Page 14 - Mid Valley Times 2-27-20 E-edition

APACHES
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and Dinuba was reminis- cent of another playoff game that took place only a few months ago, when the Emperors football team came to Tom Flores Stadium in the first round of the Division 2 football playoffs. That game end- ed in a Dinuba upset.
Friday night’s game ended in redemption for the school and victory for a town, who came out in droves to fill Tom Flores Stadium.
Prior to the start of Friday night’s champion- ship game, the team wore t-shirts that read ‘For the town’.
“They really helped us get this win,” said Sanger High’s varsity boys’ soc- cer coach Alex Gutierrez.
High School soccer games hardly receive the fan support that their foot- ball counterpart receives, as stands are rarely filled during the regular sea- son. But one might have thought it was October af- ter looking at how full the stands were for the Valley championship game at Tom Flores Stadium.
The game was what one might have expected inaNo.1vsNo.2champi- onship game. It remained scoreless nearly the en- tire first half. But in the 36th minute, and after both teams had shots at goal, Sanger High junior Michael Esparza put his
REEDLEY
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added 14 more against Or- cutt Academy (24-4). That gave her a new school single-season record of 502 points. Just halfway through her varsity ca- reer, Paz has 967 points as she closes in on the RHS girls career record of 1,255 points set by Tracey Ainger from 1989-92.
Also reaching a mile- stone was Haney, who in her final varsity game scored 16 points — the ex- act number she needed to reach 1,000 career points. The four-year varsity vet- eran also added six re- bounds, and helped hold the team steady in Paz’s absence with her strong inside game.
Another feel-good sto- ry was the recent return from injury of point guard Precious Hawkins. De- spite missing much of the campaign with an injured right knee, she dished out seven assists while collect-
Home losses bounce Reedley, Immanuel boys basketball from playoffs
team on the board off a rebound he kicked into the right corner.
The game remained a one score lead until the 64th minute. That’s when Apache junior Luis Mar- tinez found the back of the net after sending one from the left side.
Sanger then took ad- vantage of a Dinuba High replacement at goalie af- ter their starting goalie was red-carded with just over 10 minutes remain- ing in the game. In extra time, Sanger High junior Cristian Torres found him-
ing five rebounds and five steals in addition to her four points in the win over Mira Monte.
“She’s such a fierce competitor,” Wilkinson said of Hawkins. “She had gotten back, and then to have that injury early in the season. I’m so happy for her that she had the opportunity to be a part of what happened tonight. It was really exciting.”
Haney and fellow se- nior Abby Delport scored eight points apiece in the win, and Delport added eight points against Or- cutt. The Pirates jumped to a 17-12 lead over the Spartans after one quarter. They nearly were able to come back from the huge fourth-quarter deficit, uti- lizing full-court pressure to force turnovers and get within six points in the final minute. A Hawkins three-point shot that could have cut the deficit to three points just missed, and the Spartans held on.
Next season, Paz and sophomore forward Bri-
self about 15 yards out with a clean look at the goal from midfield. His shot sneaked just inside the left post to give the Apaches an unsurmount- able 3-0 lead.
Dinuba managed to respond quickly on a long floater that sailed over the reach of Sanger’s goalie. But that goal was met with an offensive onslaught by Sanger that resulted in a penalty shot for Apache senior Armando Fernan- dez.
With time expired, Fer- nandez’s shot into the left
corner caused a packed Tom Flores Stadium to erupt in jubilation as the Apaches became soccer Valley champions for the first time in school history.
“We were playing for something bigger than ourselves,” Said Gutier- rez. “They knew, coming into the season, that every- thing was built to do this, today.”
And the Apaches’ mag- ical season is not over. At press time, Sanger was awaiting bracket seeding as they prepare to enter the state playoffs.
Thursday, February 27, 2020 | B2 |
Mid Valley TiMes
Rick Curiel / Mid Valley Times
Dinuba's Anthony Vasquez, left, and Sanger's Ezequiel Chavez jockey for position dur- ing the first half of the Division 2 championship game at Tom Flores Stadium on Feb. 21. In a battle between the division's top two teams, Sanger came out on top and won their first every Valley championship with a 4-1 victory.
MVT Staff Report
The basketball sea- son ended for the Reed- ley High and Immanuel High boys teams last week on their respec- tive home courts in first- round playoff defeats.
The third-seeded Pirates (16-11) played their third multi-over- time game of the season (all at home), and for the second time came out on the short end of the score as No. 14 Yo- semite High pulled off a 70-67 Division 4 double- overtime stunner on Feb. 18.
Across town that same night, the No. 7 seed Eagles (18-11) couldn’t complete a three-game sweep of Central Sequoia League rival Hanford West as the Huskies pulled away in the closing seconds for a 63-58 upset in Di- vision 2 play that ended Immanuel’s run of six consecutive Central Section titles (two in Di- vision 3, three in D4 and one in D5).
The upset also snapped a seven-game postseason home win streak for Immanuel, which reached the Divi- sion 4 state title game in 2019.
Reedley High’s Au- gie Villarreal scored 31 points (including a trio of 3-point baskets) against Yosemite in what turned out to be his final prep game as a Pirate. He had nine points in the fourth quarter and 11 points in the two extra sessions.
Holden Eames scored four of his team- high 27 points while Ow-
DINUBA
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One of those key se- niors is Josh Magaña, who scored 22 points and grabbed 11 re- bounds against Hoover. Magaña finishes as the all-time leading scorer at Dinuba High with 1,427 points, eclipsing a record of nearly 50 years that was held by Doug Potter.
Junior Jose Lara added nine points and five rebounds, and se- nior Brian Campbell
en Bazzar added three of his 21 points in the second OT for Yosem- ite, which followed that upset with a 71-59 win at South Bakersfield on Feb. 20. The Badgers (20-10) faced No. 3 seed Delano on Feb. 25.
Junior Marcus Hein- richs scored 12 points including two treys, ju- nior guard Aaron Todd chipped in with nine points while senior Leo Hernandez added eight points. Earlier in the season, the Pirates had lost to league co-cham- pion Roosevelt High in double overtime but de- feated Fresno High in three OTs as Villarreal scorched the nets for 48 points.
First team all-Cen- tral Sequoia League selections Winston Wil- liams and Shawn Rod- gers scored 24 and 13 points, respectively, for Immanuel, but the Eagles were overtaken in the second half by a Huskies team that avenged two earlier league losses. Amren Purewal added 10 points for IHS.
“It was tough trying to beat a team for the third time and playing a league opponent the first round of the play- offs, especially since we had just played a week [earlier],” said coach Chris Woods. “Our guys didn’t play well enough to win.”
All of Immanuel’s top scorers, led by Wil- liams and Rodgers, re- turn next season as the Eagles will attempt to bounce back for anoth- er deep section and pos- sible state playoff run.
had 11 boards.
In the opening round
game at home on Feb. 18 against Mt. Whitney, Di- nuba turned in another solid effort defensively in a 64-42 win.
“We were able to control the boards and extend our lead each quarter,” Schofield stat- ed.
Magaña had 19 points and seven re- bounds to lead the way. Campbell recorded a double-double with 14 points and 16 boards while senior Elias Flores finished with 12.
Jon Earnest / Mid Valley Times
Reedley High’s Miah Paz drove the baseline against Mira Monte High’s Samantha Perez during the second half of the Pirates’ 48-43 victory in the Central Section Division 4 first round play- off on Feb. 19. The sophomore returned to the lineup for the playoff after missing four-plus games with a concussion; and scored a game-high 17 points while adding 14 points in the quarterfinal loss to Orcutt Academy on Feb. 21. Paz finished the season with a program-record 502 points despite missing the five games, and has 967 career points in just two seasons.
anna Green (nine points against Mira Monte) will form the nucleus of a squad looking to contin- ue the program’s uptick. Haney, Hawkins and Del- port all graduate this year.
“This senior class won just four games as freshmen, but they’ve re- ally worked tremendously hard to end their career on such a positive note,” Wilkinson said.
of the Week
Madison Haney - ReedleyHighSchool Basketball
Madison Haney scored 16 points in the Pirates’ Central Section Division 4 quarter nals loss to Orcutt Academy, giving her an even 1,000 points for her varsity career. Haney was the primary inside scoring and rebounding force for Reedley High’s girls, which posted the program’s best record with an 18-11 mark and second straight section playo appearance. Haney was a four-year varsity member in basketball and three-year varsity player in volleyball.
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OROSI HIGH GIRLS SOCCER TEAM
The Orosi High girls soccer team is named Athlete of the Week after capturing the Central Section Division IV crown with a 2-1 overtime win against East Bakers eld. The Lady Cardinals are 22-1-6 overall.
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