Apaches spoil Madera’s Homecoming night
Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune
Madera’s Jonathan Ramirez returns a kickoff 60 yards in the first quarter to set up a Madera touchdown.
It was homecoming night for Madera High School, but there wasn’t much to celebrate outside of the halftime festivities on the football field.
The Sanger Apaches came to Madera and spoiled the Coyotes’ evening, cruising to a 59-21 win Friday night.
With the game already out of hand by halftime, most of the student section was already heading for the exits after watching the announcement of the homecoming king, football’s sideline specialist Kody Coushman, and queen, cheerleader Ally Barriga.
“It’s a learning experience. It teaches our guys that we are back in CMAC play and there is no slouch in CMAC,” Madera head coach Kenny Paolinelli said.
Paolinelli also put part of the blame on a lack of execution.
“We had a plan in place and we didn’t execute it,” Paolinelli said.
The Coyotes were coming off a bye week after losing against Selma on Sept. 19, but the time off didn’t prepare them for the Apaches.
“We had two weeks to prepare and that is on us as coaches if they don’t execute our schemes,” Paolinelli said. “I will take the blame on that.”
Jonathan Ramirez was one of the bright spots for the Coyotes. Ramirez had a 60-yard kick return in the first quarter which set up a four-yard touchdown by Jeremiah Sanchez.
The Apaches were already leading 24-7 at that point.
Ramirez also scored on a 22-yard run in the fourth quarter and recovered an onside kick on the next play, setting up a 37-yard touchdown pass from David Zavala to Logan Wattenbarger for the final score of the game.
“I think this is his third football game in his life,” Paolinelli said about Ramirez. “He’s really igniting our team with energy. The more he understands football and the more we work him into our scheme, it’s gonna be good for us because now we have another weapon we can use offensively.”
Sanger started the game with a quick strike on the first possession, finishing a three-play drive with a two-yard touchdown run by Pierce Jones.
Quarterback Isaiah Martinez picked up three first downs with his legs on the Coyotes’ first possession, but the drive ended when Martinez fumbled at midfield.
Following the fumble, the Apaches set themselves up in the red zone with a 40-yard run from quarterback Noel Collazo, leading to a 30-yard field goal by Izaiah Romero.
The Coyotes’ first quarter went from bad to worse when the Apaches blocked a punt and set up shop inside the 10-yard line. This time, the Apaches took full advantage of the opportunity, scoring on a four-yard keeper from Collazo to make it 17-0.
The nightmare continued on the next possession, when Tahj Webb intercepted Martinez and helped set up a 30-yard touchdown throw from Collazo to Dolce Calandra.
The Coyotes appeared to have a big play when Vincent Martinezcame up with an interception at the beginning of the second quarter. But the play was negated by a pass interference call.
Sanger took advantage of their second chance and scored another touchdown with a 22-yard run by Kosi Agina, making it 31-7.
The Apaches continued to pile it on, with Collazo finding a wide-open Fernando Gonzalez to make it 38-7.
Martinez threw his second interception of the half late in the second quarter, which was returned by Gabriel Morales to make it 45-7.
The second half started in a similar fashion, with Morgan Privett ripping off a 54-yard run and the Apaches scoring another touchdown with an eight-yard carry by Collazo.
Ashton Rodriguez punched it in from a yard out on the last play of the third quarter to score another touchdown for the Apaches.
