Delhi dominates Riverbank with 10 TDs
The Delhi High Hawks varsity football team is 2-0 after a crushing road victory over Riverbank this past Friday that ended with a 69-15 defeat.
“Winning big is a huge statement that we had to make to show the league and everyone in the area that we can play football and we're coming for the league title,” said Delhi assistant coach Erik Martinez. “These kids are hungry and motivated and striving for success.”
Although it won't be an easy task, the Hawks have proved to themselves and those in attendance that perhaps this Hawks team could lunge into a great season if they continue their recipe for success—run the ball.
For the second straight game, the Hawks rushed the ball over 40 times and tallied more than 330 yards, this time tallying 485 yards on the ground against the Bruins and notching nine scores on the ground.
Quarterback Louie Avalos ran the ball 15 times for 133 yards and two scores and Daniel Jimenez racked up 125 yards on six carries after eight different players carried the ball at least once.
“What it was was we pounded the ball. Just ran the ball. Every ball carrier great job running the ball in open field,” Martinez said.
Delhi finished the first half at 56-7 and defensively the Hawks held the Bruins from any big plays.
“Defensively all 11 were very disciplined and they stuck to their assignments. [There were] a few bad mistakes, but they never let a big play happen,” Martinez said. “We came out with the same intensity as we finished the week prior and we're hoping for the next thing coming against Big Valley.”
The Hawks' next game will be at home against Big Valley Christian at 7 p.m. Friday.
Denair defeats Brookside Christian for first win of year
The Coyotes of Denair High came out and executed their game plan nearly flawlessly in Friday's home opener against Brookside Christian.
Denair didn't wait very long to tack on the first points of the scoreboard, after notching 27 unanswered points in the first quarter alone, taking a 27-0 lead by the end of the first.
The defense for Denair was on point, causing major problems for the Knights offense, after allowing only two touchdowns in two separate quarters and when the game came to a conclusion, the score read 41-12.
“I think we executed the game plan better, offensively and defensively, than we did our previous game. The players are starting to understand their assignments and how to adjust much better,” said Denair head coach Anthony Armas. “The defense also did really well.”
With the help of Justin Steeley, Juan Barrera and Chase Pritt, the Coyotes offense rolled on the ground with an efficient running game.
“These guys ran the ball really well on offense,” said Armas.
Steeley, along with Bryan Van Fleet also intercepted the ball once apiece.
“Also, we had a few sacks and we scored a touchdown on a punt return so all together it was a great effort,” Armas added.
Denair's next game will be at Argonaut at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
Turlock Christian falls to Woodland Christian, despite Zendejas' record performance
Dominic Zendejas broke the single game rushing record for a Turlock Christian varsity player after amassing 268 rushing yards, and scoring a pair of touchdowns in Friday's week three matchup at Woodland Christian.
Despite a tremendous effort from Zendejas, the TC Eagles fell to Woodland Christian after a second half debacle, 54-16.
“Dominic and others had a great offensive game, but we didn’t finish drives and score when we needed to,” said TC head coach Jake Von Scherrer. “[We] moved the ball well but penalties, fumbles or something like that cost us, we did not finish.”
After an evenly matched first half, Woodland Christian tacked on 12 more points after a 6-0 game carried into the second quarter when Woodland notched a score in the first drive of the game.
Between a combination of read option plays and a series of other formations, the Cardinals really made it difficult for the Eagles to stay consistent.
“They just had big plays that really killed us,” said Von Scherrer. “If we moved the ball well, then we ended up punting. That was frustrating.”
In the opening kickoff, the Eagles had a chance to stop the Cardinals and score before the lead extended, however, the Eagles allowed a touchdown in the opening drive of the second half and by then the lead was too large to overcome.
“They did not surprise us defensively, but if you play assignment ball then if one kid doesn’t do his job it can result in scores for us and we had defensive penalties as well,” Von Scherrer said. “We want to continue the message of getting better and cleaning mistakes."
TC's next game will be against Sierra Rites of Passage at Hilmar High School at 7 p.m. on Sept. 24.
