Page 9 - Sanger Herald 9-27-18 E-edition

SangerSports
SANGER HERALD * PAGE 1B * THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2018
Apaches unleash the offense at home against Coyotes
By Mike Nemeth
Sanger Herald
Madera’s Coyotes played the first half like they owned the pool. Like traveling to Sanger was part of their training regimen.
The Apaches were down 4-0 at the break.
Then something happened. Maybe senior goalie Josh Herman’s block near the start of the third quarter Sept. 20 gave this varsity boys Apaches team that “aha” moment. Maybe senior Dominic Daddino’s goal seconds later inspired a turnaround. Maybe sophomore Ben Frost’s goal less than a minute of play later fully eradicated the funk of the fist two quarters.
Regardless, by the time Christian Tienda stole the ball and it landed in the hands of senior Zack Stricker who fed it to Frost, a comeback was certain. Apaches fans started acting like they had practiced cheering at Tom Flores Stadium.
Frost scored a second
Mike Nemeth / Sanger Herald
Senior Zack Stricker fires a high velocity shot on goal.
much he wanted it in the fourth quarter, rocketing the ball past Coyote defenders to regain the lead. Daddino had launched the fourth quarter by scoring, but Madera junior Enrique Solis tied the score at 5-5 with 6 minutes remaining in the contest.
“Things happen,” Stricker said. “We’ve been really itching for this win. We’ve been putting in a lot of work. Everyone just wanted to get it done.”
Tienda said the steals came naturally. He had three. “We were down by one,” he said. “So I knew if I didn’t steal the ball, we’d have a tougher time.”
Failure was not an option, he said. And Tienda echoed something of what Kratlian said. That Sanger’s boys may just end up surprising everybody. It certainly won’t be easy.
Final score was 7-5. Daddino made the final Apaches’ goal with 2:39 minutes on the clock. Apache Julian Saldana had a huge block, deflating any hope of a Coyote comeback.
Girls varsity
Madera wanted a win against Sanger’s perennial powerhouse girls varsity program, and the Coyotes played an impressive game.
But it wasn’t enough. Despite a late goal by senior Coyote Madeleine McNeil, Sanger came away with a 12-8 win Sept. 20 just before the boys’ varsity match.
“It was a good game,” said senior Apache goalie Bailee Poole. “We really came together. We’re learning how to communicate and how to make good passes. I think it’s going to be a good season.”
Poole said her team is young, “but it’s not going to hurt us.”
In fact, Poole, Emily Tienda and Addison Williams, who was to leave that night on a college recruiting trip to Toronto, are the only seniors on the team.
Coach Hillary Boos said she had to hand it to the Madera team. “They’re going to become competition for us this year,” she said. “That was
a good game. A good fight. We adjusted. That was good.”
Apache sophomore Abby Ellis said the league game was worth the wait.
Williams said the addition of the younger players has produced an entirely new Sanger team. “It’s just a different vibe,” she said. “We’ve definitely improved a lot from our first game. I can feel it.
“We have a stronger wavelength. We know what’s on each other’s minds.”
And that resulting teamwork could be seen in the pool. No matter what Madera threw at the Apaches, they had an answer. Offensive duties were shared with junior Victoria Torres- Huerta getting the first score, tying the game at 1-1 and eliminating the Coyotes’ only lead of the game. Williams scored multiple times and Ellis, junior Natilee Owens and a forceful Crysta Benson, a junior, also registered scores.
time. Sanger needed one more to tie. Then Tienda stole the ball again and fed it to Trenton Wells. Madera senior Robby Niino blocked Wells’ shot on the Coyotes’ goal, but by then the momentum had clearly shifted.
A minute and half later on the clock, Frost’s lightning fast backhand delivered the ball into the Madera net, tying the score at 4-4.
“It’s the shot coach is having me practice because those are the quickest to get off,” Frost said. “If you take too long, you’re just going to get clobbered.”
Frost said he can see an improvement in teamwork. “I feel like we’re a second- half team. We were shaky at the start, but the second half (we delivered).”
Coach Brian Kratlian disputed the second-half notion. “I think they’re a whole game team,” he said.
The Apaches have had their challenges. Losses outnumber wins this season, but Kratlian said his athletes continue to put in the work to control their game, improve and gain confidence. “I think there’s going to be quite a few teams surprised,” he said.
And Stricker showed how
Paso Robles falls to Sanger's road trip
By Mike Nemeth
Sanger Herald
PASO ROBLES — Gabriel Webb returned to the Apache lineup in time to play the Bearcats of Paso Robles on the road.
He and fellow senior Damian Duarte said goodbye to Sanger’s once burgeoning injured reserve list to help make a difference. And they did.
Then Webb got hurt. Again.
Paso Robles played hard, like a seasoned rival. But the Bearcats were no Edison or Lemoore whose style of play or intensity reeked of familiarity.
“This was all new territory for all of us,” said Sanger head coach Jorge Pena after the game. “We fell behind early. I thought our kids responded really well.
“Great road win.”
Sanger triumphed 27-24. But victory was hardly assured. Paso Robles tried everything it could to vanquish the visiting team from the central San Joaquin Valley, whose athletes spent about two hours and 15 minutes on a bus to get there.
The Apaches weren’t the only ones who made the trip. Sanger master statistician Ron Blackwood and longtime spotter Ruben Bravo estimated the visiting Sanger crowd to be far more than their initial expectation of 500. The visitor stands filled quickly after the junior varsity Apaches lost in the second half of their game.
“Our crowd was amazing,” Pena said. “It caused them problems.”
Mike Nemeth / Sanger Herald
David Ayala, No. 30, rushes for 122 yards and scores two field goals. Ron Blackwood named him player of the game.
really came together (tonight). We played Sanger Banger football. We played tough.”
Gomez especially. He returned to the field even though he had a high ankle sprain.
“Sanger travels well,” Gomez said. “We really knocked off their offensive game with the crowd.”
Senior defender Rene Martinez said his Apaches had to play their best. “It was one of those games,” he said. “It was a four- quarter game. We’ve been going over a lot of stuff. It was 10-10 at the half. Our mindset is to finish. And we finished.”
At one point, senior running back Orlando Douglas got slammed by two defenders from either side. But he popped right out — despite the audible thump — like a piece of bread from a toaster. Only this piece of toast gained more yardage. A lot of it.
“It was crazy,” he said, recounting the incident. “I didn’t think I’d stay on my feet after that. Early on I kept stumbling (with the ball). But I kept going. My coaches said, ‘Don’t stop moving.’ And I didn’t.”
Douglas gained 86 yards on 15 carries. And his zigzagging flummoxed Paso defenders, allowing him to gain 52 yards on three kickoff returns.
Pierce Jones collected 12 tackles and Ayala 10. Ayala also kicked two field goals and three extra points.
The reporter can be contacted by email at sangerheraldsports@gmail. com or by phone at the Herald at (559) 875-2511.
Webb had to sit on the sideline late in the game. Bearcat defenders banged up his team, but Sanger offered no quarter. “It’s a tough game,” he said, eyes drilling into the action on the field during the latter part of the fourth quarter. “We’re definitely hitting. We’re flying around really good. That’s what’s giving us the edge. We’re playing faster than them.”
The Apaches adapted to the threat. When one tactic didn’t work — for instance triple teaming running back Kosi Agina, Pena and his staff simply altered plays.
But the Bearcats didn’t give up. With two minutes remaining, senior running back David Ayala, who
ultimately gained 122 yards on eight runs, grabbed a huge gain in yardage only to have the play taken away by referees because of a penalty.
The penalties were fast and furious.
Then Agina got it all back, maintaining the Apaches’ control of the ball and, ultimately, the game. Agina ran nine times for 78 yards and a touchdown.
“It felt good,” Agina said of the final play. “We were in a hole. I knew we needed a big play so I came back in. They (the Bearcats) were pretty good. It was a good team for non-league play.”
Perhaps the biggest story in the game involved senior
receiver Jake Boust. He demonstrated his abilities on the sideline, pulling down practice shotgun passes from 4 to 5 feet above his head with a single gloved hand.
Boust gave the Sanger crowd a thrill. Twice.
He caught passes from quarterback Noel Collazo of 10 and 45 yards for touchdowns, first in the second quarter and finally in the fourth.
“I got two touchdowns tonight,” Boust said, still amped up from the performance. “I was hungry. I needed it.”
Boust said his offensive line used the same play both times, one that he and Collazo had practiced
repeatedly. And Boust praised his offense and Collazo for making it happen. “He took some big hits. But he powered through,” he said of his quarterback.
“I knew I was going to hit him,” Collazo said of Boust. “My (offensive) line did a great job blocking so I could get the ball off.”
And he said one more thing about Boust. “He makes a big target,” Collazo said.
One of those on the line was senior Steven Gomez. He said nobody should underestimate the Apaches. “Currently everyone is bigger than us,” he said. “But we come out to play. The whole team. We just
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