Five Merced-area high school football games to watch

Clovis North (1-1) at Buhach Colony (1-1) – The Thunder had its game against Clovis North canceled last season because of the fires in Fresno County. Buhach Colony is 0-3 against the Broncos, but played them tough in 2014 (36-35) and 2013 (40-38). Buhach Colony scored four touchdowns on the ground in its 42-20 win over Enochs last week. Clovis North comes in after a tough 32-21 loss to Bellarmine last week.

Merced (1-1) at Madera (1-1) – Bears running back Ulonzo Gilliam had a big game with 217 rushing yards and two touchdowns on just 11 carries in Merced’s 31-14 win over Gregori. Special teams is also a big weapon for the Bears with Gilliam and Paul Scoggins as returners. Scoggins’ 90-yard kickoff return swung the momentum against Gregori.

El Capitan (1-1) at Gregori (1-1) – Joseph Lema and Kevin Reid had good chemistry last week as Lema hauled in three of Reid’s four touchdown passes in the Gauchos’ 38-0 win over Mountain House. El Capitan will be looking to avenge a 28-14 loss to Gregori last season.

Gustine (1-0) at Hilmar (2-0) – The Reds defense is coming off a shutout in a 23-0 win over Linden last week. They’ll be challenged to slow the Yellowjackets spread offense. Hilmar quarterback Chase Kindberg has thrown six touchdown passes.

Chowchilla (1-0) at Immanuel (1-0) – A matchup of teams that reached state championship bowl games last year. Immanuel handed the Redskins a 17-8 loss last year. Both teams had bye weeks heading into Friday’s matchup. Chowchilla racked up 365 rushing yards and six touchdowns in its season-opening 51-0 win over Roosevelt on Aug. 26.

– Shawn Jansen

This story was originally published September 8, 2016 at 4:28 PM with the headline "Five Merced-area high school football games to watch."