Stallions hold off Reedley; Williams sets school record for kills
The Madera Tribune File Photo Madera South’s Justine Williams rises up to put down one of her school record 25 kills in a four-set victory over Reedley in 2011.
2011
It wasn’t the conventional victory that Madera South head coach Andrea Devine was looking for, but it was enough for a 3-1 North Yosemite League win over the Reedley Pirates.
The Pirates defeated the Stallions in the season finale in 2010 to end Madera South’s 29-match North Yosemite League winning streak. After Madera South won the first set this year, the Pirates won the second set 25-20 before the Stallions closed out the match with two wins, 25-18, 29-27.
Junior outside hitter Justine Williams solidified her league Most Valuable Player credentials. She put down a career-high and school record 24 kills in the match to go with 11 digs.
Vanessa Escobar had nine kills and Tiffany Diaz had eight. Teylur Tutt and setter Sarah Thomas each had five. Thomas added 41 assists and 15 digs to lead the team.
2009
Coyotes start slow, but turn up the heat
The Madera Coyote girls’ volleyball team played like the last smoldering ember that no one bothered to extinguish in a 22-25, 25-21, 25-17, 25-19 Tri-River Athletic Conference win over the Clovis East Timberwolves.
After dropping Game 1, the Coyotes slowly caught fire and turned up the heat to win three straight games behind tremendous performances by their three seniors, who provided the offensive firepower and helped a team that had to adjust its lineup due to an injury to sophomore Kelsee Montagna.
Samantha Dougherty finished the night with a game-high 20 kills to go along with five aces while Toni Murphy had 11 kills and a team-high 18 digs and setter Angie Maciel came through with 37 assists.
Stallions take Panthers in five
Don’t tell the Madera South High and San Joaquin Memorial girls volleyball teams that this was just another match.
For this North Yosemite League game, the winner between the Stallions and Panthers would have the inside track to a league championship as both teams entered the contest 4-0 in NYL play.
In a playoff-type of atmosphere, the Stallions improved to 5-0 in the NYL with a 3-2 win over the Panthers, a team that the Stallions edged out for the league title last season.
The Stallions won Game 1 and 3 while Memorial won the other two to force a Game 5.
In that final 15-7 Game 5 victory, the Stallions were aided by three Valeria Martinez kills, two Shalequa Blanton kills and a service ace, a block and kill by Justine Williams along with an ace and kill by Evette Torres.
2014
Hawks explode after falling behind
TOLLHOUSE — It took seven games for the Liberty Hawks football team to find themselves trailing in a game, but it didn’t last long.
In fact, just two minutes, 23 seconds off the game clock and the Hawks responded by scoring the next 48 points in a 55-10 victory against the Sierra Chieftains.
The Hawks, ranked No. 20 overall and No. 1 in Div. IV, gained 432 yards of total offense, including 313 yards from the rushing attack that scored five touchdowns.
Wade Wallace led four backs with more than 50 yards rushing with 98 yards and two scores on just 13 carries. Jackson Watts ran for 82 yards and a touchdown. Richie Brandt added 68 yards with a touchdown and Kendall Malone rushed for 53 yards, including a career-long 49-yard touchdown run.
Quarterback Zach Richey pitched in with 119 yards on 6-of-10 passing for three touchdowns, including two long throws to Sawyer Howe.
The defense allowed 146 yards of total offense and that included a fluke 76-yard touchdown pass. Without the pass, Sierra had just 70 yards on 47 plays (1.5 yards per play).
2015
Stallion boys win Rough Rider Invite
While the Madera South boys cross country team is filled with a talented group of runners, Stallion head coach Eloy Quintana feels there is a key element that separates his squad from other high caliber programs.
According to Quintana, it’s the unselfishness of the team that makes the seven-time defending section champion and state-placing Stallions a cut above the rest.
That belief of putting the team first showed in the Rough Rider Invitational at Fresno’s Woodward Park.
While the Stallion boys easily won the meet, Quintana was impressed with the team’s attitude and how they went about attaining the victory.
For Quintana, a big upside in the meet came from the Stallions’ normal No. 1-2 runners of Eduardo Herrera and Miguel Villar.
While the Stallions took first out of 33 teams, Herrera won the race with a time of 15:43.6 while Villar (16:30.2) was 20th.
Coyote boys and girls take Golden Bear 5K
If Madera cross country head coach Ernest Velarde was walking around with a big smile in Hanford, it was perfectly understandable.
His boys and girls runners gave him plenty of reason to grin after the Sierra Pacific Golden Bear 5K Invitational in Hanford.
Both teams took home first place trophies after the dominant outing.
Madera No. 1 runner Jasmine Gonzalez set the pace in the girls race and won with a time of 19:20.7.
Also helping Madera (25 team points) place ahead of Wasco (51) was Nicole Nava (5th, 20:44), Alexis Miguel (7th, 20:56.2), Adriana Cortez (9th, 21:17), and Olivia Zambrano (11th, 21:58.2). With a team score of 38, the boys also beat out Wasco (56) to win the Invite.
Leading the way for the Coyotes was Reno Garcia, who placed first with a time of 16:19.7 while Tim Fitch (16:26.3) took second.
Hawks knock down Chieftains In the finale of its four-game, month-long homestand, the Liberty Hawks delivered enough blows to knock out the Sierra-Tollhouse Chieftains.
The Hawks jumped out to a 42-7 fourth quarter lead to instill the running clock as Sierra scored two garbage-time touchdowns Friday night to improve to 6-1 overall and 2-0 in the North Sequoia League.
“I thought we dominated the line of scrimmage,” head coach Mike Nolte said. “We moved the ball when we needed to. We got big plays when we needed them. I was proud of the guys up front and how hard our guys ran with the ball.”
The Hawks racked up 427 yards of total offense, including 310 on the ground. Chad Wallace led seven different ball carriers with 155 yards rushing on just seven carries. Wallace has gained 319 yards over the past two games.
2017
Coyotes remain perfect in CMAC
The Madera Coyotes girls volleyball team capitalized on a hot start to sweep the Bullard-Fresno Knights and improve to 7-0 in the County/Metro athletic conference.
“It was good,” head coach Meghan Haas said. “The last time we played them we went to five and didn’t play that great so we definitely came out with a different mindset and had a better connection from our setters to our middles and it made a big difference.”
Tied 21-21 in the third set Tuesday in Joe Flores Gym, the Coyotes and Knights were locked in a heated battle. The Coyotes looked to finish off their opponent while the visiting Knights fought to stave off a thumping defeat.
Isabella Saucedo led the way down the stretch on offense and defense. Saucedo rose up and executed a powerful kill to tie the game late and came back the next play, blocking the Knights’ shot for the game-leading point in a 25-21 win.
Four Coyote hitters combined for 35 kills, led by Hallie Page with 11 and Lillith Ascencio with 10.
Coyotes turn tide on Memorial
The Madera Coyote girls water polo team has had a rivalry with the San Joaquin Memorial-Fresno Panthers over the last few years.
However, the last two years have been dominated by the Coyotes, highlighted by a 16-9 victory at McAlister Pool.
A few years ago, the Coyotes got a last second shot in regulation to defeat the Panthers. Since then, the rivalry has been dominated by the Coyotes. And Baymiller doesn’t see the trend ending soon.
Nine different players scored goals for the Coyotes, led by Emily Goertzen’s four goals. Bailey Hansen added three and Selynna Rosales and Ceaira Chavira each had two.
