Football Roundup: Chowchilla routs Le Grand, improves to 2-0
The Chowchilla High football team scored in a variety of ways as they raced out to a 53-point lead at the half and crushed Le Grand 73-26 on Friday night.
Special teams played a big part in the Redskins’ success as they recovered two onside kicks and Anthony Stewart returned a punt 75 yards and a kickoff 85 yards for touchdowns.
“We’ve been really good on special teams this year and that’s helped set up a lot of our stuff early on this season,” Chowchilla coach Alex Pittz said. “I think that’s been our best aspect of everything we’ve done in the first two weeks.”
Stewart started the scoring with a 2-yard touchdown run midway through the first quarter. Alex Gutierrez added a 9-yard run in the first quarter and Stewart’s punt return gave Chowchilla (2-0) a 24-0 lead. The Redskins went for two on its first four touchdowns and converted all four times.
Gutierrez added an 18-yard touchdown run and a 33-yard fumble return for a score in the second quarter to help stretch the lead to 46-0 with 7:15 left in the first half.
The Redskins (2-0) racked up 315 rushing yards with Danny Chavez (72 yards), Stewart (64 yards) and Ryan Selby (56 yards) leading the way.
Meanwhile, the Chowchilla defense held Le Grand running back Carlos Iniguez to just 16 yards on eight carries one week after the Bulldogs star ran for 200 yards and three touchdowns.
“We’ve got a lot of team speed this year and I think our guys did a good job of winning the line of scrimmage tonight,” Pittz said. “We forced Carlos to run to the side a lot and once you get the other team running east and west, I like our chances.”
Le Grand quarterback Beto Marquez got the Bulldogs passing game going in the second half and finished with 299 passing yards and three touchdowns. He also ran a touchdown from 1-yard out.
Monterey Trail 24, Merced 7 at Elk Grove – The Bears (0-2) moved the ball on the ground most of the night but struggled when they approached the red zone.
Ulonzo Gilliam, who was medically cleared to play in the afternoon, scored Merced’s only touchdown on a 15-yard run late in the first half.
With starting quarterback Jake Foss out this week with an injury, the Bears went to more of a ground attack with A.J. Stewart at quarterback.
“A.J. did well,” Merced coach Rob Scheidt said. “But it was difficult tonight for a lot of reasons. It’s hard to kind of give him the keys to the car and tell him to learn how to drive this thing in four days. It’s not just him playing quarterback, but we lose our best receiver moving him there. The guy is a playmaker.”
Ripon Christian 35, Stone Ridge Christian 28 at Atwater – Stone Ridge Christian (1-1) jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first half behind two touchdown runs by Shane Casillas, but Ripon Christian rallied late to win.
Casillas finished with 170 yards on 17 carries to lead Stone Ridge, which finished with 395 rushing yards. Austin Rees added 115 yards and a score on 23 carries and Jonathan Collazo chipped in with 108 yards, including a 53-yard touchdown run.
Ripon Christian quarterback Travis Zuidervaart completed 10 of 17 passes for 209 yards and three touchdowns to help the Knights improve to 2-0.
Los Banos 28, Scotts Valley 7 at Los Banos – Adam Herrera threw two touchdowns to Kevin Spencer and added a 66-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to put the game away for the Tigers (1-1). Herrera completed 10 of 19 for 116 yards and rushed for 116 yards on nine carries.
The Los Banos defense finished with six sacks, led by James Bostick (team-high seven tackles, two sacks).
Pacheco 28, Heritage 27 at Brentwood – Deontae Smith scored on a 21-yard touchdown run with 1:36 left in the game to pull the Panthers within 27-26. Pacheco quarterback Carl Schofield then ran in the two-point conversion for the win.
“I’m a gambler,” said Pacheco coach David Snapp on the decision to go for two and the win. “You go for two on the road and you go for the tie at home. I didn’t want to stay here any longer than we had to.”
Gustine 28, Linden 23 at Linden – The Redskins’ Brandon LaBry opened the game with an 80-yard touchdown run and later added a 70-yard touchdown. Lebry finished with 205 yards on 15 carries and added 13 tackles on defense.
Dos Palos 19, Caruthers 0 at Dos Palos – The Broncos’ Dillon Weaver finished with 92 yards rushing, including touchdown runs of 19 and 1 yard to help Dos Palos improve to 1-1. Quarterback Ozzie Suarez added 109 yards rushing and a 4-yard touchdown run.
San Benito 49, Hilmar 20 at Hollister – The Haybalers jumped out to a 35-14 lead at the half and cruised to a win over the Yellowjackets. Hilmar quarterback Daniel Texeira carried the ball seven times for 146 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown run. Texeira also threw a 78-yard touchdown pass to Alex Chavez.
Late Thursday
Summerville 70, Mariposa 44 at Summerville – Josh Land ran for two touchdowns and Zack Smith hauled in a pair of touchdown passes from Jake Mayberry for the Grizzlies as they lost a shootout against the Bears.
This story was originally published September 5, 2015 at 12:59 AM with the headline "Football Roundup: Chowchilla routs Le Grand, improves to 2-0."