Tigers drop second straight football game as Buchanan wins 24-0 in bad air

But in Lemoore, the game went on despite the ash, which hung lazily in the Valley air, resembling a dirty sort of Tule fog that lingered like an unwanted relative at Thanksgiving.

Photos by Bill Burris, Kings County Photography

Friday night’s game was supposedly one of the “big” games in the Valley. It was broadcast on local television KFRE. The large Lemoore contingent of fans was moved by an impressive display of patriotism put on by the Lemoore Naval Junior ROTC and the national anthem, orchestrated by the Lemoore High School band.

The NJROTC displayed a large flag and moments after the playing of the anthem, a pair of FA-18 Hornets flew impressively over the stadium.

It was indeed an impressive display put on by Lemoore High School and the U.S. Navy. Unfortunately, the Tiger football team’s efforts fell somewhat short Friday night. A year ago, the Tigers surprised Buchanan High School, beating the Bears in Clovis en-route to a near-perfect 11-1 season.

The Bears certainly got their revenge Friday night, easing to a 24-0 first half lead and then holding Lemoore scoreless in the second half to improve to 2-1 on the year with the 24-0 win. Lemoore fell to 1-2 after suffering its second straight loss to a Clovis team.

The Tigers just couldn’t get anything started Friday night. They were at an immediate disadvantage thanks to the absence of starting quarterback Logan Ahlin, knocked out of last week’s loss at Clovis with a concussion. He’s expected to be out at least another week.

With Buchanan sophomore Trevor Ervin running up the middle and Trevor Cummings racking up additional yards the Bears racked up nearly 270 yards on the ground to overwhelm a solid defensive unit for Lemoore.

Some solid defense by Lemoore in Buchanan’s opening drive held the Bears to a lone field goal at the 5:42 mark of the first period. Led by Seth Silva, who stopped Cummings cold on a couple of plays, the Tigers stopped the Bears at the Lemoore 15-yard line. Ervin, who finished with 186 yards on the night, was stopped on a key fourth down and 3 as the Bears had to settle for a 25-yard field goal from Mitch Souza.

With just 24 seconds left in the first, Ervin scored Buchanan’s first touchdown on a 3-yard run. The play was the culmination of a 54-yard drive.

The Tigers quarterback Josh Howeth connected on a long pass with Reggie Davis in the second period. The spectacular 41-yard reception by Davis put the Tigers at the Buchanan 29-yard line. Davis then scampered to the 16-yard line on an 8-yard handoff but an incomplete pass and a quarterback sack forced Lemoore to attempt a 46-yard field goal that was blocked.

The Bears made it 17-0 in the second period when Carter Winn intercepted a Howeth pass and ran it back 10 yards for a touchdown.

Finally, Ervin scored on a 10-yard run with 2:36 left in the half to up Buchanan’s lead to 24-0.

Lemoore’s defense managed to hold the Bears scoreless in the second half, but the Tigers offense just couldn’t get untracked as they dropped their second game in a row. The Tigers will host Sanger in a Friday night game in Tigers Stadium on Sept. 18. Game time is 7 p.m.