It’s a new season, but the same school is atop the list of CIF-Central Section passing leaders.
Bakersfield Christian’s Derek Carr led the section in passing yardage last season, amassing 4,067 yards with 46 touchdowns while leading the Eagles to the section's Division V championship. Carr’s backup last year, Arend Bos, attempted just four passes and completed one for four yards.
This year, Bos is the full-time starter now that Carr has headed to Fresno State. After throwing for 127 yards in a 54-0 win over Avenal in the season opener, Bos broke out with a 270-yard effort in a 47-0 win over Kennedy of Delano. Bos also had four touchdowns in the win, and he leads the section in total passing yardage with 397. He has completed 20-of-45 passes with five touchdowns.
The Eagles face their toughest test of the preseason when they host the Central Valley Christian Cavaliers on Saturday. Central Valley Christian, out of Visalia, has traditionally been a small-school power in the Central Section, but the Cavaliers opened their season last week with a 10-9 loss to Sierra of Tollhouse.
Dano Graves, Folsom
Photo by Anthony Brunsman
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The Central Section is also home to one of the state’s best passers in Kingsburg’s Tyler Bray. The 6-foot-6 senior did not disappoint in Kingsburg’s season-opening 44-13 win over Dos Palos, as he completed 13-of-21 passes for 238 yards and two touchdowns.
The Tennessee commit has impressed with his arm strength, although he is not considered particularly fast afoot.
"You’ve got to be impressed with his arm strength, ability to throw the deep out with authority, poise and toughness in the pocket," MaxPreps' Tom Lemming said of Bray’s throwing ability.
Kingsburg meets Washington Union of Easton this week. The Panthers received a surprise in their opener, falling to Dinuba 21-20.
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It’s still too early to tell, but it appears that coach Robert Hurtado and the Lindsay Cardinals have turned a corner.
The Cardinals are 2-0 to start the season, which might not seem like anything to get excited about until you consider that the Cardinals have won only three games in the past three seasons combined. Lindsay posted back-to-back 0-10 seasons in 2006 and 2007 before Hurtado took over last year and led the Cardinals to a 3-8 mark.
With 15 starters returning from last year’s team, including starting quarterback Adam Gamboa and running back Jonathan Duarte, the Cardinals have defeated first-year school Mission Oak 66-0 and Orange Cove 48-13. Duarte has run for 246 yards and three touchdowns while Gamboa has platooned at quarterback with Gary Baker. The tandem has completed 11-of-14 passes for 278 yards and five touchdowns.
The Cardinals have three tough tests on the horizon with Parlier and Wasco coming into town the next two weeks before Lindsay hits the road to play Fowler.
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The Tulare Union Redskins won their 14th game in a row with a convincing 55-0 win over Golden West in its season opener. Tulare Union will find out what it’s like to play without the section’s best running back, as Jontell Reedom has graduated after a career that saw him gain nearly 5,000 yards in his final two seasons combined.
Edward Dilihunt is one of the returning backs for the Redskins, and he had three carries for 97 yards and two touchdowns. However, the passing game really shined for Tulare Union, which went with quality over quantity in its aerial attack.
Quarterback Trevor Jones completed just 6-of-11 passes in the game, but four of them went for touchdowns. Marques Wilson, one of the top-ranked pass-catchers in the state of California by Lemming, showed why he will be the go-to receiver for the Redskins, as he caught three passes for 139 yards with three scores.
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Sac-Joaquin Section
Folsom’s Dano Graves made a strong first impression as the Bulldogs’ quarterback in replacing his brother David, who was an All-Metro MVP by the Sacramento Bee last year.
The older Graves threw for 2,771 yards last year with 40 touchdowns in leading the Bulldogs to a 9-2 record.
Dano Graves, who backed up his brother last year, has proven to be a quick study. He threw for 342 yards and five touchdowns in a 41-21 win over Davis. Only once all season did David Graves throw for more than 342 yards. That was a high of 397 in a win over Jesuit.
Folsom meets Oak Ridge this week in a battle of two neighboring towns.
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Northern Section
The Willows Honkers will attempt to become just the 20th team in California history to win 500 games when it suits up tonight against its oldest traditional rival, the Orland Trojans.
Willows is the winningest team in Northern Section history with an all-time mark of 499 wins, 317 losses and 20 ties. The Honkers, 1-1 on the season, are in their second season under Jim Ward, who led the team to a 10-2 mark last year and a berth in the Northern Section Division III championship game.
The contest, known as the Little Big Game and the Battle for the Axe, has been mired in controversy in the days leading up to the game. A large letter W was burned into the field at Orland High School, which opened its brand new stadium under the lights two weeks ago. According to Orland Police Chief Bob Pasero, the vandalism is being treated as a felony due to the cost of repairing the damage to the field.
