Page 11 - Reedley Exponent 2-22-18 E-edition

B3 | Thursday, February 22, 2018 www.reedleyexponent.com High School Soccer Playoffs
Pirates girls beat Blades
Chris Aguirre / The Exponent
Kaitlyn Peters, Reedley High Pirates girls soccer player (left), battles a Selma High player for the ball during a CIF Central Section Division III playoff game on Feb. 14 at Sal Gonzalez Field.
By Chris Aguirre
Chris@midvalleypublishing.com
It took two days, 110 min- utes, a controversial decision and 13 penalty kicks to deter- mine the winner of the Divi- sion II playoff game between the Reedley High Pirates and Dinuba High Emperors.
In the end, Marco Leyva, Reedley High's goal-
keeper, blocked a penalty kick from Dinuba's Victor Mar- tinez, to give the Pirates an 11-10 penalty kick win on Feb. 16 in Dinuba.
“We knew Marco was clutch,” said Eric Velarde, Reedley High Pirates head coach. “In practice he is al- ways able to guess the shots
SeeSOCCER onpageB4
Eagles take down CVC in CSL finale
IHS earns No. 3 seed in Div. III playoffs
stuff to figure out still but I think we will click when we get into playoffs.”
IHS Girls Basketball
Led by Ava Galpin and Krystale Gutierrez, two se- niors who were honored be- fore the game, the Immanuel High Eagles girls basketball team ended the regular season with a 74-32 win on Feb. 13 at Immanuel High.
Galpin scored 28 points and had eight rebounds, while Gutierrez had 23 points and 13 rebounds. She also had 11 assists.
Aaliyah Seuell had 17 points, five rebounds and five steals.
“Intensity, communica- tion, tough defense and shar- ing the basketball were just a few positives that were notice- able in the game,” said Phillip Todd, Immanuel High Eagles girls basketball head coach. “The girls followed the game plan verbatim, and the score reflected their dominance. They are in a very good place as a team and I couldn't be
See EAGLES on page B4
By Chris Aguirre
Chris@midvalleypublishing.com
With less than two min- utes to go in a scoreless game on Feb. 15 against the East High School Blades, the Reedley Pirates girls soccer team were on the brink of overtime.
That's when Miko Su- namoto set up for a corner kick.
Sunamoto kicked the ball, and it flew straight to Emma Mulligan, who jumped and headed the ball into the goal.
This gave the Pirates a 1-0 victory over East High in the quarterfinals of the Central Section Di- vision III playoffs at Sal Gonzalez Field.
“We dominated the whole game,” said Bladi- mir Pizano, Reedley High head coach. “The girls gave it their all and were resil- ient. They kept on fighting and found a way to win.”
The Pirates advanced to play the No. 1 seed Independence High School of Bakersfield in Bakers- field on Feb. 20 in the semi- finals.
No score was available at presstime.
Coach Pizano said he thinks the team is starting to learn to win but knows it will be a challenge against Independence.
“The team knows we have to play physical,” Pi- zano said. “We don’t shy away from shooting on goal. We have learned to persevere no matter the circumstance. So I think we have a good chance.”
See PIRATES on page B4
Photo Contributed Rick Curiel / Dinuba Sentinel
The Reedley High Pirates boys soccer team defeated Dinuba High 11-10 in penalty kicks on Feb. 16 to advance to the semifinals of the Division II playoffs.
RHS boys soccer advance to semis
High School Basketball
By Chris Aguirre
Chris@midvalleypublishing.com
In his final regular sea- son home game as a mem- ber of the Immanuel High Eagles boys basketball team, Nate Kendricks gave the fans something to remember.
Kendricks scored 43 points to help lead the Eagles to an 81-57 victory over the Central Valley Christian Cava- liers on Feb. 13 at Immanuel High.
Immanuel ended the reg- ular season 17-11 overall and 8-2 in the Central Sequoia League.
The Eagles earned the No. 3 seed in the CIF Central Section Division III playoffs.
Immanuel had a bye in the first round and will host the winner of the game between the No. 6 seed West High of Bakersfield and the No. 11 seed North High of Bakers- field.
The Eagles host the win-
ner of that game on Thursday, Feb. 22 at Immanuel High School.
On Feb. 13, with his first shot of the game a three-point- er, Kendricks surpassed the 2,000-point mark in his four years combined at Immanuel.
“It is amazing to me,” Ken- dricks said. “I never thought I would get that many points. I just give it all to my team- mates and coaches for putting me in the right position to do amazing things.”
Kaleb Daglish had 12 points, while Mitch Nydam had eight.
The Eagles and Cavaliers were tied at 28-28 at halftime before the Eagles pulled away in the second half.
Kendricks said he believes that the team has what is takes to try and win a fifth straight section title.
“I think we can win Valley,” Kendricks said. “We are a young team and have
Chris Aguirre / The Exponent
Nate Kendricks, Immanuel High Eagles boys basketball player, had 43 points to lead the Eagles to a 81-57 win over Central Valley Christian on Feb. 13 at Immanuel High School.
Pirates boys basketball receives No. 12 seed in Division IV playoffs
Roger Ortiz, Reedley High Pirates boys basketball player goes up for a layup in a game earlier this season.
The Pirates earned a No. 12 seed in the Division IV playoffs and played Granite Hills High School on Feb. 20 in Porterville.
No results were available at presstime.
File Photo / The Exponent
By Chris Aguirre
Chris@midvalleypublishing.com
The Reedley High Pirates boys basketball team earned a No. 12 seed in the CIF Central Section Division IV playoffs.
The Pirates played No. 5 seed Granite Hills High School from Porterville on Feb. 20 in Porterville.
“It was a great accom- plishment for our program this year,” said Travis Ferrell, Reedley High head coach. “We had a top five strength of
schedule in Division four and weren't sure if we'd get in.”
Reedley High ended the regular season on Feb. 13 with a 54-52 win over Hoover High School in Fresno.
The Pirates finished with a 9-20 overall record and were 1-9 in the North Yosemite League.
Coach Ferrell is in his sec- ond year as head coach and said this was a big stepping stone for the program.
“Making playoffs in year two was critical for our long-
term plans here at Reedley High School. We want to get to the point that we are in playoffs every year, where we can host playoff games, and where we can be a threat to go deep into the post-season on a consistent basis,” Ferrell said. “There's no substitute for experience and what we gain from going this year will be irreplaceable for our program moving forward.”