Page 30 - Mid Valley Times 10-3-19 E-edition

Thursday, October 3, 2019
Pirates struggle against Panthers, starts league play on the road
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Mid Valley TiMes
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
A rugged non-league schedule is in the rear view mirror for the Reed- ley High football team, which means it now can focus on its primary 2019 goal — a run for the North Yosemite League champi- onship.
The Pirates closed out a 2-3 pre-league slate with a 35-6 homecoming loss to the Washington Union Panthers on Sept. 27 at Sal Gonzalez Field. Reed- ley’s three losses were to higher division schools — Sanger, Dinuba and Wash- ington Union — and the Pirates showed flashes of physical defensive foot- ball in their most recent test.
“The reality is, we’ve played some pretty darned good teams,”
coach Tony Gates said as the team prepares for league play. “Now, it’s a matter of [that] every game is a playoff game for us now.”
Washington Union (5- 1) displayed its physical offensive prowess with 488 total yards, 61 coming on its opening possession when running back Dari- us McCray overpowered three defenders register the game’s first touch- down.
An interception set up the Panthers’ sec- ond score of the quarter, with quarterback Jayden Green finding Calvin Er- vin for a 13-yard score. Midway through the sec- ond, Reedley had a chance to pin the visitors at their own 5-yard-line, but a coverage man rolled into the end zone after falling on the ball and officials
called a touchback. Starting from the 20
instead of inside its own 5, Washington drove the length of the field and scored on a 5-yard pass from Green to Tory Hor- ton with just 16 seconds left in the half for a 21- 0 Panthers lead at the break.
“We look back at film, wehadtheminalotof third and long situations but they hit some plays,” Gates said. “Defensively, we were very physical with them, which is a great sign.”
Gates said the team used some dummy sig- nals on offense to force Washington Union away from its usual attacking defense in the second half. The offense broke through to score on a 35-yard pass from Nick Quezada to Michael Rios
Danny Jimenez / Photo Contributed
Reedley High’s Danny Cortez stiff-armed a Washington Union defender to pick up yards against Wash- ington Union on Sept. 27. Cortez rushed for a team-high 66 yards on 15 carries.
Sanger High's John Peña and Fabian Lopez celebrate after the Apache's defense forced and recovered a fumble in the first half of Friday night's home game against Paso Robles. Apaches coach Jorge Pena credited his defense as being one of the biggest differences in this year's rematch against the Bearcats. After escaping with a 3-point away victory last year, Sanger dominated Paso Robles this year, 42-14.
Rick Curiel / Mid Valley Times
with just more than a minute remaining in the game.
Danny Cortez rushed for 66 yards on 15 car- ries while Ryan Warken- tin added 35 yards on six attempts. The Pirates
TIGERS
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Reedley finished with the net rushing total of -18 yards. Third down conver- sions were a problem again with Reed- ley converting just one of eight. The Reedley defense gave up four touch- down passes (three by starting quarter- back Cam Rottier but intercepted three passes, two by Tevin Fordham and one by Paul Moreno. It was the first regular season loss for Reedley since 2017, as the Tigers came into the contest with 13 wins in their last 14 games.
The Tigers went into the contest as the highest scoring team in the state. With the 20-point performance, they dropped to fifth place.
“I’m proud of the way our team competed all night,” said Tiger head
coach Eric Marty. “But you can’t start slow and turn the ball over on the road and we did exactly like that. Tough night, tough lessons. But we’ll learn from it, grow and get better as we head into conference play.”
Now, the 3-1 Tigers will concen- trate on winning a Golden Coast Con- ference title. Next Saturday, Reedley will open conference action as they travel to Aptos to face a 3-0 Carrillo College Seahawks squad. Last Satur- day, Cabrillo rolled to a 27-3 win over Hartnell in Salinas. The Seahawks have nowoutscored thecompetition86-17. MontereyPeninsula isalso3-0overall after opening conference play with a 45-0 win over a 1-3 Gavilan squad.
A conference championship could mean a rematch with Foothill in the postseason.
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rushed for 140 yards and added another 59 through the air.
Reedley opens NYL play with two road games, beginning with a 7:30 p.m. contest Friday, Oct. 4, against Roosevelt High
at Sunnyside Stadium in Fresno. The Rough Riders (1-4) closed out non-league play with a 18-8 loss to Kerman, and opened the season last month with a 30-18 loss at Immanuel.
APACHES
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instantly as Privett took the ensuing kickoff 82 yards to pay dirt for a 35-7 Apaches’ lead at the break.
“Morgan might just be the fastest guy on the team,” said Pena. “He runs smooth and knows how to find the hole.”
The Bearcats resort- ed to ball control on their opening second half pos- session, putting together a 12-play 63-yard scor- ing drive that took over seven minutes off the clock. It took about sev- en seconds for Apaches to strike back, this time on a 63-yard quarterback keeper by Collazo on
Rick Curiel / Mid Valley Times
Sagner High wide receiver Dolce Calandra casually hands the ball over to the referee after scoring the Apache's fourth touchdown of the first half - an 18-yard touchdown catch to put Sanger up 28-0.
Cheering in the background is Alfred Sanchez, Calandra's for- mer principal at Hallmark Char- ter School in Sanger.
Calandra also had a big catch in the Apache's opening drive, pulling down what was initially called a 69-yard touchdown reception. However, the play was called back to the Bearcat's 14-yard line after officials said he stepped out of bounds. The play set up Sanger's opening drive touchdown, a 2-yard run by Apache fullback Pierce Jones. Calandra, who finished with two catches for 72 yards and a touch- down, was one of five Apaches to score touchdowns in Friday night's game against Paso Ro- bles.
Sanger’s first play from scrimmage in the second half.
Sanger outplayed the Bearcats in nearly every category. The Apaches racked up 310 yards rushing, nearly double that of Paso Robles, and finished the game with 382 total yards.
“It felt good to put it together in front of a home crowd,” said Pena of his team’s first home victory this season. “And the team is going into league feeling good.”
With the win, the Apaches improved their overall record to 4-1 and begin County/Met- ro League play with an away game at Madera High tomorrow night. The game is scheduled
to begin at 7:30 p.m. The Coyotes enter the matchup at 3-2 and are coming off a 42-35 loss to Selma High of the Central Sequoia League
on Sept. 19.
Sanger currently
shares the best record in league with two other teams, San Joaquin Me- morial and Bullard High, also both 4-1.
The Apaches will take on Bullard next Friday at Ratcliffe Sta- dium in Fresno and will then close out league play with three consecu- tive home games, culmi- nating with a matchup against San Joaquin Me- morial on Nov. 1.
“It’s going to be nice to finish at home,” added Pena.
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