In Major League Baseball, expansion years are usually marked by spikes in overall offensive production. That could be the case this year in the Central Section, where first-year programs could have a hard time slowing down their more established opponents.
Take the case of Wasco Tigers of the South Sequioa League. In a 63-0 season-opening win over first-year program Kennedy of Delano, the Tigers racked up 494 yards of offense on just 20 plays. Wasco rushed for 459 yards on only 19 carries, and Tiger quarterback Taylor Yursik completed his only pass for a 35-yard touchdown.
Two Wasco running backs lead the Central Section in rushing, based on statistics reported to MaxPreps. Michael Martinez averaged 20 yards per carry in gaining 183 yards on nine carries with three touchdowns. Quentin Cheatham did even better, averaging over 40 yards per attempt in gaining 169 yards on four carries with two touchdowns. Jacob Salinas was also in the mix, rushing for 96 yards on three carries with two touchdowns. He also caught the touchdown pass.
Lyndell Scarr, Ponderosa.
Photo by Anthony Brunsman
It doesn’t get any easier for Kennedy. The Thunderbirds tangle with Bakersfield Christian this week. The Eagles blasted Avenal 60-0 in their opener.
Meanwhile, Lindsay also picked up a convincing win over first-year Mission Oak of Tulare to the tune of 66-0. The Cardinals didn’t quite have the same offensive explosion as Wasco, but still piled up 368 yards rushing on 44 carries and gained 108 yards on only three pass completions for two touchdowns.
Jonathan Duarte led 10 Lindsay rushers with 137 yards on 20 carries with two rushing touchdowns.
Mira Monte of Bakersfield kept its first-ever varsity game respectable in a 33-0 loss to Chavez of Delano. The Titans took a 26-0 halftime lead but managed only one score in the second half.
Chavez had 333 yards of total offense, with 10 running backs combining for 291 yards.
One program that showed some promise was Clovis North. In a matchup against one of the largest schools in the state, Central of Fresno, Clovis North pulled within two points at 30-28 later in the third quarter, only to have Central pull away in the fourth quarter for a 49-28 victory.
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The Central Section has yet to receive a berth in the CIF state bowl games, but that could end if Clovis West can make it through the next two weeks. The defending Central Section Division I champions, the Golden Eagles play in Anaheim tonight and head to Corona to take on defending state champion Centennial.
The Golden Eagles have their fourth head coach in four seasons now that Coby Lindsey has taken over for the recently departed Gary Kinne. Clovis West was 10-3 under Kinne with a 35-21 loss to Servite and a 42-7 demolition at the hands of Centennial.
A win over Servite would definitely serve the Golden Eagles well. The Friars are fresh off a 30-7 victory over Long Beach Poly, a team that went 14-1 last year and was ranked No. 1 in Southern California by the Los Angeles Times.
Centennial, meanwhile, has a tough first outing against Chaparral before meeting Clovis West. The Huskies bolted out to a big early lead last year on the arm of quarterback Taylor Martinez. However, the talented signal caller is gone, leaving coach Matt Logan the task of replacing him with one of four quarterbacks currently on the roster, including Michael Eubank and Michael Arredondo, who are expected to share the passing duties for Centennial this week.
Of course, even if Clovis West gets past the two Southern Section schools, it still has tough contests against Bullard (a 41-0 winner over Merced in its opener) and Edison before heading into Tri-Rivers Athletic Conference play.
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Sac-Joaquin Section
Ponderosa’s Lyndell Scarr picked up where he left off last year, albeit in a 26-7 loss to Berkeley last week. One of the leading rushers in the Sacramento area last year with 1,869 yards as a junior, Scarr opened with 210 yards on 20 carries, including a long of 73 yards.
An all-Metro second-team pick last year, the Shingle Springs senior ran for 1,558 yards as a sophomore, giving him 3,427 for his career heading into his senior season. If the Bruins can advance into the playoffs, Scarr has a chance to cross the 5,000-yard plateau, a feat achieved by only five other Sac-Joaquin Section running backs.
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The road to the Northern California Division III bowl berth has essentially been decided during the first game of the season when Central Catholic (Modesto) and Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa) hook up for a titanic small-schools battle. The Cardinals have won two of the past three meetings and were the NorCal rep each time they won. The one year the two teams tied, Central Catholic went to the state bowl game.
But this year, there is a new team in the mix. St. Mary’s of Stockton, a program that reached the Division II bowl game last year, has dropped to Division III after the re-configuring of the NorCal enrollment divisions by the CIF. The Rams have appeared in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I final the past two seasons, winning it all last year.
Fortunately for Central Catholic, it controls its own destiny by playing St. Mary’s and Cardinal Newman head-to-head. The Raiders take on the Cardinals on Saturday at 5 p.m. at Folsom High and will meet St. Mary’s in Stockton on Oct. 9.
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Northern Section
The Northern Section took a big hit this weekend in its efforts to win some key intersectional battles, but one team that played extremely well was the Paradise Bobcats.
Facing a Pitman team that was ranked No. 5 in the Modesto area by the Modesto Bee, Paradise ran away from the visitors from Turlock in the second half to claim a 48-15 win. Pitman defeated Paradise last year 21-20 in overtime to hand the Bobcats their only loss of the season.
Paradise opened the season ranked No. 1 in the NorCal Division II rankings by CalPreps.com.
The Bobcats had much better luck than Foothill (Palo Cedro), Hamilton and East Nicolaus. The Cougars lost a 14-6 halftime lead and fell to Novato 20-14. Meanwhile, Hamilton and East Nicolaus were both blown out in their intersectional matchups, with Hamilton falling to Menlo 55-20 and East Nicolaus dropping to Ferndale 53-0.
