BVarsity football Week 7 rewind: Golden Valley, Arvin set up SYHL showdown next week

Sep. 30—Prior to the season opener, South Yosemite Horizon League coaches picked Golden Valley and Arvin to finish 1-2 in the final standings, and one week into SYHL play, not much has changed.

The Bulldogs (4-2), who received four first-place votes and the Bears (4-3) — picked to finish second — each opened league play with dominant victories, setting the stage for Thursday's showdown at Arvin.

The two-headed monster of seniors Dominick Thompson and Nate Abbott combined to rush for 289 yards and four touchdowns in Golden Valley's 42-13 win over Mira Monte on Thursday night, the Bulldogs' third straight victory since losing a hard-fought 15-14 game to Delano in Week 4.

"It took us a minute to get going after Mira Monte showed a few new looks on offense," Bulldogs coach James Cain said. "But my coaches and players did a great job of staying calm and patient. The defense made the necessary adjustments and played well the rest of the night."

Thompson finished with 177 yards and two scores and Abbott added 117 yards and two TDs as Golden Valley shook off a slow start.

"Our O-line did a great job winning the battle up front," Cain said. "That allowed us to have another great rushing night. They are clicking at the right time and give us a chance to win every game."

About 3 miles to the south, Arvin took care of business with a 59-18 victory at Del Oro, playing in its first year as a varsity program.

The Bears used a balanced attack with sophomore quarterback Andrew Rosales throwing for 153 yards and a score on 9 of 18 passing. Jack Kasinger had a big night with six catches for 113 yards and a touchdown, and Remy Vasquez also caught a four-yard scoring pass from Andres Pantoja.

Arvin also did plenty of damage on the ground, with five different ball carriers generating 38 yards or more, and four players scoring touchdowns.

Xavier Reynoso rushed for 88 yards and a TD on nine carries, Abran Gonzales had 56 yards rushing and two scores and Mateo Alvarez finished with 57 yards on the ground. Freddy Pulido (five carries, 43 yards) and Xavier Gonzalez also scored touchdowns, and Steven Martinez contributed 38 yards on four carries.

"We are playing our best football right now," Bears coach Robert Riley said. "I'm excited how the team is gelling and believing in the process. We have our biggest game of the season coming up next week. We're going to need to play our best to be in that game. Golden Valley is fast and well-coached, but you can bet our boys are gonna give it everything they got."

Despite falling to 0-6 in the game, Del Oro is showing signs of improvement, according to first-year coach Pete Hernandez, who says his team has become increasingly freshman heavy.

Hernandez has been specifically happy with the development of a group of sophomores, including Ernest Jones, Adrian Gracian, Prince Roberts, Richard Romero, Aaron Esqueval and Keenan Starling — the team's quarterback — who threw three touchdown passes in the loss.

"The boys are overcoming a lot of adversity this year and continue to grow each week," said Hernandez, whose team has no seniors and starts just three juniors. "Our future looks amazingly bright."

Here's a look at some of the other games from Week 7:

Shafter 49, McFarland 0

Ezekiel Osborne was 9 of 15 passing for 170 yards and four touchdowns, including two to Mariyon Sloan, to lead the Generals (7-0, 3-0) to a Homecoming victory. Sloan finished with 50 yards receiving, and Uriah Salcido and Jesus Figueroa (two catches for 52 yards) also had scoring receptions. Shafter rushed for 179 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 11.18 yards per carry. Chris Espinoza had a team-high 88 yards on six carries, with Cash Gutierrez adding 76 yards and a touchdown. JJ Vasquez had a 36-yard scoring run. Christopher Herrera stopped another General scoring opportunity with an interception for the Cougars (2-5, 0-3) at the 1-yard line, returning it to the 25. Sophomore outside linebacker Luis Salazar had two sacks and three quarterback pressures.

Tehachapi 35, South 7

Andrew Aguirre and Karson Tiewater scored two touchdowns apiece to help the Warriors to a road victory over the Spartans in the South Yosemite Mountain League opener. Aguirre had scoring receptions of 65 and eight yards from quarterback Jacob Root, who finished with 145 yards passing on eight completions. Tiewater had 47 yards on the ground and two scores rushing, while Mike Jones also had a rushing touchdown just before halftime. AJ Anderson was the leading rusher for the Warriors (7-0) with 64 yards. On defense, Jones had 11 tackles and Carter Kolesar had an interception for Tehachapi. Gyrell Hasley had three receptions for 83 yards, including a 55-yard touchdown catch for South (1-5). Quarterback Josh Cisneros threw for 143 yards and James Webster with 86 all-purpose yards.

Frazier Mountain 66, Mojave 20

Max Barker threw three touchdown passes to Michael Chavez and rushed for 42 yards to lead the Falcons (5-0) past the Mustangs (1-4). Barker was 9 for 12 passing for 60 yards, with Chavez finishing with 45 yards receiving. Chavez also had two interceptions, returning one for a score. Alex Jardines rushed for 95 yards and two scores, including one from 20 yards, and Maurice Tondreau had 68 yards on the ground and a TD. Defensively, Douglas Farringer had seven tackles, six unassisted, and 3.5 sacks. Victor Mosso deflected two passes, forced a fumble and recovered two. Frazier Mountain caused five turnovers.

East 41, Foothill 14

TJ Santiago rushed for 82 yards and two touchdowns, and caught a 55-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Esiah Santiago (5 of 8 passing for 181 yards, two TDs) to lead the Blades (2-4) to non-league victory over the Trojans (2-4). Leandro Navarro caught a 50-yard scoring pass, and Lorenzo Patino also scored a pair of TDs, rushing for 77 yards on 14 carries. Defensively, Jacob Borboa had four tackles, including one for a loss, and Aldo Rojas had four solo tackles and a fumble recovery. Sebastian Peel forced a fumble and recovered another. Darion Rodriguez returned a kickoff 83 yards for a touchdown for Foothill.

Chavez 29, Delano 28

Santa Morales threw for 261 yards and two scores, and also rushed for 48 yards and another touchdown to lead the Titans (5-2, 2-1) past the Tigers (4-2, 0-2) in South Sequoia League play. Zeke Garcia accounted for the two TD catches and finished with 164 yards receiving. Chavez forced four turnovers.

Bishop Union 18, Boron 13

Isaiah Morgan rushed for 111 yards and a touchdown for the Bobcats (4-2), who led most of the second half before the Broncos (5-1) scored the game-winner with 2:35 to play in the High Desert League opener for both teams. Israel Florez also scored a TD for Boron.