GREGG DODDERIDGE - SIERRA STAR SPORTS
The
YHS Badgers began their quest for their second consecutive Central
Section Sequoia Large School championship by playing the seventh
seeded Coalinga Horned Toads, the team they defeated for the 2002
title. The Toads gave the Badgers all they wanted but in the end,
the Badgers ground out a 35-21 victory.
It wasn't pretty. The Badgers overcame 13 penalties and two turnovers.
The win improved the Badgers season record to 10-1. It was the fourth
straight playoff victory for YHS as well as the second straight
season the Badgers have 10 or more victories. The Badgers now move
to the second round where they will play the third seeded Dinuba
Emperors, who barely got by eighth seeded Arvin 41-34 in OT.
It was all about the Badger running attack. For the second straight
week, the Badgers dominated on the ground. The Badgers had 352 yards
rushing with Alec Campbell leading the way with a season high 169
yards on 20 carries, scoring two TD's. TJ Grijalva was right behind
with 147 yards on 16 carries, scoring two TD's. The offensive line
really blew open holes in the third and fourth quarters.
“It was all about the weight room, that's the only way to explain
it,” cited Head Coach Aaron Eames. “We felt Coalinga was getting
tired at the end. Our line played really well. We all worked hard
in the summer in the weight room. It really pays off in the fourth
quarter,” said Alec Campbell, echoing Coach Eames. The first quarter
was scoreless, but it had a lot of offense. The Toads came out throwing.
They put together a drive from their own 35 all the way to the Badger
27. The YHS defense held.
On the Badgers second possession, the offense started to click.
Grijalva and Campbell each got good gains. QB Shawn Long hit WR
Jake Dodderidge for a 32-yard pass and the Badgers drove to the
CHS 5. The Badgers just couldn’t punch it in and turned the ball
over to the Horned Toads. CHS QB Kevin Tarrango hit WR Edson De
La O for a 42-yard strike. RB Ronnie Buckner then ripped off runs
of 13 and 21 yards. At the end of the quarter, the Toads were knocking
on the door at the Badger 13. Two plays into the second quarter,
Tarrango hit De La O for an 11 yard TD in the corner of the end
zone. The PAT was good, and the Toads were up 7-0. It didn't take
long for the Badgers to strike back. Starting on their 35, Long
hit WR Jon Blea on a 12-yard out. The Badgers later faced a fourth
and 1 at the 50. Grijalva picked up the first and the Badgers were
back in business.
From there, Long dropped back and hit Dodderidge on a beautiful
40-yard fade for a touchdown. A Casey Lucas PAT evened the score
at 7-7 with 8:53 to go in the half. The Badgers stopped Coalinga
on their next possession. Fate was on the Badgers side. Burke Wardle
fielded the punt, took a shot and fumbled. Alec Campbell recovered
at the YHS 41. Three plays later, Campbell fumbled. OL Kyle Mosher
picked up the ball and ran 4 yards for the first down. From there
it was all Campbell ripping off runs of 5, 8, and 26 yards all the
way to the CHS 2. From there, Grijalva burst up the middle for a
TD. The Lucas PAT made the score 14-7 with 4:12 to go. The Toads
were stopped again on their next possession. The Badger offense
was looking to put the nail in the coffin. The Badger drive stalled
at mid-field. On a fourth and 14 the Badgers went for the first
down and failed. With 2:20 left, the Toads got the ball and made
the Badgers pay. Ronnie Buckner took a draw play to the YHS 33.
Two plays later, Buckner burst through the middle and rambled 33
yards for the tying TD. With 1:55 to go in the half, the Toads knotted
the score at 14-14. On the next Badger possession, Grijalva took
the handoff from Long, and broke right, shredding 3 Coalinga defenders
and raced 67 yards to the CHS 10. Long then threw to Jon Blea in
the corner of the end zone. Blea caught the ball for an apparent
TD. The side judge was behind the play and mistakenly overruled
the TD. It looked like Dos Palos all over again.
The
Badger defense was now getting a lot of pressure on Tarrango forcing
him to rush his throws. An injury to Buckner early in the fourth
also hurt the Horned Toad offense. Overall, Buckner had a great
night finishing with 162 yards rushing. The Badgers started their
first possession of the fourth quarter on their own 10. The running
game now pounded the tired Toads. Campbell had a 20-yard run to
the 30. Grijalva had a 32-yard run to the CHS 38. Long then hit
Dodderidge for an 18-yard pass to the 21. Campbell then took it
to the house. Going off-tackle, Campbell blew by the defenders for
a 17-yard TD run. With 9:30 to go, the Badgers were up 28-14. The
Badger defense shut down the Toads on their next possession.
It was time for Campbell and Grijalva. Starting at their own 46,
the Badgers went exclusively to the run. Campbell ran 39 yards to
the CHS 15. On the next play, Grijalva went up the middle, broke
left and ran untouched 15 yards for the final YHS TD. Credit the
blocking of the offensive line of Casey Robeson, Ryan Walthius,
Kyle Harders, David Dan, Kyle Mosher, and Garrett Tompkins. They
just blew away Coalinga late in the game. Coalinga went to the air
on their final drive. Tarrango completed 4 passes and directed a
drive to the Badger 10. On a third and goal, Martin Ramirez had
a 2-yard run for the final TD of the night. The Badgers won a tougher
than expected game, 35-21.
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