Tulare County Football: State championship game previews, predictions
Three Tulare County high school football teams — Central Valley Christian, Mission Oak and Strathmore — are playing for a 2023 CIF State football championship on Saturday at Pasadena City College.
Tickets for the state title games are available online at gofan.co. General admission tickets are $17 for adults and $10 for high school students, seniors (65-plus), and children for each day/venue. Tickets will go on sale to the general public at noon on Wednesday.
Here are game previews and predictions for each title showdown.
Los Gatos (12-1) vs. Central Valley Christian (14-1), 7 p.m.
CVC is making its third CIF State championship game appearance.
The Cavaliers finished as the state runner-ups twice in Division 4-AA in 2018 and 2021.
Is this the year CVC pulls through to win a state championship?
It's possible.
The Cavaliers have one of the nation's top running backs in senior Bryson Donelson.
In stats reported to MaxPreps.com, Donelson leads the state in touchdowns with 54 (44 rushing, nine receiving, one kick return). He surpassed 3,000 yards rushing on the season in CVC's state regional final win over Simi Valley, erupting for 377 yards rushing.
The Cavaliers are averaging nearly 44 points per game.
Top CVC players to watch in this game are senior quarterback Brent Kroeze, Donelson, junior wideout Gunnar Piepgrass, senior receiver/cornerback Bryce Crook, junior linebacker Griffin Dunn, senior safety Max Benson, senior linebacker Trent Greidanus and junior receiver/defensive back Caden Ritchie.
The Cavaliers roll into the state title showdown on an 11-game win streak.
Los Gatos, of Santa Clara County, has one of the top defenses in the state. The Wildcats are allowing just 14.2 points per game.
The most points Los Gatos has surrendered in a single game this season is 37 in a loss to Pittsburg (13-1). The Pirates lost to Folsom (12-2) in the state's Division I-A regional championship game.
More: CVC rolls to state championship game with eight touchdowns
The Wildcats are led offensively by senior running back Boxer Kopcsak-Yeung (1,570 yards rushing, 27 total touchdowns) and senior quarterback A.J. Minyard (2,025 yards passing, 18 passing touchdowns). Junior linebacker Henry Masters leads the squad with 140 tackles and junior defensive back Jaylen Thomas has a team-best five interceptions.
Los Gatos is making its first trip to a state championship game. Wildcats head coach Mark Krail notched career coaching win No. 200 in November.
Times-Delta prediction: CVC 29, Los Gatos 24
Calpreps.com projection: Los Gatos 35, CVC 21
Palma-Salinas (10-4) vs. Mission Oak (10-5), 3 p.m.
This is Mission Oak's first appearance in a state title game.
It's been a historic season for the Hawks. They won the program's first Central Section crown in November, beating Kerman 34-14 during the Thanksgiving break to capture the Division III title and also made Tulare history by becoming the first team in the city to claim a state regional crown.
That kind of momentum has instilled confidence in a Mission Oak team that has won six games in a row.
During the Hawks' playoff run, they have been led by a stingy defense that is conceding just 19.2 points per game. In their past two games, they have allowed just 14 points in each contest.
Mission Oak is headlined by senior running back Kenny Jackson — a Division I three-star recruit with reported scholarship offers from San Jose State, Bethune-Cookman and Campbell.
A four-year varsity player, Jackson has eclipsed 100 yards rushing or more in four of Mission Oak's five playoff games. He leads the Hawk with 773 yards rushing and also has 48 receptions for 731 yards receiving.
Jackson has scored 15 total touchdowns (seven rushing, seven receiving, one kick return).
Other standout Hawks are senior quarterback Danny Gonzalez (3,012 yards passing, 35 passing touchdowns; 504 yards rushing, 12 rushing touchdowns), junior running back Achilles Sierra (545 yards rushing, six rushing touchdowns; 38 catches, 409 yards receiving, five receiving touchdowns), senior receivers Cameron Azevedo (48 catches, 705 yards receiving, nine receiving touchdowns) and Jacob Ramirez (29 catches, 687 yards receiving, seven receiving touchdowns) and senior linebacker Isaiah Rivera (99 tackles).
More: Mission Oak wins state regional football championship
Mission Oak is averaging 32.4 points per game.
Palma, a private Catholic school in Monterey County, has one of the top receivers in the nation in 1,000-yard wideout Logan Saldate — a 5-foot-11, 185-pounder who has verbally committed to play at Notre Dame.
This season, Palma has outscored its foes a combined 420-274.
Times-Delta prediction: Mission Oak 34, Palma 29
Calpreps.com projection: Palma 31, Mission Oak 24
Strathmore (11-4) vs. Bell Gardens (10-5), 11 a.m.
Strathmore is the only program in Tulare County history to win a state championship in football.
Under longtime head coach Jeromy Blackwell, the Spartans are making their fourth state title game appearance. They made three straight trips to state in their respective division from 2016-18 and won it all in Division 6-AA in 2017 to cap off a perfect 16-0 campaign.
The state stage is familiar territory, especially in Southern California.
More: From coma to section champion: Coach Jeromy Blackwell inspires at Strathmore
In 2017, Strathmore beat Orange 31-29 to bring home Tulare County's first state crown in football.
Will history repeat itself?
The Spartans believe so.
Since a 3-3 start, Strathmore has won eight of their past nine games, including six straight.
The Spartans are anchored by their power rushing attack led by senior running back Jacob Poole (1,709 yards rushing, 22 rushing touchdowns).
Poole is also second on the team with 19 catches for 310 yards receiving and four receiving touchdowns. He has also scored twice on kick returns and another two on punt returns.
Strathmore is strong defensively, too. The Spartans are surrendering 13.7 points per game.
The most points Strathmore has allowed in a single game all season long is 28 in a loss to Orosi — the East Sequoia League co-champions.
That stout Spartans defense is spearheaded by junior linebacker Abee Hernandez (134 tackles, two sacks), junior defensive lineman Julian Ceballos (nine sacks, 87 tackles), senior defensive back Sacramento Gonzalez (four interceptions) and junior defensive back Roman Hernandez (four interceptions).
Bell Gardens enters the state title game on a six-game winning streak. The Lancers are averaging 26 points per game.
Times-Delta prediction: Strathmore 27, Bell Gardens 14
Calpreps.com projection: Strathmore 28, Bell Gardens 14
Times-Delta overall season predictions record: 50-10
This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Tulare County Football: State championship game previews, predictions
