Prep football roundup: Turnovers spark Los Banos in Crosstown Clash
Los Banos High School’s defense believes it’s the best in the Western Athletic Conference.
The Tigers got the opportunity to back up that claim Friday night in the sixth annual Crosstown Clash, taking on Pacheco’s high-powered attack, and they rose to the challenge.
Los Banos forced four turnovers, including Isaiah Jimenez’s 98-yard pick-six in the third quarter that sealed a 35-25 victory at Loftin Stadium. The Tigers (7-3, 4-1 WAC) finished second in the WAC, while the Panthers (5-5, 3-2) saw their playoff hopes dashed.
“I’ve said I’d put our defense top to bottom up against any team in the league,” Los Banos coach Dustin Caropreso said. “They did a great job turning the ball over and getting our offense short fields. We got a turnover in special teams, and we had pretty good balance on offense.
“We challenged the kids. We told them we needed to win all three phases of the game to come out on top, and I think we did that.”
Pacheco’s Tk Teneng opened the scoring with a 5-yard run in the first quarter. Los Banos answered with 21 second-quarter points. Mason Leao scored the first of his two touchdowns, going in from 1 yard, and Christian Corral threw touchdown passes to Daniel Guerrero and Andre Castillo as the Tigers took a 21-13 halftime lead.
Jimenez opened the second-half scoring with his interception return, and Leao pushed the lead to 35-13 with an 11-yard run
Teneng and Carl Schofield answered with fourth-quarter scores for the Panthers, but a comeback wasn’t in the cards.
“We threw the ball enough in the first half to get them out of their defense,” Caropreso said. “That allowed us to start to pound the ball a little bit in the second half. Pacheco never stopped fighting, but they turned it over twice inside the 2-yard line and that killed them.”
Dos Palos 53, Avenal 0 in Avenal – Tre Walker rushed for two first-quarter touchdowns as the Broncos (6-4, 4-1 West Sierra League) led 23-0 after the opening quarter. Jonathan Hernandez added three touchdown passes for Dos Palos.
Big Valley Christian 28, Stone Ridge Christian 21 in Modesto – The Lions held the Knights (8-2, 4-1 Central California Athletic Alliance) to 52 rushing yards on 20 carries. Stone Ridge Christian’s Jacob Tanori completed 10 of 17 passes for 164 yards and three touchdowns.
The Knights still reached the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs as the CCAA’s top seed but have lost two straight games.
Delhi 23, Ripon Christian 3 in Ripon – Fabian Garcia caught a 49-yard touchdown pass from Aiden Rocha in the second quarter to give the Hawks a lead they would not relinquish. Delhi rushed for 191 yards, including Alvin Prasad’s 25-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. Alecxis Miranda made a 40-yard field goal for the Hawks.
Chowchilla 42, Liberty-Madera 21 in Madera – The Redskins returned two fumbles for touchdowns and forced four turnovers in all as they grabbed a share of the North Sequoia League title with a win over the Hawks.
Asa Shields rushed for a team-high 77 yards and two touchdowns for Chowchilla (8-1, 3-1), which shared the league crown with Washington Union of Fresno and Liberty.
This story was originally published November 5, 2016 at 11:20 AM with the headline "Prep football roundup: Turnovers spark Los Banos in Crosstown Clash."