Orange Cove may have pulled off the upset of the season last week when it edged Strathmore 28-24 in a nonleague matchup in the CIF-Central Section.
The Titans were winless on the season entering the game and had scored just 48 points on the season while giving up 94. Strathmore, meanwhile, was riding high with a three-game win streak that included a 71-0 win over Avenal, a 54-19 win over Fresno Christian and a 46-13 defeat of Farmersville.
Jose Ochoa came up big for the Titans as he rushed 12 times for 93 yards and scored three touchdowns. The last touchdown came late in the fourth quarter and allowed Orange Cove to take the lead. Quarterback Tyler Murdoch also came through with two touchdown passes, including one to Ochoa, while completing 6-of-15 passes for 176 yards. Angel Aceves also caught a 75-yard touchdown pass from Murdoch in the fourth quarter to help Orange Cove mount the comeback.
The Strathmore loss means that every team in Division VI in the Central Section has at least one loss. That’s also the case in Division V, where previously undefeated Lindsay lost a nailbiter to Fowler 22-21 last week. The Cardinals are 4-1 on the season and are tied with Woodlake for the best record in the division.
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Bullard made a statement with its 28-21 win over Clovis West last week. The Knights are 5-0 on the season and one of just two undefeated teams in the division (Buchanan is the other at 4-0). Bullard broke a 21-21 tie in the fourth quarter when Jordan Jones broke through from the 1-yard line.
The Knights were able to defeat Clovis West through the air as Kerr Taubler completed 13-of-30 passes for 228 yards. Taubler’s passes helped set up four short touchdown runs. Jordan also had a 2-yard scoring run while Kyle Staples and Devan Mack also scored from the 1.
Bullard limited Clovis West to just 25 yards passing on the night; however, Golden Eagle running back Kendal Brock did break loose for 178 yards on just 12 carries. Brock scored on a 78-yard run for Clovis West’s first touchdown of the night. Braden Seibert had the other two touchdowns on runs of 2 and 15 yards.
Although Bullard played four of the five Clovis schools, the Knights do not have Buchanan on their schedule. The Bears held off previously undefeated Edison 22-12 thanks to a pair of touchdown runs by Nigel Simmons and a touchdown pass by Lance Orender. The Bears face another undefeated team this week in San Joaquin Memorial (4-0).
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Sac Joaquin Section
The Hilmar Yellowjackets pulled off the most stunning win of the year in the Sac-Joaquin Section last year when it defeated Central Catholic 17-6 in the section championship game. The Yellowjackets were supposed to settle back down to earth this year after losing the bulk of the starters from last year’s 12-1 team.
However, Hilmar has yet to show any signs of slowing down from last year’s title run. The Yellowjackets are 4-0 to start the season, including last week’s 21-14 win over Calaveras. The schedule gets a little tougher the next few weeks as the Yellowjackets face 3-1 Argonaut tonight and then take on 3-1 Livingston next week. Then it’s a rematch with Central Catholic, the last team to defeat Hilmar.
The Yellowjackets have relied on the talents of quarterback Quinton McCown, who has thrown for 560 yards and five touchdowns and has also rushed for 146 yards and three scores. Carlos and Issac Diaz have also been threats on the ground, with Carlos getting the bulk of the carries and yardage with 51 attempts for 323 yards. Issac, meanwhile leads the team in scoring five touchdowns, mostly in short-yardage situations.
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James Harris, Bear River
Photo courtesy of Ralph Thompson
Colfax defeated Bear River in a rare Monday game that was played as a result of a flu bug that wiped out nearly half of the Bear River squad last week. Unable to go last Friday, Bear River requested a postponement to Monday. Colfax agreed and the two teams met Monday night.
"I’m impressed with the professionalism shown by the Colfax coaching staff. They could have forced us to play," Bear River athletic director Duwaine Ganskie told the Grass Valley Union.
The Falcons needed overtime to subdue the Bruins. Mackey Leal’s extra point following a Josh Moreno 10-yard scoring run on Colfax’s first play in the overtime period sealed the win. Colfax had blocked the extra point attempt by Bear River after the Bruins scored on their overtime possession on a 5-yard pass from James Harris to Will Gray.
The contest was one in a growing number of cancellations and postponements due to the flu. Games have been cancelled throughout the country due to the H1N1 flu outbreak. Bishop Brossart canceled a game with Elizabethtown in Alexandria, Ky., while just last week Oklahoma Christian received a forfeit win when Wynnewood was unable to field a team due to the flu. Other cancelations have occurred in North Carolina and Florida.
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After four weeks of the season, there are still 14 undefeated teams in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III/IV standings. Amazingly, that number could stay the same after this weekend as none of the unbeatens play each other. Central Catholic of Modesto faces the toughest test of the 14 as it takes on similarly unbeaten St. Mary’s in Stockton.
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Northern Section
The Central Valley Falcons are off to a 5-0 start and appear to be the top Division II team in the Northern Section. Coach Matt Hunsaker’s team has outscored opponents 263-19 through five games and has scored over 50 points in a game three times already this season.
That might not seem like a huge achievement, until you consider that prior to this season, Central Valley had scored over 50 points in a game only three times in the school’s 55-year history. The Falcons’ football history has been less than stellar over the years. The program has suffered through a pair of long losing streaks, including a 35-game streak in the late 1980s and a 38-game streak in the 1990s. Central Valley also set a state record in 1999 when it allowed an average of 58.4 points per game. That was only slightly worse than the 1998 season when it allowed 55.4 points an outing.
However, the days of long losing streaks and lopsided losses appears to be over in Shasta Lake, the home of Central Valley High School. Since Hunsaker arrived in 2004, the Falcons have been on an upswing. A longtime success at tiny Big Valley High School in the remote mountain town of Bieber, Hunsaker won eight section titles with the Cardinals, including seven in a row.
Hunsaker left the comfortable success he enjoyed in Bieber to try his hand with the Falcons. He enjoyed immediate success in his first season with a 7-5 record. Hunsaker then made sure he never had to pay for another meal in Shasta Lake when he guided the Falcons to a 12-0 season and the school’s only section championship in 2005.
Hunsaker has won 40 games in his six years at Central Valley, which is already a school record. This year, Hunsaker has the Falcons on target for another possible section title. Leading the way is the section’s fastest runner in Colton Silveria. The 100- and 200-meter sprint champ last year, Silveria has carried just 44 times on the season but has gained 572 yards with 10 touchdowns. As a team, the Falcons are averaging 10.72 yards per carry with 369 yards per game on the ground.
