Clovis West pulls away from Merced in second half

The Merced High football team had an opportunity to seize the momentum heading into halftime as Bears quarterback Jake Foss lofted a pass for A.J. Stewart in the end zone.

Foss was looking for a back-shoulder fade and Stewart was looking for a pass over the top. Meanwhile, Clovis West cornerback Tykee Woods broke on the ball and intercepted the pass in the end zone to keep the Golden Eagles in front by a touchdown at half.

Clovis West came out in the second half and dominated the third quarter, outscoring Merced 22-0 on its way to a season-opening 43-21 win over the Bears on Friday night at Veterans Stadium.

“We were competing,” Merced coach Rob Scheidt said. “We had a great first quarter and a great second quarter. I felt we were playing well. Then we had a really bad third quarter.”

The Bears rallied back from a 14-0 deficit in the second quarter with a Rayveon Slaton 4-yard touchdown run and a 25-yard jump ball in the end zone pulled down by Merced junior receiver Stephen Williams over two Clovis West defenders with 2:15 left in the second quarter.

Slaton was a one-man wrecking crew for the Bears in the first half as he recovered a muffed punt that set up Merced’s first touchdown and then returned a punt 70 yards to set up the second score.

“I had to come out and play. This was my big debut,” Slaton said. “Coaches have been on me, telling me this is varsity level now. They’ve been telling me to play hard and make every play count.”

The Bears almost answered after Clovis West quarterback Adrian Martinez scored on a 1-yard plunge to give the Golden Eagles a 21-14 lead, but Woods made the big interception in the end zone.

“Jake tried to throw a back-shoulder fade and A.J. wasn’t looking for it,” Scheidt said. “We want to throw a back-shoulder fade, but both players have to be on the same page.”

The Bears offense started sputtering in the second half with key players like Ulonzo Gilliam (knee contusion) and Stewart (cramps) on the sideline.

Clovis West took advantage of great field position in the second half with three consecutive drives starting from the 50-yard line, Merced’s 36-yard line and the 50-yard line with all ending in touchdowns as they extended their lead to 43-14 with 1:55 left.

The Bears couldn’t get the Golden Eagles off the field. On the first scoring drive, Clovis West faced a third-and-20 situation, but Martinez sprang free for a 49-yard run that eventually set up his own 1-yard touchdown.

Martinez completed 20 of 28 passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 98 yards and two scores on 10 carries.

“Their quarterback is pretty dang good,” Scheidt said. “He’s Colin Kaepernick in college, not high school.”

The Golden Eagles’ other stars took over as Caleb Kelly, who is rated a five-star recruit by most recruiting outlets at outside linebacker, scored on a 12-yard run.

After the Merced offense went three-and-out, Martinez found a wide open Darian Owens for a 50-yard touchdown. Owens is a four-star receiver, who verbally committed to UCLA.

“In the second half we really woke up,” Kelly said. “We started playing better. I know I stepped up in the second half personally. We had some jitters in the first half and we started having some fun in the second half.”

There were bright spots for Merced as Foss handled himself well despite being under constant pressure and being sacked five times. The junior quarterback completed 17 of 27 passes for 178 yards and two touchdowns, including a 31-yard toss to Stewart in the fourth quarter.

However, Foss was tossed to the ground in the fourth quarter and his helmet hit the turf and he came out of the game. His status for next week is questionable.

“Jake did a good job,” Stewart said. “He kept fighting. He took some big shots. That last one he took like a trooper. I’m glad he’s all right.”

The Bears travel to Elk Grove next week to play Monterey Trail, which lost to Antelope 28-0. The Mustangs knocked Merced out of the playoffs last year in the quarterfinals.

This story was originally published August 29, 2015 at 12:43 AM with the headline "Clovis West pulls away from Merced in second half."