Page 11 - Reedley Exponent 11-8-18 E-edition

B3 | Thursday, November 8, 2018
Kirk Kawagoe / Photo Contributed
Immanuel High School receiver Chris Gurrola picks up yards after the catch during the Eagles' 35-18 loss to Arvin in the first round of the Central Section Division 5 playoffs on Nov. 2.
IHS football season ends in loss at Arvin
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Girls High School Volleyball
Eagles edged in D-4 final
Staff Report
The Immanuel High Eagles flirted with an upset in their Central Section Divi- sion 5 football playoff game in Arvin on Nov. 2.
The 11th-seeded Eagles led 18-15 entering the fourth quarter, but the host Bears rushed for three touchdowns during the final 12 minutes to pull away for a 35-18 victory. The defeat ended the Eagles' 4-6 season that featured only three home games,
Immanuel fell behind 15-0 after one quarter, but rallied within three points by halftime thanks to a pair of rushing touchdowns from Chris Gurrola. The senior
scored on runs of 2 and 7 yards, the second score cut- ting the deficit to 15-12.
With seven minutes re- maining in the third quar- ter, quarterback Matt Tiger scored from a yard out to give the Eagles an 18-15 ad- vantage following a missed conversion try. The lead held until the first play of the fi- nal quarter, when the Bears (7-4) scored on a 14-yard run to regain the lead for good at 22-18.
With about nine minutes left, Arvin increased its lead to 11 points with a 22-yard touchdown run, then stopped the Eagles near midfield. The hosts tacked on a final
See IMMANUEL on page B4
Reedley girls stunned in 5 sets by Madera South in D-3 quarterfinal
By Jon Earnest
jon@midvalleypublishing.com
The Immanuel High Eagles battled back from a deep hole in the Central Sec- tion Division 4 championship match Nov. 3 in Visalia, rally- ing from two sets down and locked in a fifth-set tie — just five points from victory.
But with the score tied 10-10, the Chowchilla High Tribe ran off five of the next six points powered by senior outside hitter Kinsley Vlot to claim the title with a 15-11 triumph before a vocal crowd at the College of the Sequoias gym.
But the defeat didn't end the season, as Immanuel (17-21 overall) earned an at-large bid to the Southern California regional playoffs. The 13th-seeded Eagles played No. 4 seed Nordhoff High on Nov. 6 in Ojai, with the winner advancing to the regional quarterfinals. Results were unavailable at press time.
Immanuel coach Deb- bie Linman said she was ex- tremely proud of her team's fighting spirit.
"t would have been very easy for them to roll over and quit after the first two
Jon Earnest / The Exponent
Immanuel High School junior Claire Ramirez, right, raises her arms in celebration with her teammates after a point won in set 4 of the Eagles' Central Section Division 4 championship match against Chowchilla High on Nov. 3. The Tribe defeated IHS by a 15-11 score in the decisive set.
games," she said. "Half of my team has never been in a Valley championship be- fore. Just that inexperience can jar their confidence. But they pulled it together, and got their game and they got the fire in them."
Senior hitter Danielle Jef- feries paced the Eagles with
21 kills and 10 digs. That fol- lowed her dominating 24 kill, 13 dig effort in a four-set upset of top-seeded Mira Monte of Bakersfield on Nov. 1. Junior MacKenzie Coats collected 12 kills and 22 digs while sopho- more setter Brooke Hatch had 21 assists and 13 digs.
"The girls were totally on
fire and ready to take charge from the start," Linman said of the win over Mira Monte. Immanuel swept the first two sets and then overcame a close set three loss to win the fourth set, 25-21.
In the section final, Jef-
See VOLLEYBALL on page B4
Reedley High boys win twice in D-3, girls drop D-2 opener
Central Section Water Polo playoffs
Staff Report
A pair of home playoff victo- ries have advanced the Reedley High Pirates boys water polo team to the Central Section Division 3 semifinal round.
The fourth-seeded Pirates (18- 12) were slated to play at the top seed, the Edison High Tigers, on Nov. 7, at the Fresno school's home pool. The winner would advance to the section finals scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 10, at a site and time to be determined. The other semi- finals on Nov. 7 pitted No. 6 Strath- more at No. 2 Hanford High.
Reedley began its postseason run by holding off No. 13 seed Si- erra, 7-5, at the RHS Swim Com- plex on Oct. 31. The Pirates kicked up the production on Nov. 3, jump-
ing to the lead and not looking back in a 14-8 decision over No. 5 seed Exeter.
Offense was at a premium in the opening game against Sierra, which used strong goalie play from Colt Cunningham and a deliberate attack to slow the pace of the game. Neither team scored in the opening period, and it was down to three minutes before halftime before junior Jamian Villareal broke the scoreless drought. But the Chief- tains (18-12) answered with three straight goals to take a 3-1 lead at the half.
Reedley roared back in the third, outscoring the visitors to grab a 5-4 lead into the final period as Villareal found the net twice. Junior Mike Yada then took over down the stretch, scoring three
goals from the hole enabling the hosts to build and protect the two- goal lead.
Against Exeter, Reedley built a lead for goalie Hunter Shamp and made it stand up. It was the Pirates' second win over the Monarchs this season; the first was a 14-7 non- league decision on Sept. 13 in Ex- eter.
GIRLS
RHS season ends with road playoff loss at Selma The Reedley High girls postsea-
son run was brief, as the North Yo- semite League champions dropped a 10-3 decision at Selma on Oct. 30. The Pirates (17-10) lost three times this season to the Bears; ear- lier losses were by a 12-6 score on
See WATER POLO on page B4
Jon Earnest / The Exponent
Reedley High's Kai McDonald uncorked a shot on goal during the Pirates' 7-5 win over Sierra in the opening round of the Central Section boys water polo playoffs on Oct. 31.
Unbeaten Tigers outscore Monterey Peninsula to go 9-0
Kirk Kawagoe / Photo Contributed
Reedley College quarterback Randall Johnson dashes toward the end zone on a 3-yard touchdown run in the first quarter of the Tigers' 35-14 victory over Monterey Peninsula College at Sal Gonzalez Field on Nov. 3. Johnson passed for three touchdowns and ran for two other scores.
By Will Goldbeck
For The Exponent
With a 35-14 home victory over Monterey Peninsula College on Nov. 3, the 2018 Reedley College football team clinched a bowl berth and at least a tie for the Golden Coast Confer- ence championship.
A win over an 8-1 Hartnell College Pan- thers squad in Salinas on Saturday, Nov. 10, would give Head Coach Eric Marty’s Tigers a perfect 10-0 season.
On paper, it looks as if the Reedley defense will have to stop Hartnell quarterback Isaiah Ariolla-Randalle, who threw for 418 yards and six touchdowns in the Panthers’ 51-26 home rout over Los Medanos College on Nov. 3.
The 6 p.m. contest will be a matchup of two of the state’s top quarterbacks in Reedley’s Randall Johnson and Hartnell freshman Ario- lla-Randalle. All Johnson has done this season is complete 66 percent of his passes for 2,275 yards and 21 touchdowns. The sophomore from Los Angeles is also the Tigers’ leading rusher with 680 yards and 11 scores.
In the win over Monterey, Johnson was re- sponsible for all five Tiger touchdowns, throw- ing to Okera Hutchinson, Brittavious Garcia and Nick Clarke while also recording touch- down runs of 3 and 14 yards.
Reedley never trailed in the contest. A week earlier, the Lobos rolled to a 61-33 win over Hartnell, handing the Panthers their only
Kirk Kawagoe / Photo Contributed
Reedley College tight end Okera Hutchinson cel- ebrated with outstretched arms after his fourth- quarter touchdown reception.
Reedley College football
loss of the season.
In Hartnell's win over Los Medanos, Ari-
olla-Randalle broke the school’s single season passing record with 3,409 yards, exactly 200 yards ahead of the previous record. He is also one touchdown pass short of tying the school mark for most touchdown passes in a season.
Two of the Hartnell quarterback’s top re-
See TIGERS on page B4