Stallions stay with valley champs, but fall
Madera Tribune File Photo
Madera South’s 184-pounder Angel Reyes gets his Hoover opponent in position for near fall points during a 10-4 victory in the consolation quarterfinals in 2018. Although he lost in the semifinals, Reyes won by pin in the fifth place match.
2012
In the first of a two-game set with defending Valley Champions, the Madera South Stallions girls soccer team played even with the Buchanan-Clovis Bears before falling 1-0 in overtime.
The defending Div. I Valley Champion Bears scored in the first half of overtime and held on for the victory.
“We outshot them 19-17 and had the edge in possession,” head coach Pat Evans said. “We were absolutely amazing tonight, especially with four freshmen starting. The Buchanan coach told me we were on of the best teams they have played against.”
The Stallions had their opportunities, including two missed penalty kicks — one in the first half and another in overtime.
2013
Stallions shut out by Central
For the second straight home match, the Madera South boys soccer team hosted a finalist from last season’s Div. I section title game.
After falling a goal short in a 3-2 overtime loss to defending Valley champion Clovis West earlier this season, the Stallions faced another team from the Tri-River Athletic Conference in a 2-0 loss to Central-Fresno on a frigid evening at Memorial Stadium.
While scheduling lesser teams may have produced an automatic ‘W’ in the win column, Madera South head coach Cristino Armiento believes his team certainly benefits from playing higher division schools like Central and Clovis West especially with the Stallions, playing in County/Metro Athletic Conference where most teams are Div. I through Div. II.
“The boys fought it out with Central and really looked to counter as much as they could,” Armiento said. “Playing the section champs (Clovis West) and runner-ups (Central) is awesome and the only thing you could expect more out of our team is to maybe squeak out a 1-0 win but as far as things to learn from, this is the caliber that we need to play in order to improve.”
2015
Stallions come out on top
It was a battle of the defending Valley Champions when the Div. II champs Madera South girls soccer team faced Div. III winners Liberty in Memorial Stadium.
Holding a 1-0 lead after 40 minutes of play, the Stallions scored three goals in the second half to come away with the 4-0 triumph over the Hawks.
Liberty head coach Erick Walker was well aware of the Stallions’ track record and felt they would be a great test for his skilled players.
“Liberty’s been playing them for years, so obviously we have a lot of respect for Madera South,” said Walker. “They’ve come up through and winning the Harold S. Young tournament was huge for them. They’ve got some great speed and players.”
“It’s going to be important for us to compete especially against Div. I schools because we’re able to see if we’re really improving,” said head coach Ramon Delgadillo.
Although the Hawks lost the match, Walker feels facing a Stallion team of this caliber will only make his squad better.
Against the Hawks, Madera South got deep goals from freshman Itzel Rodriguez, Jasmine Garibay and Maria Leal while Sabrina Ibrahim capped the scoring.
Coyotes comeback falls short
The Madera Coyote girls basketball team found themselves trailing the Buchanan-Clovis Bears by 14 points with four minutes left in the game.
After a flurry of points from Croena Harshaw and Ashley Hansen, the Coyotes went on a 14-2 run to cut the lead by one with less than a minute left in the game.
However, a questionable foul call turned a breakaway layup for Maria Hernandez into two free throws for Buchanan’s Anaya Sperling to turn a potential 53-52 Coyote lead into a three-point Buchanan lead.
The Bears added a free throw with 3.9 seconds left for a four-point lead that was needed when Madera’s Ashton Berry hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer for a 55-54 Buchanan victory in Joe Flores Gym.
2018
Coyotes shut out Clovis, extend win streak to three
The Madera Coyotes boys soccer team put together a gritty performance to overcome an early season test against the Clovis Cougars.
The Coyotes scored the game’s only goal late in the first half to win 1-0 in Memorial Stadium.
Although the Cougars have seen a lot of success in the last few years, the Coyotes were full of confidence going into the matchup.
“This is two years of foundation that we have been putting in,” Madera head coach Nic Landeros said. “This win means a lot because they’re a quality team. Everything that we have been working for is coming to fruition.”
The Coyotes opened the scoring in the 34th minute. That’s when senior Emmanuel Cabello received a cross from the left wing and found the back of the net with a sliding kick.
“Our first goal was a good build up,” Landeros said. “That’s what we practice, building the ball from the back and putting it on the ground. Most of all, being efficient in front of the goal.”
Wrestling teams face tough test
The annual Chukchansi Invitational provided some of the best wrestling early in the season at Madera South High School and Madera teams were up to the task.
Although neither Madera South, Madera or Liberty had any wrestlers place higher than fifth, all three used the tournament as an important building block to the upcoming season.
“This might be as good of a tournament they have had here,” Madera head coach Joe Romine said. “There are some high-level kids here.”
Romine’s Coyotes placed 16th overall and 222 pounder Hulise Santiago was the highest placer, winning the fifth place match. Heavyweight John Cook began his junior year with a seventh place finish.
“This is an eye-opener and an adjustment-maker,” Romine said. “We want the kids come to their own conclusion rather than listening to us and the broken record. It means more when they were the ones who experienced these things.”
First year Madera South head coach Ryan Philp saw his young Stallions earn an 18th place finish, 13.5 points behind Madera.
“We are wrestling tough,” Philp said. “We have two or three placers. We have a young team. They are fighting very hard. The seniors that we have are in really tough weight classes. We have good lightweights, but a lot of teams have great lightweights.”
Angel Reyes placed fifth at 184 pounds while Abel Cardenas was seventh at 172 pounds.
Meanwhile Liberty earned its best finish at the Chukchansi in 25th place, besting teams from Bullard-Fresno and Centennial-Bakersfield.
“Each individual wrestler, we have our own goal-setting meetings,” Liberty head coach jay Pumarejo said. “We go into my office and the kids write down their goals for the weekend. We make a copy of it and we give them the copy and tape it to their mirror at home so they see their goals everyday. We talk about what their goals are and how to accomplish them. Some of the individuals accomplished their goals. However, our expectations are pretty high for our kids. The result of it is that this is the best Liberty has done at the Chukchansi Invitational.”
Pumarejo had three wrestlers place in the top eight. Heavyweight Francisco Rojas led the team in sixth place. Angel Lugo placed seventh at 222 pounds and sophomore Sam Rauschenberg had a nice Saturday run to place eighth at 184 pounds.
Coyotes go winless at showcase
After two matches at the Madera Showcase, the Madera Coyotes girls soccer team was unable to secure a win after a 2-1 loss to San Ramon Valley and a 3-0 loss to Liberty-Brentwood .
“The biggest takeaway from the weekend is that we can play with anybody in the state,” Madera head coach Cameron Hill said. “Both the teams had players with real pedigree and quality, but neither team played us off the field.”
Although the Coyotes only scored a single goal throughout the two-day showcase, the team showed determination to see the game out no matter the score, according to Hill.
“I saw that we have a willingness to play through anything. We fought till the end in both matches,” Hill said.
Against San Ramon Valley, Itzel Rodriguez and Penelope Leach combined for a second-half goal but couldn’t find the game-tying score late in the game.
