Late touchdown lifts Frontier to first 10-0 regular season, outright SYRL football title

Oct. 28—A defensive battle throughout, when Frontier needed a little extra, it knew where to turn on Thursday night.

On a third-and-long play and time running out, senior quarterback Malakhi Statler connected with sophomore Kobie Watson on a 34-yard touchdown pass with just 20 seconds left to lift Frontier to a 23-16 victory over Centennial on Thursday night.

The Titans clinched a perfect 10-0 run through the regular season and earned the outright South Yosemite River League championship. It's Frontier's first football league title since 2012.

"It feels great," Frontier coach Chris Bandy said. "Being undefeated and 10-0 , that's something that every team aspires to get to. And I think our kids believed it from the beginning. It wasn't always the prettiest, but we got the job done and that's all that matters.

Watson finished with four catches for 55 yards and also intercepted a pass on defense.

"Anytime you lose a game with (20) seconds on the clock it's a tough one," Centennial coach Richard Starrett said. "They had a third-and-12 and they have a good player who made a good play."

The game was tied at 13-13 at the half, with both teams exchanging field goals to set up the dramatic finish.

Centennial dropped to 5-5, 1-3 in SYRL play.

"Ultimately, this is our first game where we had all of our players back," Starrett said. "We've been pretty banged up and gone through the grind of this league. Now we're healthy and we're 0-0 and ready to make a playoff run. So I'm excited for that opportunity."

Frontier's defense intercepted five passes, including two by Dante Moreci, who returned one 37 yards for a touchdown. Moreci also rushed for 35 yards and a touchdown on five carries. Moreci's touchdown run was set up by a fumble recovered by Easton Conley that gave the Titans a 13-0 lead midway through the second quarter.

"It was kind of a strange game with turnovers and big plays by both defenses, a really physical game," Bandy said. "But they're a good football team, especially when they're healthy."

The Golden Hawks scored twice in the closing moments of the first half, first on a short touchdown run by Francisco Corona and then on a 30-yard scoop-and-score by Connor Warkentin that tied the game.

Frontier senior running back Brycen Tablit had a game-high 124 yards rushing on 20 carries.

"They had a good game plan and we knew we were going to have to run the football," Bandy said. "I'm just proud of our O'line and our running backs. We challenged them to run the football and they did. Of course when we needed to, Statler to Kobie isn't a bad combination."

Garces 34, Stockdale 7

Nathaniel Wallace had three catches for 102 yards and two scores and also intercepted three passes, returning one 48 yards for a touchdown to lead the Rams (5-5, 2-2) past the Mustangs (4-6, 0-4). Cage Williams opened the game's scoring when he took a fake punt 58 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the second quarter. Rams sophomore Gunter Golla was 16 of 21 passing for 217 yards and three touchdowns. Austyn Hernandez capped the game's scoring with a 5-yard TD pass from Golla. Defensively, Logan Slaton had six tackles, including 3.5 for a loss, and two sacks. Stockdale scored its lone touchdown on a 50-yard touchdown pass from Christian Dalton to Charles Young.

Bakersfield Christian 49, Independence 14

Sophomore quarterbacks Talen Mather and Lincoln Adame combined for five touchdown passes to lead as the Eagles (6-4, 4-0) clinched the outright SYVL championship with a win over the Falcons (4-6, 2-2). Mather rushed for 117 yards and two scores and was also 6 of 6 passing for 65 yards and a touchdown. Adame was 6 of 8 passing for 128 yards and two touchdowns. Andre Calderon had four catches for 107 yards and two scores and Chase Furtado finished with two receptions for 53 yards and a TD. Ethan Eckles rushed for 42 yards on four carries and Josh Esparza ran for a short touchdown.

Liberty 41, Bakersfield 10

Junior running back Brison Abbott rushed for 125 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries for the Drillers (6-4) in a non-league loss to the Patriots (8-2). Quarterback Ryan Iniguez was 9 for 19 passing for 90 yards and was intercepted once. Isaiah Richards had three catches for 51 yards. Defensively, Drahcir Mackey had 10 tackles, including three for a loss, and Brenton Brown had eight tackles, with three for a loss.

Kennedy 42, Chavez 20

Jace Demacabalin rushed for 147 yards and four touchdowns on 27 carries to lead the Thunderbirds (8-2, 5-1) to an SSL victory over the Titans (5-5, 2-4). Jaminson Membreve finished with 77 yards on seven carries, and also returned a kickoff 92 yards for a TD to open the second half, and Damian Flores added 23 yards on three carries for Kennedy. Quarterback Javier Valdez was 3 of 7 passing for 56 yards, including a 15-yard scoring pass to Hugo Lorea. Deontre Campos had two catches for 41 yards. Defensively, Sebastian Castaneda and Espn Cantu had interceptions, and Alejandro Ramos and Marcos Sandoval each recovered a fumble. Carlos Calderon had three sacks and Angel Rodriguez had a sack and a forced fumble.

Golden Valley 55, Del Oro 0

Nate Abbott rushed for 105 yards and two touchdowns and also completed his only pass for a 30-yard score to Dominick Thompson to lead the Bulldogs (8-2, 4-0) to a SYHL victory over the Suns (0-10, 0-4). Abbott set a school record with his 21 rushing touchdowns this season. Thompson finished with 105 yards rushing and two TDs on the ground.

Highland 29, Ridgeview 28

Jalen Bailey had two interceptions, including one he returned for a touchdown to put the Scots (5-5, 1-3) ahead in the fourth quarter of a South Yosemite Valley League victory over the Wolf Pack (1-9, 0-4). It was one of three defensive scores for Highland, which scored on a fumble return by Miguel Garcia and a safety. Preston Medez threw a scoring pass and Jordan Salcido ran in another to account for the Scots' points on offense.

Delano 20, Taft 17

Robert Garcia rushed for 87 yards and Eddie Silva was 10 of 23 passing for 86 yards to help rally the Tigers (6-4, 2-4) to a South Sequoia League victory over the Wildcats (4-6, 2-4). Edward Rodriguez had three catches for 34 yards and teammate Paul Quezada added four receptions for 28 yards for Delano, which trailed 10-6 entering the fourth quarter. Senior quarterback Blaine Neudorf threw for 153 yards and a scoring pass to Cameron Cash, and also rushed for a touchdown for Taft. Cash finished with five catches for 96 yards. Defensively, Degan Spear had a sack and Josh Cundiff knocked down two passes.

North 28, South 20

James Webster rushed for 131 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries for the Spartans (4-6, 2-2) in a loss to the Stars (4-6, 3-1). Josh Encinas was 9 of 15 passing for 107 yards and Gyrel Halsey had five catches for 52 yards. Defensively, Sam Organista had 11 tackles, including two solo and one for a loss.

Boron 20, Kern Valley 13

Andrew Gartica rushed for 108 yards and two scores on 12 carries to lead the Bobcats (8-2, 4-1) past the Broncs (3-7, 2-3). Isaiah Morgan rushed for 56 yards on 15 carries, had 38 receiving yards and added 13 tackles and a sack on defense. Jalen York was 4 of 6 passing for 58 yards and rushed for a TD.

Frazier Mountain 62, Kern Resource Center 0

Quarterback Max Barker and Brazen Dever combined to throw for 106 yards and three touchdowns, and rushed for 97 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Falcons (7-1). Maurice Tondreau rushed for a score and also returned a blocked punt for a touchdown. The punt was blocked by Salvador Velazquez, who also rushed for 62 yards. Isaac Zerapio, Calvin Points and Juan Esparza each caught touchdown passes and Alex Jardines rushed for 55 yards. Defensively, nose guard Douglas Farringer had two sacks and a fumble recovery and Victor Mosso returned an interception 20 yards for a score, had five unassisted tackles and recovered a fumble.

East 28, West 0

Ediah Santiago threw for 147 yards and two touchdowns and TJ Santiago rushed for 52 yards and two scores to lead the Blades (3-7, 1-3) to a SYML victory over the Vikings (1-9, 0-4). Lorenzo Patino rushed for a team-high 128 yards and a score and Thomas Calistro had two catches for 69 yards and a TD. The East defense held West to 140 total yards and forced two turnovers.