There was a lot on the line when the Madera Coyotes hosted the Edison-Fresno Tigers in the second round of County/Metro Athletic Conference play, not the least of which was respect.
Ranked No. 2 among the section’s D-II teams, Madera (14-10, 5-2) was facing a big and athletic Edison (19-5, 6-1) squad, ranked No. 5 in Division I, that handed the Coyotes a 53-11 loss earlier in CMAC play.
The winner would stay in a two-way tie for first place in the CMAC, while the loser would move down to third place, a game behind Edison and Bullard-Fresno.
Prior to the game Wednesday night, Coyote head coach Jason Smith stated that the keys to the game would be Madera’s ability to keep the trio of Edison players over 6 feet off the boards and to force Edison to shoot from the outside...