Stallions suffer blowout loss to Memorial
Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune
Madera South’s Alberto Torres runs in the open field during a 40-yard kick return in a loss to San Joaquin Memorial on Friday.
The Madera South Stallions football team has seen a lot of success so far this season, but its latest matchup against San Joaquin Memorial-Fresno wasn’t one of those shining moments.
San Joaquin Memorial came up with big plays from the start and often found the end zone without much resistance, leading to a 61-10 win on Friday.
“We were probably feeling like these guys are good and we don’t wanna play hard tonight or something,” Madera South head coach Matt Johnson said. “There was something going on tonight. That’s not really indicative of who we really are.”
The Stallions enjoyed a few bright moments in the loss.
Alberto Torres produced one of those moments when he returned a kick 40 yards. Still, the return resulted in another drive which ended without any points.
The Stallions scored their first touchdown of the game later in the second quarter.
Facing a fourth down at the goal line, Isaiah Tyler felt the pressure, but managed to escape and found Justin Webb for the Stallions’ touchdown.
The Stallions forced the Panthers’ first punt of the game with one minute left in the third quarter. Following the punt, the Stallions started the drive at midfield and marched to the three-yard line.
On fourth-and-goal, however, Anthony Arce failed to get into the endzone and the Stallions gave the ball back to the Panthers.
“We played horrible and they could have probably played even better,” Johnson said. “They looked unstoppable and, at times, that was because of our poor play.”
The Panthers started with a two-play drive on their first possession, finishing with a 30-yard touchdown by Jordan Hornbeak.
Finn Collins found Mac Dalena on the Panthers’ next possession for a 57-yard touchdown.
After the Stallions’ third straight punt in the first quarter, Collins connected with Jalen McMillan for a 67-yard touchdown, giving the Panthers a 20-0 lead.
“Take nothing away from San Joaquin Memorial,” Johnson said. “They’re built at a different level, talent-wise. I was just more disappointed with the spirit of our team. We have been playing with a lot of heart and grit, but tonight we turned it down a little bit.”
The lead grew to 27-0 after McMillan caught an 11-yard pass early in the second quarter.
And it continued to get worse when Jayden Jones recovered Tyler’s fumble and returned it 12 yards for a touchdown.
After the Stallions scored their first touchdown, De’Von King came right back on the next drive and scored on a 60-yard run to give the Panthers a 41-7 lead.
Collins ran for a four-yard touchdown late in the first half to give the Panthers a 47-7 lead at halftime.
De’Von King appeared to have an 80-yard kick return to start the second half, but the play was negated by a holding call.
The Panthers still marched down the field and scored on a 34-yard run by McMillan to make the score 54-7.
King scored the Panthers’ final touchdown with a 39-yard run in the fourth quarter.
“When this thing ends, playoff time, it’s gonna look different than the squads we’re playing right now in CMAC,” Johnson said. “As a Division 5 football team going up against these heavy weights, all we can hope for is that we handle what we can do. Right now, we were not the best we can be.”
