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Chris Terrence's Weekly Blog

CBC Sports: Week 9
26 October 2007

ESPN Strikes Again Against Valley High School Football

The Sunnyside Wildcats and the San Joaquin Memorial Panthers put on a pretty good show over at Sunnyside Stadium on Friday. The two evenly matched and well coached teams played a tough first half with the Panthers leading at half-time, only to have the Wildcats come out on top with a strong second half in which they held the Panthers scoreless. It was good North Yosemite League action, as there was excellent play turned in by many players on both teams. Too bad not a lot of fans were there to see it. One of the main reasons for this is that the greed of ESPN television was evident in town again, as Fresno State took on Boise State over at Jim Sweeney Field and more than 40,000 Valley football fans flocked to see it. Can't blame the fans, hey it's a big game no doubt. However, college football is supposed to be played on Saturdays, that's the unwritten agreement. High schools play on Friday nights, colleges play on Saturdays, and the pros play on Sundays. That's the way it works best. When Fresno State plays on Fridays for ESPN, there is just no doubt about the fact that it hurts the high school teams. There are a lot more empty seats, and there is a lot of money gone that would have helped those programs. Period.

Anyway, back to the Wildcats and Panthers. Junior QB, Cameron Grant, led the Cat's well balanced offense, dishing off to backs Jahari Darden (who came into the game averaging over 100 yards rushing), and outstanding sophomore speedster, Daniel Excinia. Darden finished over his average, with 114 yds, while Excinia finished with 138 yds rushing, 137 in the second half. Grant completed 10 of 15 passes for another 148 yards. The Cat's O Line, with Jon Alvarado, Damaso, Daniel Sanders, and Michael Butler, among others, paved a good trail for the Cat's Pro-Set offense schemes. Sunnyside's defense rose to the occasion in the second half behind the likes of Alvarado, Derrick Ricks, Sean Guzman (big interception), and Quinell Atkins. The Cats look pretty wild in that they have a lot of juniors and sophomores who will be coming back next year. Coach Shannon Pulliam was happy with the win. "Very pleased with the way the kids responded in the second half. We are sure looking forward to the playoffs", said the smiling coach. He must be smiling also about the fact that the Sunnyside JV team is undefeated, and the Cat's frosh team is also having a fine year. The Cats finish the regular season this week vs McLane, and would need a Roosevelt victory over Fresno High to finish the NYL in a tie with Warriors. Then there's those CIF playoffs just around the corner.

While this hasn't been the best year for the Panthers of San Joaquin Memorial, it hasn't been a bad year either, an they also have a lot of young talent to look forward to. Coach Anthony Goston is building the Panthers back into contention in the Valley football fortunes. Against Sunnyside, SJM got fine performances from junior QB, Daniel Whittemore, who was 8 for 12 throwing, for 93 yards. Whittemore has been filling in for the injured Blake Stanley. Seasoned veterans, Anthony Soto and Rocco DiCicco played outstanding for the Panthers on both offense and defense, both gaining big yards and coming up with big tackles. The Panthers also have a tough core of good players coming back next year. Alex Coyle, Thomas Kilgore, Sullivan Groz, David Garcia, and inparticular, Nate Delana, are all underclassmen. SJM will have to beat top ranked Edison this week in order to finish this season with a .500 mark at 5 and 5. Tall order indeed.

2007 Football Season Blog Archives: week 0 | week 1 | week 2 | week 3 | week 4 | week 5 | week 6 | week 7 | week 8 | week 9 | week 10 | week 1PO | week 2PO | week 3PO | final week

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