Page 11 - Dinuba Sentinel 2-8-18 E-edition

Sports
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“Last year we were out to make a point, that we were a force to be reckoned with. This year it’s about owning up to that.”
- Sara Vega, OHS Girl’s Soccer Coach
The Dinuba Sentinel
Lady Cardinals claim second straight title
Orosi enters Division V playo s as the No. 1 ranked team
“This year it’s about owning up to that.”
Monday the Lady Cardinals defeated Farmersville at home
3-0, in a game that locked up the league title. But before taking on the Aztecs, Orosi needed to handle the only team in league that represented a threat to the
Cardinal’s title run, Orange Cove.
The Lady Cardinals traveled to Orange Cove on Friday, with the Titans entering the matchup only one game behind Orosi, with a 6-1 record in league. Win and it would open the door to an outright league title, lose and risk a league title or possibly
settle for a share.
Orosi defeated Orange Cove on Friday
5-0, marking their fifteenth shut out of the season.
With Orange Cove out of the way, the Lady Cardinals path to a second straight league title became much easier. All they had to do was get past Farmersville, a team they defeated earlier in the season
9-0.
Monday night the team wasted no time and got the job
See Lady Cards, Page B6
Thursday, February 8, 2018
High School Soccer
Dinuba boy’s soccer set to defend league title
Tonight’s rivalry game against Selma will determine league’s best
By Rick Curiel
Sports@thedinubasentinel.com
Orosi High School senior Evelyn Manzo attacks the goal during the Lady Carinal’s 3-0 victory over Farmersville on Monday Night. Manzo is one of four Orosi seniors on the girl’s soccer team who is hungry to get back to the valley championship game.
Rick Curiel | The Sentinel
It was two years ago tomorrow that the Lady Cardinals soccer team lost their last league game, a
close 3-2 defeat to McFarland, who that
year was the league champion. Since then
Orosi’s varsity soccer team has taken the league by storm, going undefeated last year in the East Sierra League to run away with the title and make it all the way to the valley championship game.
Last year’s team had an overall record of 23-5, and though impressive in it’s own right, this year’s team surpassed that mark by leaps and bounds.
Yesterday Orosi hosted Summit Charter
Collegiate Academy, and being that the
Cardinals entered the game with a 25-0-2 record, compared to the Bears 3-11-1 record, it may be safe to assume that this year’s team once again made school history by becoming the first girl’s team in any sport to go undefeated.
“Last year we were out to make a point, that we were a force to be reckoned with,” said Orosi girl’s soccer coach Sara Vega.
“Since Sara took over... every year
has gotten better.”
— Ken Sawatzky Orosi High Athletic Director
Sentinel staff report
With a victory over Immanuel on Monday night, the Dinuba Emperors varsity boy’s soccer team will enter tonight’s rivalry matchup against Selma with an identical league record as the Bears, 8-1.
The Bears represents the only defeat in league for Dinuba this season, a 4-2 loss back on Jan. 23 in Selma. For Selma, their victory over the Emperors came a game after having been upset in an away game against Exeter, losing 4-3 to the Monarchs. This season Dinuba has defeated the Monarchs twice, the first time winning 4-1 in Exeter on Jan. 9 and the most recent a 2-1 overtime victory on Jan. 25, one game after losing to Selma.
That being said, and given that both teams have been on a roll since their last meeting, tonight’s matchup looks to be a battle between the Central Sequoia League’s toughest, and at this point, hottest teams.
Dinuba comes into tonight’s battle on a four-game winning streak. On Friday the Emperors hosted Kingsburg and showed quickly why one team is 8-1 in league while the other is 1-8. Dinuba easily handled the Vikings, shutting them out 7-0 for their eighth shut out of the season.
Over the past three years, Dinuba’s boy’s soccer team has only really had three blemishes in league play, two losses and a tie. All three came against Selma.
Tonight’s game will also be Senior Night. Game time is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Rick Curiel | The Sentinel
Dinuba High senior soccer player and captain Pedro Rodriguez dribbles down the field against Kingsburg last Friday night. Rodgriquez, who scored in the 7-0 victory over the Vikings, will be honored tonight along with 14 of his teammates in Senior Night.
High School Basketball
The Dinuba Emperors varsity boy’s basketball team stayed two games behind Central Sequoia League leader Selma with a 61-50 victory over visiting Kingsburg last Friday. As of Tuesday the Emperors were in a two-way tie with Immanuel at 5-2, a team they traveled to play the same day.
That game took place after publication.
Friday’s game against the Vikings was the second matchup between the two teams this season. Dinuba won a close game in Kingsburg on Jan. 17 by squeezing out a 74-71 victory, so one could have expected another close game a second time around.
Sure enough, for the most part, a close game is what the fans at Dinuba High’s west gym got.
“Their record doesn’t reflect how strong they are,” said Dinuba High boy’s basketball coach Jeff Schofield. “But they’re well coached and play good defense.”
The Emperors actually trailed the Vikings by three after the first quarter of play, with Kingsburg connecting on three 3-pointers to take a 15-12 lead.
Dinuba tied the game early in the second quarter when senior Nate Carrion hit his second 3-pointer of the game, this a pull-up jumper from the
Lady Emps
slip in
league play
Sentinel staff report
After getting off to a hot start, entering league play last month with the best record in the Central Sequoia League at 14-4, the Lady Emperors varsity basketball team has had a rough going in the last few weeks.
Since starting league play, the team has gone 2-5. Two of those losses came recently against Central Valley Christian and Kingsburg, teams they played last week.
Friday the Lady Emps traveled to Kingsburg in hopes of redeeming themselves after falling to the Vikings 50-46 back on Jan. 17. However, Friday’s second matchup between the teams was far more lopsided than the first, with Kingsburg running away with a 79-55 victory.
Though the Lady Emperors stayed within striking distance in the first half, at one point only trailing Kingsburg by one point when Dinuba freshman Ashley Flores hit a 2-pointer with just over four minutes left in the half to make the score 27-26.
Shortly after, Dinuba’s Mireya Hernandez hit a 3-pointer to make the score 29-27, giving Dinuba their first lead of the game since leading 4-2 at the onset.
The game remained tight throughout the remainder of the first half, but a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Kingsburg’s Tasharee Vaughn gave the Vikings a 40-35 lead going into halftime.
Kingsburg then ran away with the
See Lady Emps, Page B6
Emperors win three straight
Dinuba faces tough challenge this week with games against Immanuel and Selma
top of the key.
Moments later Carrion would connect
again from beyond the arc, banking in a 3-pointer from the right wing to give the Emperors an 18-17 lead.
His 3-pointers were just two of the Emperor’s four 3-pointers in the period to help give Dinuba a 27-25 lead going into halftime.
In the third quarter Emperor senior Elijah Mayberry gave Dinuba a five- point lead after hitting a 3-pointer from the right corner. An inside move by Dinuba High junior Sinuhe Vargas extended the Emperor’s lead to seven.
Kingsburg kept up the fight and managed to stay within a single digit margin for most of the game. Dinuba took an eight-point lead into the fourth quarter, their largest up until that point, when junior Jacob Huerta found Vargas in the paint for an easy bucket as time expired in the third quarter.
The Vikings then cut that lead to three off a 3-pointer and then drive to the basket by Kingsburg senior Jeremy Ray, their top scorer for the night.
Dinuba’s Luke Rodriguez then took control of the game, driving all the way to the basket, before striking again on a pull-up 3-pointer from the left wing. The Emperors than took a ten-point lead midway through the final quarter when Carrion hit his fourth 3-pointer of the
See Emperors, Page B8
Dinuba High School junior Jacob Huerta penetrates through the paint during Friday night’s 61-50 victory over visiting Kingsburg. In the game prior to Friday, Dinuba hosted CVC, a game in which Huerta came up big in the Emperor’s 63-57 victory, hitting two big 3-pointers in overtime.
Rick Curiel | The Sentinel
By Rick Curiel
Sports@thedinubasentinel.com