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Tigers face West Bakersfield in Tiger Stadium in Division 3 opener after near Hanford upset
The Tigers enter the playoffs as a 4-6 team overall. Still, thanks to their impressive run (3-2) through the WYL, including a near-upset of unbeaten Hanford Friday night, the Tigers are prepared to put their mark on the Division 3 playoff brackets.
Lemoore drew the No. 7 seed in Division 3. Kingsburg High School drew the No. 1 spot and a bye this Friday. Bakersfield Christian drew the No. 2 seed and also earned a bye.
The Tigers, if they get past West Bakersfield, will hit the road for a matchup with Bakersfield Christian on Nov. 15.
The West Bakersfield Vikings finished the regular season at 4-6 overall and 2-3 in the South Yosemite League. Derrick Dunham coaches west. A 20-14 win over the Tehachapi Warriors in the season finale assured the Vikings of a spot in the playoffs.
Lemoore may be playing at the peak of its ability, particularly after an impressive showing against unbeaten Hanford Friday night in Neighbor Bowl. Coach Josh Kloster’s upstart Tigers put on a show in the first half Friday night, scoring four times to take a 29-15 halftime lead.
Unfortunately, just when the Tigers were at their best, Hanford suddenly came to life in the second half, scoring four times, including three TDs in the third quarter to hang on and beat the Tigers 43-36. The Tigers, after a four-touchdown showing in the first half, recovered somewhat late in the third quarter when Lemoore scored on a three-yard run to tie the game at 36-36.
It came down to the final 12 minutes, and the Bullpups prevailed, scoring early when Taryn Rubalcava scored to up the margin to 43-36. With about eight minutes left, the Tigers were again moving down the field and had a first down at the Hanford 34 when the Bullpups’ Matthew Pulido intercepted a Justin Holaday pass to end the threat.
While Hanford owned the second half, the Tigers outperformed the Bullpups in the first half, as they put on an impressive display of football that kept the large Bullpups crowd mostly silent. It began early when Lemoore mounted a thrilling drive that ended with Holaday sneaking in from just a yard out for a touchdown at the 5:05 mark of the first quarter.
Lemoore upped the margin to 15-0 early in the second quarter when Elijah Jones scored from five yards out. David Moore carried the ball into the end zone for the two-point conversion. Will Kloster and Will Schalde provided some key gains through the air and on the ground.
Hanford’s Rubacalva finally scored at about the 10-minute mark to cut the gap to 15-7.
Jones scored his second touchdown, still in the second quarter, from 12 yards out to up the margin to 22-7.
With four minutes left in the first half, Hanford’s Anthony James scored on an impressive 42-yard touchdown pass, and then the Bullpups successfully converted the two-point conversion to cut the gap to 22-15.
With just 1:37 left in the half, Holaday scored on a 26-yard run to close out the first half 29-15.
The Bullpups put on a show in the third quarter, moving the ball well and scoring early on a 44-yard pass to Noah Noyola to cut the gap to 29-22. The Bullpups finally tied the game at 29-29 in the third quarter when Juaron Watts-Brown scored with a little over eight minutes remaining in the period.
Tyrone Houston gave the Bullpups their first lead with about four minutes left in the third period when he scored from seven yards out for a 35-29 lead. Lemoore scored his third touchdown of the night when he scored from three yards out with about a minute left in the third quarter.
Upcoming game
11/8 LHS vs. West Bakersfield in Tiger Stadium at 7 p.m.
