Stallions get second straight rout

After a 52-0 victory over Fresno last week, the Madera South Stallions football team closed out the non-conference part of their schedule with four straight victories after a 45-6 demolishing of the Kerman Lions.

The Stallions lost their opening game to Mission Oak-Tulare, but followed that with wins over Golden Valley-Merced, Hanford West, Fresno and now Kerman.

“The coaches and I thought we can legitimately go 5-0 or 4-1,” head coach Matt Johnson said. “We played one solid half against Mission Oak. I thought that and Kerman would be the task for us. I felt like we had to get to 4-1 to validate what I’ve always felt about this team. They are good enough to do just about as good as any Madera South team has done in non-conference and they came through.”

For the second straight week, the Stallions dominated an opponent, this time on their home turf.

“They only crossed the 50-yard line once,” Johnson said. “They made only one play against us. That’s how they got their one score. They never threatened. I have to give it to Anthony Gallegos. He’s come up with some really good defensive game plans. Our kids are figuring out where they need to be.”

With the victory, the Stallions will head into the toughest part of their schedule — the County/Metro Athletic Conference — beginning with Bullard-Fresno on Thursday.

“This team is built to challenge some of our CMAC opponents,” Johnson said. “We’re going to try to compete as much as possible. There’s a couple of games in the schedule to get into a battle with.”

The Stallions will have the momentum of a four-game winning streak heading into the CMAC opener.

“We are 4-1 and are giving ourselves a chance to finish with a winning record and that’s our goal,” Johnson said.

In Friday’s win, the Stallions dominated on all phases, led by the defense.

“We kept their quarterback in check for most of the night,” Johnson said. “That was our fear factor. Other than their quarterback, we felt like we couldn’t let him go crazy against us. Our guys up front on defense were on fire. It was an absolute demolishing of an opponent I’ve seen.”

Isaac De La Torre picked off his second pass in as many weeks. Jackson Smith also had an interception and Sergio Garcia had a fumble recovery.

The dominating defense helped set the tone for the offense, which just ran over the Lions.

“Our offense showed up and we smashed them. We went through them like a hot knife through butter,” Johnson said. “It was a great offensive showing, but it was the defense’s night. Our defense completely kept Kerman in check. Once that was established, we just handed the ball off to Angelo Moreno, Erik Cervantez, Fabian Mendoza and Flavio Quiroz. Flavio was a beast. Our guys up front handled them. We didn’t do anything tricky.”

Quarterback Jacob Edwards scored two touchdowns and accounted for 144 yards. Moreno also scored two touchdowns and had 104 yards from scrimmage.

Cervantez rushed for 89 yards on only eight carries and also scored a pair of touchdowns. Quiroz also added a touchdown.

After the enjoyment of Friday night, Johnson knows he has to turn his attention towards Bullard after an enjoyable weekend.

“That was as thorough a win as I’ve had at Madera South,” he said. “That was the best time I’ve had at Madera South.”