Tulare County Football: League favorites, 27 top performers, power rankings
Tulare and Visalia high school football teams kick off league play this week.
Here is a breakdown of each league:
EAST YOSEMITE LEAGUE
Defending champion: Redwood (2-3)
The Rangers concluded non-league action with wins over Tulare Union and Tulare Western. Their losses — Centennial, Clovis North and Hanford — are a combined 12-3.
More: Hanford rolls past Redwood behind QB Daniel Gomez's near-perfect performance
Redwood won an outright EYL championship last year with a perfect 5-0 record. The Rangers are averaging just 21.2 points per game but played the toughest non-league schedule of all Tulare County programs.
Redwood is led by senior running back Alex Perch (269 yards rushing, five rushing touchdowns) and senior defensive end Chase Dempsey (19 tackles, 4.5 sacks).
The top challenger: Porterville (4-1)
The Panthers are coming off a narrow 17-12 loss at Exeter but field one of the top defensive units in Tulare County.
Porterville is allowing an average of 8.8 points per game this season and posted two shutouts in non-league action.
The Panthers' top players are senior quarterback Rocky Arguijo (828 yards passing, nine passing touchdowns) and sophomore linebacker Mark Salinas (28 tackles, two sacks, fumble recovery).
Watch out for: Golden West (0-5)
Don’t let the Trailblazers’ record fool you.
Golden West played a brutal non-league schedule that featured five teams — Arroyo Grande, Dinuba, Hanford, Kingsburg and Tehachapi — who are a combined 21-5.
The Trailblazers are led by senior quarterback Raymon Velazquez (1,231 yards passing, eight passing touchdowns) and senior receiver Chris Garcia (25 receptions, 413 yards receiving, three receiving touchdowns).
Keep an eye on: Mt. Whitney (2-3)
Along with Redwood, the Pioneers are the only other Visalia Unified School District team with at least one win this season.
Mt. Whitney has victories over Morro Bay and Reedley.
The Pioneers have one of Tulare County's top receivers this year in sophomore Israel Briggs (five receiving touchdowns).
Don’t sleep on: El Diamante (0-5)
The Miners have scored 30 combined points this season but have one of the section’s premier players, regardless of position, in senior left tackle Marsel Akins.
Akins is a Fresno State verbal commit.
Don’t forget about: Monache (1-4)
Senior running back Ty Baxter posted back-to-back 100-plus yard rushing efforts in a loss to Wasco and win over Paso Robles.
WEST YOSEMITE LEAGUE
Defending champion: Lemoore (3-2)
The Tigers are the reigning WYL and Central Section Division II champions.
Lemoore’s two losses came against programs that are both 4-1 in Clovis West and Sanger.
Tigers senior receiver/defensive back Kobe Green (10 catches, 142 yards receiving, two receiving touchdowns; 15 tackles, four interceptions, three forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries) is one of the section’s premier two-way players.
Senior receiver/defensive back Kiontre Harris (six catches, 127 yards receiving, two touchdowns; seven tackles, three interceptions) is rated as a three-star recruit by 247sports.com and has a reported four scholarship offers from Montana, San Diego State, Utah State and Washington State.
The top challenger: Hanford (4-1)
The Bullpups are one of the highest-scoring teams in the Central Section.
More: Hanford rolls past Redwood behind QB Daniel Gomez's near-perfect performance
Hanford is averaging nearly 47 points per game behind the play of junior quarterback Daniel Gomez (1,468 yards passing, 15 passing touchdowns) and junior running back Kourdey Glass (177 yards rushing, six rushing touchdowns; 10 receptions, 204 yards receiving, three receiving touchdowns; four sacks).
Watch out for: Tuiare Union (4-1)
The Tribe’s high-octane offense has scored 242 points this season for a per-game average of 48.4.
More: Tulare Union knocks off previously undefeated Kingsburg
Sophomore quarterback Jordan Crisp (1,691 yards passing, 16 passing touchdowns), senior running back Tieler Peterson (358 yards rushing, eight rushing touchdowns; 14 catches, 287 yards receiving, two receiving touchdowns), freshman wideout Damaje Riley (25 receptions, 453 yards receiving, five receiving touchdowns) and sophomore Brayden Stevenson (25 catches, 408 yards receiving, six receiving touchdowns) anchor the team offensively.
Keep an eye on: Mission Oak (4-1)
The Hawks are averaging nearly 35 points per game.
Mission Oak’s top players are senior quarterback Danny Gonzalez (1,183 yards passing, 14 passing touchdowns) and senior running back Kenny Jackson (165 yards rushing, two rushing touchdowns; 15 catches, 249 yards receiving, three receiving touchdowns).
Jackson is a three-star prospect with three reported scholarship offers from Bethune-Cookman, Campbell University and San Jose State.
Don’t sleep on: Dinuba (3-2)
The Emperors annually field one of the toughest and most physical teams in all of Tulare County.
That’s the case again this season.
Dinuba has wins over Golden West, Selma and Washington Union. The Emperors are led by senior running back Lucas Tuttle (621 yards rushing, five rushing touchdowns) and senior fullback/defensive lineman Julian Ramirez (five rushing touchdowns; 24 tackles, 6.5 sacks, two fumble recoveries, two blocked punts).
Don’t forget about: Tulare Western (2-3)
The Mustangs' Pistol Wing T attack sparked the Mustangs to wins against El Diamante and Mt. Whitney.
Tulare Western junior running back Mikey Johnson leads the team with 348 yards rushing and a touchdown.
TRI-COUNTY CONFERENCE-KINGS CANYON DIVISION
Defending champion: Central Valley Christian (4-1)
The league is likely a two-horse race between CVC and Kingsburg with the Cavaliers as the early favorite.
Regardless of position, CVC has one of the best players in the Central Section in senior running back Bryson Donelson (1,160 yards rushing, 18 rushing touchdowns; nine catches, 109 yards receiving, two receiving touchdowns). Donelson, a three-star recruit, has seven reported scholarship offers (Boise State, Boston College, Colorado State, Fresno State, New Mexico, San Jose State and Washington State).
The Cavaliers are averaging 47.6 points per game.
The top challenger: Kingsburg (4-1)
The Vikings' only loss this season came to an athletic and talented Tulare Union squad.
Two of Kingsburg’s top players are senior quarterback Max Warkentin and senior receiver Wyatt Boyd.
Performances of the week
Every week, the Times-Delta/Advance-Register will recognize the top football performances of the week (Coaches, email your top impact players to vyang2@gannett.com).
Here are this week's top performers:
Bryson Bias, Strathmore: Bias fired two touchdowns to help the Spartans shut out Farmersville.
Israel Briggs, Mt. Whitney: Briggs hauled in two touchdowns in a win at Reedley.
Andrew Camarillo, Orosi: Camarillo erupted for 199 yards rushing and two touchdowns to lead the Cardinals to a win against Lindsay. Camarillo surpassed 5,000 career yards rushing in the victory.
Isaiah Colunga, Strathmore: Colunga caught three passes for 61 yards and a touchdown.
Jordan Crisp, Tulare Union: Crisp completed 19-of-23 passes for 331 yards and two touchdowns as the Tribe defeated Kingsburg. He also had a rushing touchdown.
Jason De La Cruz, Orosi: De La Cruz registered his sixth interception of the season.
Jaelin Dominguez, Tulare Union: Dominguez intercepted a pass.
Sonny Guess, Tulare Union: Guess had a rushing touchdown.
Rashawn Hayes, Tulare Union: Hayes scored a rushing touchdown.
Abee Hernandez, Strathmore: Hernandez had a rushing touchdown.
Roman Hernandez, Strathmore: Hernandez picked off a pass.
Jacob Molina, Exeter: Molina accounted for three total touchdowns (two passing, one rushing) to lead the Monarchs to a victory over Porterville.
Tieler Peterson, Tulare Union: Peterson scored a rushing touchdown and also found the end zone on a 68-yard catch.
Jacob Poole, Strathmore: Poole rushed for 125 yards and three touchdowns.
Brody Riggi, Exeter: Riggi had an interception.
Aidan Robertson, Exeter: Robertson hauled in nine catches for 80 yards and a touchdown.
Micah Rodriguez, Mt. Whitney: Rodriguez threw three touchdowns.
Ramon Rodriguez, Strathmore: Rodriguez scored a rushing touchdown.
Gerardo Ruiz, Strathmore: Ruiz had a receiving touchdown.
Mark Salinas, Porterville: Salinas scored a rushing touchdown and had six tackles in a loss at Exeter.
Steven Sengprachanh, Exeter: Sengprachanh had a team-high seven tackles. He also blocked a punt.
Daymion Soto, Mt. Whitney: Soto racked up 11 tackles, including two for a loss.
Brayden Stevenson, Tulare Union: Stevenson caught five passes for 120 yards and a touchdown.
Wyatt Stockton, Exeter: Stockton had four tackles and a sack.
Andrew Taylor, Exeter: Taylor caught a touchdown pass.
Aubrey Taylor, Tulare Western: Taylor had four tackles and an interception against Bakersfield Christian.
Raymon Velazquez, Golden West: Velazquez had a rushing touchdown in a loss to Tehachapi.
Tulare County Cream of the Crop Power Rankings
1. Central Valley Christian (4-1): Bryson Donelson has already rushed for more than 1,000 yards this season.
Up next: at Kerman (2-3)
2. Tulare Union (4-1): The Tribe are averaging 48.4 points per game.
Up next: Lemoore (3-2)
3. Redwood (2-3): The Rangers are the reigning East Yosemite League champs.
Up next: at El Diamante (0-5)
4. Mission Oak (4-1): Daniel Gonzalez has passed for nearly 1,200 yards with 14 touchdowns.
Up next: at Tulare Western (2-3)
5. Porterville (4-0): The Panthers suffered their first loss of the season at Exeter.
Up next: at Mt. Whitney (2-3)
This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Tulare County Football: League favorites, top performers, rankings
