Chowchilla gets second shot at Washington Union

Chowchilla High School football coach Alex Pittz saw the air come out of his team when running back Alex Gutierrez went down with an injury the last time his team played Washington Union.

The Redskins jumped out to an early 12-0 lead over the Panthers before Gutierrez broke his arm. After he went down, Chowchilla wasn’t the same, losing 30-12 on Oct. 16.

“He’s such an emotional leader for us,” Pittz said. “I truly believe it’s going to be a big difference with him this time around. It deflated us quite a bit when he got hurt. Our guys love him. It’s tough when you see one of your brothers go down. It affected our guys.”

The rematch is Friday night with the Central Section Division IV championship on the line. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 at Washington Union. The winner not only wins a Valley Championship but also advances to a Southern California Regional Bowl next week.

It’s been seven years since Chowchilla has played in a section title game. It beat Kingsburg 20-0 in 2008.

“From 2004 to 2008, we were really spoiled,” Pittz said. “To go through a little drought like we have, even going a couple years where we didn’t even make the playoffs, we got humbled. We understand this type of season doesn’t happen every year. We’re enjoying every minute of it.”

Pittz and his team know they have to play a cleaner game than they did in the first matchup against Washington Union (9-3). Chowchilla (10-2) gave the Panthers short fields by fumbling six times and with unsuccessful onside kick attempts.

“We shot ourselves in the foot,” Pittz said. “We jumped offside on fourth down, so instead of getting a punt return, we gave them a first down. We can’t make those mistakes.”

The Redskins will try to control the game with their rushing attack. Running back Anthony Stewart leads the way with 1,424 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns. Gutierrez has returned, running with a cast on his left arm, and rushed for 144 yards and two touchdowns in the Redskins’ two playoff wins over Madera South and Kerman.

Washington Union averages more than 27 points per game, but it doesn’t feature any players with gaudy statistics. The Panthers’ leading rusher is Noah Beukers; he has 668 yards and six touchdowns. Quarterback Ashanti Ross averages 147 yards passing per game and has thrown 11 touchdowns.

Washington Union coach Dennis Randle and his team just find ways to win.

“He has them playing extremely hard,” Pittz said. “They never quit. To get a team that confident who always believes they are in the game no matter what is very dangerous. He’s got it with those guys. They don’t make mistakes. They wait for you to make a mistake, and they pounce on it.”

This story was originally published December 3, 2015 at 6:53 PM with the headline "Chowchilla gets second shot at Washington Union."