes,” Serrano said. “It’s
just a matter of fact of coming together.”
Padilla said the Apaches are figuring out how to accomplish this. “We have to move together as a family,” he said. “We have the skills. Our defense is getting better, our mids (are improving). Everyone is focused.”
“We just need to be consistent,” Cuevas said. “We can’t let one goal get us down. We’re supposed to play all 80 minutes. We just need the right mindset.”
Assistant coach Steven Grajeda sought to motivate the team toward the end of its post-game discussion with coaches. “It’s not about how you fight,” he said. “It’s about how you finish. Us coaches still believe in you guys. We feel you’re still a top seed. We’re here to win, boys. Not individually but together.
“The last 5 minutes Reedley was looking terrified because you gave it everything you’ve got. We’re going to fix things.”
On the way out that night, Omreep Mander, who played midfield on last year’s team, offered up his impressions. He said success will take time. “They’re learning new things as a team,” he said. “They have to build chemistry. They’re not quite there.”
Sanger traveled to Kerman on Wednesday.
The reporter can be contacted by email at sangerheraldsports@gmail. com or by phone at the Herald at (559) 875-2511.
more suited to the Pacific Northwest. “You have 80 minutes. You’re going to have to figure out how bad you want this.”
Gutierrez later said his Apaches have a strong core team. “Honestly speaking, we’re showing a high-level program,” he said. “We
have to figure out how to keep improving. We’re a young team.”
Sanger's players must have been listening to their coaches because on Monday they beat Tulare Union, scoring three goals in the second half to win 3-2.
Against the Pirates, Sanger had opportunities to score but shots either went wide, Reedley defenders intercepted the ball or Reedley’s goal keeper thwarted the attack. The latter certainly happened to senior Saul Sanchez, who fired a shot from