Tigers' magical season ends as they fail in last second bid, losing to Dinuba Emperors 30-22 in Central Section Division II semis

Tiger quarterback Cort Groathouse marched his talented Tigers to the Dinuba 20-yard line, but on a fourth and five with just 57.8 seconds left in the game couldn’t quite connect with receiver A.J. Bow as the Tigers fell short.

Dinuba ran out the clock to win the game to advance to Friday’s Division II championship game with No. 1 seed Ridgeview.

The final drive was nearly flawless. Groathouse, trapped on his own 2-yard line, kept the Tigers in the game, marching down the field and converting on a fourth down play at the 3:14 mark to keep the drive alive. From his own 42-yard line, Groathouse threw a bomb that Tiger receiver Allen Perryman managed to snag at the Dinuba 25.

The Tigers were stopped at the 20 following a Perryman 5-yard pickup. The Emperor defense stiffened and the Tiger signal-caller failed to connect with his receivers.

Trailing by 16 late in the game, the Tigers managed to get back into the contest when Groathouse connected with Steve Allison on a 7-yard pass for a touchdown. Lemoore converted the 2-point conversion to keep their hopes of victory alive. The Tigers final touchdown was set up by yet another Perryman reception, this one for 44 yards.

Perryman finished with six catches for 157 yards. Bow had five catches for 93 yards.  Groathouse, despite three interceptions, finished with over 270 yards.

Lemoore indeed was one of the best teams in the Valley this season, beating highly ranked Clovis and Sanger, as well as winning the Milk Can, crushing Hanford in the regular season finale as it entered the Central Section playoffs as the only unbeaten major division team. Dinuba came into the game at 10-1 and on paper seemed like the underdog. The Emperors only loss was a 30-7 decision to Hanford, the same team Lemoore beat two weeks ago.

The Tigers easily won the West Yosemite League and many experts agree that Groathouse may be the Valley’s top player. The talented quarterback has the tools to be a successful college quarterback. His passing skills and his ability to run made him a weekly offensive threat.

He wasn’t hurt by the fact that his receivers rarely dropped the ball. Once Groathouse threw the ball, there was often a high degree of probability that one of his talented receivers – Allen Perryman, Reggie Davis, and A.J. Bow - would catch it.