Page 9 - Sanger Herald 10-25-18 E-edition

SangerSports
SANGER HERALD * PAGE 1B * THURSDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2018
Sanger Boxing Club racks up two wins in fights
By Mike Nemeth
Sanger Herald
On Sept. 29 at the Visalia Rumble, Sanger Boxing Club member Johnny Hernandez, 14, outscored his opponent and won the match.
He said the win was sweet because he’d lost to that same fighter, Jose Soto of Gilroy, at their first meeting Sept. 8 at Heartbeat Boxing, 155 Van Ness in Fresno. They fought at 105 pounds.
“My first fight, I threw fewer punches,” Hernandez said. “This time I threw more.”
His mom, Daysi Hernandez, said the second time, “He fought more clear. Like he was connecting his jabs really good and keeping his distance. The first time, hejustwentatit—not focusing on what he was doing. Now he’s practicing what he’s learned.”
Johnny Hernandez and
Mike Nemeth / Sanger Herald
Boxing club members Johnny Hernandez, left, and Alyssa Samarano show off medals won in competition.
first started (the fight), Ijustwentatit.AndI remembered everything. In the middle, I just went for it.”
Longtime Sanger boxing coach Mario Irazoqui said Alyssa represented Sanger well. “She was just nonstop punches,” he said. “She was a beast.” And regarding Johnny Hernandez, he said, “He’s doing way better. Beat that guy fair and square.”
The Sanger Boxing Club has continued to steadily grow. On a recent afternoon at the Sanger Youth Center, 818 L St., coach Ernesto Betancourt led his charges through various training exercises in the main room. About two dozen did drills and listened to his individual coaching as they worked through the process.
“It’s a successful program,” Irazoqui said. “These kids are learning, being more disciplined and adapting to the culture.”
The younger club members train alongside older boxers, too. The location is the same place Sanger boxer Manuel “Chaparrito” Cortes works out. He graduated to larger venues with the latest being July 7 at the Save Mart Center, part of the undercard to the main bouts, which aired on ESPN.
Betancourt said he’s proud of both his young fighters. “Johnny, he was working the first fight,” Betancourt said. “The guy (his opponent) was slow. Then the second fight, his training came in and he did much better.”
And of Alyssa, he said, “She’s training hard, and she’s had a lot of sparring. (During her fight) she didn't stop, kept going, kept up the punches. She punches, she moves. I say anything and she pays attention.”
Albert Samorano said his daughter really paid
attention to her training. He said what’s hindering her ability to get more amateur fights is finding opponents her size. “We’ve been working really hard with her,” he said. “All that sparring. We saw her bad points and worked on them. What we told her to do she did. And that helped her a lot.
“She’s learned to throw stray punches effectively. She’s gotten faster, and she’s using good combinations. She’s feeling more confident in herself now, and it’s improving her self esteem.”
Alyssa said she discovered her jab was pretty effective in the fight. “And I kept using it,” she said. “Then I did a one, two and a hook and I knew I would get her weak spot.”
The reporter can be contacted by email at sangerheraldsports@gmail. com or by phone at the Herald at (559) 875-2511.
By Mike Nemeth
Sanger Herald
The Apaches cast off their gear in uncharacteristic fashion after Edison’s Tigers outscored them at Ratcliffe Stadium in Fresno, pulling off a 43-21 win Oct. 19.
The silence in the borrowed locker room about 10 p.m. gave it a tomb-like feel.
Senior defensive end Aaron Salcido, who appeared to re-injure his shoulder in the contest vowed to return this week as Sanger again heads to an away game at formidable San Joaquin Memorial in Fresno. The Panthers rolled to a 9-0 season record after crushing Madera 55-13 last week.
“Go Apaches,” said senior David Ayala, who scored the first touchdown of the evening against Edison with a 3-yard pass from junior quarterback Noel Collazo. “We’ll be back next week.”
Head coach Jorge Pena, perhaps in keeping with the tomb-like feel in the locker room, didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t need to. “Have a seat,” he said, gathering his team for the post-game chat. “Get comfy. Make sure you can see me.”
He talked about mistakes. He said there were a lot. (This accounting from master statistician Ron Blackwood: Two fumbles that gave Tigers two touchdowns, a couple interceptions, grounding the ball in the end zone.)
“Offensively we made more mistakes than we’ve made all season long,” Pena said. “We looked sharp early. Then the wheels fell off.”
The Tigers took the lead with about 3 minutes remaining in the first half.
Mike Nemeth / Sanger Herald
Pierce Jones, No. 5, rushes in to help Aaron Salcido, No. 57, take down Edison's McKinley Lee III at Ratcliffe Stadium.
helmet popped off in the clash between the two lines. And it flew a good 10 feet. After the game heading to the bus, his expression and contented disposition gave the distinct impression he wasn’t affected by the incident. “Naw, I’m OK,” he said.
Cerda and Watson pressured Collazo every chance they got. But senior offensive linemen Isaac Salas, Steven Gomez and others on the line protected their quarterback.
On another occasion, a Tiger player’s shoe flew off during the tackle. Apache defense definitely showed up and that’s despite the Tigers having some big boys on their defensive and offensive lines. Five reportedly weigh north of 270 pounds, and one tipped the scales at 365.
“Edison played really good,” Privett said. “Good game. They came out, they performed. We came out and performed, but they came out on the better side. This time.”
“It doesn’t get any easier next week,” Pena said.
Agina ran three times for 77 yards. Senior Orlando Douglas ran 13 times for 45 yards. Senior Jake Boust had four receptions for 38 yards. Junior Pierce Jones led tacklers with eight, while senior safety Isaiah Gaucin had seven and so did Ayala.
Junior varsity began the evening with a win over the Tigers 35-7 to advance to a 6-3 record. The freshman team, like the Panthers, is 9-0.
The reporter can be contacted by email at sangerheraldsports@gmail. com or by phone at the Herald at (559) 875-2511.
Alyssa Samorano, 11, two of the five Sanger Boxing Club members the Sanger Herald profiled over the summer had their first official amateur fights. Alyssa also won her match.
Alyssa fought her first opponent at the Fresno fairgrounds Oct. 7 in a WBC Amateur Boxing event that featured about 15 fights. Her father, Albert
Samorano, said he was “really, really proud of her, especially in her debut.”
Alyssa fought at 80 pounds. Her opponent was from Fresno.
“I was first nervous and excited at the same time,” she said of her feelings before the match. “But I had been training eight to nine months for this.
“I was ready. When I
Mistakes sink Apaches against Tigers
When the Apaches got the ball on the subsequent kickoff, sophomore running back Morgan Privett ran it to about the 35 yard line. But subsequent play resulted in a fumble. The defense held on to keep the Tigers from scoring another touchdown but just by seconds. Score a the half was 21-14 Edison.
The third quarter had some promising plays by the Apaches, but Edison dominated offensively scoring another two touchdowns.
“We played hard,” said senior defender Jude Groft. “I told all the guys on defense we can’t allow any more points in the second half. It wasn’t enough.
“It is what it is.”
Defensive coordinator Mario Gonzalez summed up the loss in the locker room after Pena spoke. “They got a little life and they caught fire,” he said. “We’re going to get better because of this. But it’s not OK to lose.
“They didn’t beat us up.”
As Groft said, the defense played hard that second half. Aaron Fitzgerald, Apache videographer, said during the hard-fought fourth quarter that Sanger could still pull off a win. The crowd, which packed the east side of the historic stadium, backed him up, chanting, “Come on Sanger!”
With 9:51 minutes remaining in the fourth
quarter, senior running back Damian Duarte scored on a 4-yard run. Fitzgerald, who played football for Sanger with Pena, said another touchdown would get his team back in the game.
That didn’t happen, however. Mistakes, including the interceptions, sunk the offense.
At the end of the game, Tiger senior tight end Kwabena Watson, who stands 6-foot-3 did a back flip after members of both teams had shaken hands.
James Valle helped the chain gang on the sideline. His wife is an Edison math teacher and he heads up the Tiger boosters. “This is a long time since this has
happened,” he said of the win. “I know these guys. They’re at my house all the time. They eat my food.”
Watson reflected the mood of the rest of his team — ecstatic. “I’m really happy because every year Sanger gets us,” he said. “Last year, the year before. And this time, we got them. It was the mentality. We wanted to punch first. But we punched harder, and it paid off.” Edison advanced to a season record of 5-4.
Both teams punched as Tiger senior middle linebacker Oscar Cerda found out just after junior running back Kosi Agina ran for a first down with about 11 minutes in the fourth quarter. Cerda’s
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