Page 9 - Dinuba Sentinel 10-18-18 E-edition

Sports
“So glad that the hard work of the girls has been paying off for them.”
DHS volleyball coach Michele Burner after a win over CVC
rally to clip the
Mustangs
B1
Dinuba knocks o Kingsburg Cardinals
Thursday, October 18, 2018
DHS Football
The Dinuba Sentinel OHS Football
By George M. Villagrana
Vikings managed to score a TD with With the ball at their 36-yard line and up the middle for a TD to burn the
Sports@thedinubasentinel.com
under a minute in the 2nd quarter on a TD pass from Hall to Micah Spomer. On the heels of their late first half
score, Kingsburg started the second half piecing together a nine play, 84-yard drive that ended with a 16-yard run by Bo Jackson, quieting the large homecoming crowd for a split-moment.
8:07 in the third quarter, the Emperors mounted another drive behind a 20-yard pass play from Magana to Huerta and a 21-yard run by Martinez that put the ball at Kingsburg’s 27-yard line. With the focus on Magana, Huerta and Martinez, it was running back Julian Gutierrez’s 27-yard run
Vikings defense. The ensuing two-point conversion was no good as Dinuba led 33-21.
The Emperors defense came up big on Kingsburg’s next possession when Joshua Sanchez took the ball away
See DINUBA, Page B8
In a must-win game to stay in the mix of the Central Sequoia League title hunt, the Dinuba High football team delivered in a big way as the Emperors withstood a charge from Kingsburg before securing a 47-35 win on Friday.
Dinuba improved to 6-2 overall and 2-1 in league, while the Vikings now have the same record as the Emperors. Kingsburg could’ve tightened its grip on the league crown with a win.
The Vikings had an uphill battle after starting quarterback Jett Jackson was knocked out of the game by Ray Sanchez nearly seven minutes into the game. But Kingsburg, behind backup QB Travis Hall made a game of it until late in the second half.
Dinuba opened the game marching down the field with ease, scoring on a 4-yard scamper by running back Joshua Martinez.
Behind Jackson, the Vikings moved the ball effectively until Sanchez’s big hit that jarred the ball loss only to be recovered by KHS. With Jackson, out Hall and the Vikings struck on the next play as he connected on a 33-yard TD play to Brandon Rocha.
With the score tied, 7-7, quarterback Josh Magana and wide receiver Jacob Huerta broke the tie on a 43-yard TD play. It marked a big night for Huerta, who was Magana’s favorite target.
DHS continued to roll in the second quarter as Martinez scored on a pair of TD runs of 2 and 9-yards increasing the Emperors lead to 27-7.
After another punt by Kingsburg, Dinuba marched down to the 31-yard line but the drive stalled and the
By George M. Villagrana
Minarets High School’s hopes of an upset were dashed in the second half as Orosi stormed back from a 23-7 halftime deficit for a 39-36 win Friday night.
The Cardinals, winners of their past three games, improved to 6-2 overall and 3-1 in West Sequoia League play while the Mustangs dropped to 2-6 and 1-3 in league.
On a night when players were racking up some impressive stats, the Cardinals did just enough down the stretch to pull out the victory. Minarets, who finished with over 600 yards of offense, did their damage early but in the second half could not reach the end zone.
“We came out flat and got down at half,” stated coach Ben White. “They were stuffing our run and we weren’t able to throw initially. Second half we opened it up and started completing passes.”
Down 36-33 with less than 3 minutes, 20 seconds remaining, the Orosi defense came up with a big play when the Mustangs fumbled and it was recovered by Jerry Huerta just inside the Cardinals’ 45-yard line. Huerta then raced 39-yards
See Rally, Page B7
Clutch win for Emperors
Seniors go out with a thrilling 25-19, 25-18, 21-25, 14-25, momentum was on CVC’s side early
Jacob Huerta caught eight passes for 244 yarda and two touchdowns as Dinuba defeated Kingsburg, 47-35, creating a three-way tie atop the CSL standings.
George M. Villagrana | The Sentinel
Sports@thedinubasentinel.com
Soto takes over as the new sports coordinator
for the Coalinga and Huron Recreation District. “I was there for a year and a half, and I loved it but still it was a little too far.”
Soto, who resides in Visalia, said the drive was long and she was looking for something a little closer.
“So I kind of started seeing what my options were when I saw this opening, I was like ‘yeah that’s what I do’, so I applied and got it,” Soto said.
She was also ready for change, and to take on a larger department as opposed to a smaller one like in Coalinga and Huron.
“Oh its way bigger,” she said. “Coalinga is very small. I definitely came here into a structured system in terms of parks and recreation department as opposed to Coalinga and Huron where it is its own special district not tied to the city.”
As DeOcio started to wrap up his time as coordinator, Soto had the opportunity to work alongside him.
See Soto, Page B8
DHS Volleyball
By George M. Villagrana
bang as DHS rallies
for a thrilling win
over CVC, 3-2
15-12 Central Sequoia League win over Central Valley Christian late Monday night.
Martinez’s serve touched off a celebration by players, coaches and Emperor fans who were glued to their seats in a two hour plus battle.
“So glad that the hard work of the girls has been paying off for them,” said coach Michele Burner.
The win improved Dinuba’s record to 20-9 overall and 6-5 in CSL play, while CVC dips to 15-13 and 8-3 in league.
Although, for a split-second all the
as the Cavaliers relied on the arm of sophomore Kendal Vander Tuig, jumping out to a 9-4 lead.
Dinuba began to chip away, fueled by kills from Azlynn Villalobos, Allyson Garcia, a service ace from Beth Gonzalez and a hitting error made the score, 9-8. The Emperors pulled even at 11 all on a service ace by Alexa Garcia, who dialed up another ace putting DHS up 12-11 before CVC tied it up at 12. A kill by Allyson Garcia, a hitting error by the
See Clutch, Page B8
Sports@thedinubasentinel.com
City of Dinuba has a new sports coordinator.
Valerie Soto has been on the job for three weeks but until this past week, it marked the first time she was solo. She takes over for Richard DeOcio, who served as the coordinator before leaving onOctober5totakeajobasanMMA promoter in the Valley.
A native of Tulare, Soto said she is excited at the chance to put her degree in recreation administration from Fresno State University to good use in Dinuba.
At Fresno State, she held jobs as a cashier for Home Depot and taught gymnastics. When she graduated in 2016, Soto landed an internship as a ranger from Yosemite National Park for two seasons which she explained was eight or nine months.
“It was awesome but I needed to be home and found Coalinga,” she said working as a Recreation Supervisor
By George M. Villagrana
Sports@thedinubasentinel.com
Senior night turned out to be an epic rollercoaster ride for Dinuba.
The Emperors rallied from a fifth set deficit sealing the win on a service ace by senior Kirsten Martinez to capture
Senior Alexa Garcia goes up for a kill and is met at the net by a pair of Central Valley Christian blockers during a Central Sequoia League match Monday night. Dinuba went on to rally in the fifth set for a 3-2 win over the visiting Cavaliers.
DHS Cross Country
Stretch run for cross country squads
Friday as the girls placed 15th overall in 21:44.7
George M. Villagrana | The Sentinel
Valerie Soto has been at her new position for several weeks and is looking forward to starting new programs.
George M. Villagrana | The Sentinel
Two more races remain on the Dinuba High boys and girls schedule before the Central Sequoia League championships and the Central Section Championships the week after on Nov. 6.
Both teams were at the Rough Rider Invitational at Woodward Park on
By George M. Villagrana
Sports@thedinubasentinel.com
with 414 points. The field by far was the largest the Emperors participated in this year.
With over 210 athletes in the large school girls race, Luz Diaz was the highest placer (56th) for DHS as she was timed in 20:53.4. Jackie Delgado crossed the finish line in 74th place in 21:12.5 and Jasmine George was 76th
Elizabeth Mendez was 135th in 13:14.3 while Luzmi Ramirez was 145th in 23:31.4, right behind her in 146th was Ali Contreras in a time of 23:34.3.
Amanda Soto and Angie Arreola were 159th and 167th with times of 24:06.0 and 24:20.8.
See Run, Page B7