Stallions bury Le Grand in 2nd half
Madera Tribune File Photo
Madera’s Jessica Petroff dribbles the ball up the court during a 2011 victory over Kingsburg in the Madera Shootout. Petroff was instrumental on the defensive end to hold the Vikings to just 31 points.
2011
After the Madera South boys basketball team trailed 30-19 at halftime to Le Grand, Stallions head coach Jody Sharp told his players that they weren’t playing up to his expectations.
The Stallions must have gotten that message as they held the Bulldogs to only five second-half points in a 53-35 win in the Madera South Classic.
Madera South trailed 34-21 midway through the third quarter before Andre Wiltz, who scored a team-high 11 points, sank two free throws that started a 14-1 run by the Stallions.
That momentum carried into fourth quarter as the Stallions outscored Le Grand, 18-0, led by Javier Villar’s two 3-pointers and five points by Wiltz.
Underwood ushers in new era of Coyote baseball
It didn’t take former Madera Coyotes star pitcher Andy Underwood long to put his own fingerprint on the Coyote baseball program after being named head coach last spring.
The 2003 Madera High graduate has assembled what is potentially the finest coaching staff in the Valley with Underwood as head coach and handling the pitchers, Brian Lapin coaching the hitting and outfielders while Chad Rothford will be working with infielders, catchers and also hitting.
And along with the Coyote coaches and players, Underwood has assembled another tremendous coaching staff of former minor league and Major League baseball players to come to Madera and instruct players from the ages of 7-12 on the fundamentals of the game.
Defense steps up for Coyotes
After several close games that saw the Madera Coyote girls basketball team on the wrong side, the Coyotes held off the Kingsburg Vikings for a 35-31 victory.
Two buckets in the final minute by Antranetta Stickman keyed a strong defensive effort for the victory in the Madera Shootout in Joe Flores Gym.
The Coyote defense was led by guard Jessica Petroff, who played the entire second half despite guarding Kingsburgs’ Nikki Kesting and Amber Carson. Erika Rodriguez and Shellie Perkins added to the defensive effort and played most of the second half without a break.
“Kingsburg couldn’t start their offense because of Jessica,” Smith said. “Her and Shellie were instrumental on defense. Erika played really smart. She has responded well these past few games.”
Rodriguez pulled downs six rebounds, recorded three steals and had two assists. Petroff had two steals and three rebounds.
Stickman led the Coyotes with nine points with nine rebounds and three blocked shots. Perkins added six and Bria Fernandes had five.
2014
Coyotes finish runner-up in hometown tourney
For the second time in three years, the Madera girls basketball team advanced to the championship game of its hometown tournament.
Just like two seasons ago, the Coyotes came away with a second-place finish in the Madera Shootout after suffering a 64-53 loss to the Edison-Fresno Tigers in the title game in Joe Flores Gym.
The Coyotes finished 3-1 in the four-day tournament while the Tigers, a County/Metro Athletic Conference team that Madera will see twice more in league play, went 4-0 to take home the first-place plaque.
Edison had demolished its first three tournament opponents before running into some resistance from Madera, which was led by all-tournament player Bria Fernandes.
The senior sharpshooter had a game-high 23 points while hitting five out of six 3-point attempts.
2015
Hawks place third as hosts
The Liberty Hawks boys basketball team was able to iron out some things out and found some things to work on over the three-day Hawks Classic at Liberty High School.
The Hawks lost to eventual champion Tranquillity, 65-56, on the first day of the tournament. Liberty won two games on the final day to earn a third place plaque.
Liberty was led by the trio of Anthony Aguilar, Danny Cervantes and Dylan Reitz. Both Aguilar and Cervantes were named to the All-Tournament team. In the three games, the trio scored 105 points or 61 percent of the scoring for the entire team.
Coyotes win Madera Shootout
In the Madera Shootout, it was clear who the best girls basketball team was out of the eight participants — Madera.
The Coyotes proved that in the championship game with a 57-42 victory over Fresno in Joe Flores Gym.
Madera finished 4-0 in the four-day tournament which included wins over Kerman, Mendota, Coalinga and the Warriors.
The Coyotes made their second trip to the championship game after finishing runner-up last season.
Ashley Hansen, who earned the tournament MVP honors, scored 20 points against Fresno while the defensive presence of Maria Hernandez was certainly felt.
“Nobody wants a part of those two,” said Smith. “They move their feet so well and play so well on the ball. When those two play the way that they do, it makes the whole team better and easier on everybody else. Everybody’s off-ball defense is getting better.”
Stallions take third in Madera Shootout
After going through a six-win campaign last year, the Madera South girls basketball team had nowhere to go but up.
For Stallions’ second-year head coach Teresa Hernandez, her team took a couple of steps in the right direction.
In the Madera Shootout, the Stallions went 3-1, which included a 49-47 win over Kerman in the third-place game in Joe Flores Gym.
The Stallions showed progress after finishing 2-2 in the same tournament last season.
“Overall, I felt we’ve improved tremendously over a week and it is very impressive,” said Hernandez. “They came out of nowhere and I’m really happy. Hopefully we just keep going forward.”
Stallions suffer narrow loss
When the Madera South boys soccer team faced Buchanan-Clovis, it was hard to tell which team was nationally ranked and No. 1 in the section.
The Stallions gave the two-time defending champion Bears all they could handle in a 1-0 loss in Memorial Stadium.
Despite his team falling a goal short, first-year Madera South head coach Fernando Delgadillo couldn’t find much to complain about considering who the opponent was.
“As a coaching staff, we knew that we had our work cut out for us,” said Delgadillo. “But to only lose 1-0 to a Buchanan team that has been beating very good teams, it’s hard to leave here a little sad or disappointed. It’s a great result for us. The boys played with high intensity, but, unfortunately, one slip led to a 1-0 game.
2017
Stallions ride dominant first-half to win
The Madera South girl’s basketball team capitalized on an offensive surge in the first half to down the McLane Highlanders in a non-conference matchup 68-33.
Kierra Smith and Aleecia Rosel’s hot shooting put the McLane Highlanders into a hole early. The pair combined for 23 points against the Highlanders.
Smith knocked down a pair of deep three’s in the opening quarter and hit a total of five in the game.
Rosel, on the other hand, scored five of her eight total points in the game’s first quarter. Her ability to spot up and put pressure on the visitor’s defense was key.
Although Rosel and Smith took the plaudits for a strong start, sophomore Lexi Eller carried the team throughout. She finished the game with a team-high 17 points along with a couple threes.
Stallions open tourney with wins
The Madera South Stallions opened their own tournament with a pair of routs, setting up a run for a championship.
The Stallions opened the tournament with a 76-43 victory over Hoover-Fresno and then followed that with a 77-28 rout of Minarets a few hours later.
“The Hoover game was one of those things where we played well,” head coach Jody Sharp said. “We had a good second quarter so that made things easy for us.
“It’s kind of the way the scheduling went,” Sharp said. “There were eight teams in the tournament that had opponents in their same league so I tried to make it work for everyone involved. You don’t want to have those routs. I don’t want to run up the score on somebody. You have to be ethically right. It teaches the kids about the real value of what the game stands for and how to take care of themselves on the court. I was just talking to them about their antics at the end. It’s about seeing the bigger picture. We could easily be at the other end. I want them to understand there is a bigger picture.”
Coyotes ride first half goals to victory
The Madera Coyotes boys soccer team scored two goals in the opening 10 minutes to upend the Kerman Lions 4-1 in a non-conference matchup at Lee DaSilva field in Memorial stadium.
“Tonight, was really good,” Madera head coach Nic Landeros said. “It’s been a really difficult preseason with our schedule the way it is, with all of the TRAC schools, but these guys have been working really hard to progressively get better. The message today was to go in and just get some momentum to carry into league.“
The Coyotes firepower came to life behind two goals each from Ricardo Lopez and Emmanuel Cabello. Their combination of pace and lethality gave Madera the cutting edge needed to discard the Lions.
Coyotes bounce back after loss
After an early week loss to the Sunnyside-Fresno Wildcats, the Madera Coyotes bounced back with consecutive wins to open the Madera South Classic.
The Coyotes lost Monday to the Wildcats, 64-39, in a game that was called one minute into the fourth quarter because of a broken backboard.
Madera then opened the Madera South Classic with a 68-43 victory over the Sierra-Tollhouse Chieftains behind seven 3-pointers and 23 points from Christian Aguilar.
The Coyotes followed that with a 52-40 victory over Los Banos.
“Christian Aguilar has been shooting the ball extremely well,” head coach David Lozano said. “The guys have been taking smart shots, finishing with confidence and we’re playing smarter offensively. Monday, we had a lot of turnovers. We emphasized taking care of the ball and getting good shots.”
In the three games, Aguilar has hit 16 3-pointers and have scored 50 points or 26 percent of his team’s scoring.
