The Tigers, the No. 7 seed, enters Friday night’s second-round game at 5-6 overall. Unless No. 8 Central Valley Christian ends up in the title game, it’s unlikely Lemoore will have another home game this season.
Friday night’s game time is at 7 p.m. The Eagles are 7-3 overall and were 4-1 in the South Yosemite League. Bakersfield Christian is located at 12775 Stockdale Highway.
It’s been a steadily improving Tiger team that heads into the Division 3 second-round playoff game. Lemoore has won four of its last five games to find themselves just two wins away from a spot in the CIF Division 3 championship game.
While they may not have looked their best Friday night, the Tigers put together a reliable offensive performance to outlast the West High Vikings and earn a trip to the second round where they’ll meet up with a solid Bakersfield Christian Eagles team that – due to its No. 2 seed – earned a first-round bye.
Should Lemoore upset the Eagles, it will play the winner of the San Luis Obispo (3) and Madera (6) matchup.
The night didn’t start well for the Tiger faithful. For starters, the stadium’s clock decided to roll over and play dead. Despite the best efforts of Lemoore’s maintenance crew, they couldn’t get the thing running again. Officials were forced to keep the time on the field, aided by a make-do wrestler’s clock at the west end of the stadium.
Despite a malfunctioning scoreboard, the two teams didn’t seem to care.
Lemoore started well in the first half, beginning with a 12-yard touchdown pass in the opening quarter to tight end Will Schalde for a quick 7-0 lead on the game’s opening drive.
After stopping the Vikings on their opening drive, Lemoore, helped by an impressive Elijah Jones punt return, moved the ball to the West 26-yard line where Schalde nearly caught a TD pass with his fingertips only to watch it sail into the end zone. The Tigers failed on a fourth-down play and handed the ball back to the Vikings.
The Tigers seemed to be moving the ball well, but an impressive drive, fueled by Will Kloster 33-yard run and a 25-yard pass to Koy Davis stalled when quarterback Justin Holaday’s pass was intercepted in the end zone.
The Tigers got back on the scoreboard with a little over three minutes left in the half on a short pass to Schalde. Sebastian Guerrero's second extra point of the night gave the Tigers a 14-0 lead going into the half.
West finally scored with about 6 minutes left in the third quarter when Leauauna Laulu Jr. scored from 22 yards out. The Vikings missed the extra point, and Lemoore led 14-6.
Kloster upped the margin to 21-6 on his 6-yard touchdown with a little over four minutes left in the third period.
But on the very next drive, the Vikings scored again, taking the ball from their 30-yard line to a one-yard Damion Brown touchdown to cut the margin to 21-13.
The Tigers then mounted a 61-yard drive that ended with Holaday’s quarterback sneak from West’s one-yard line. Lemoore’s score, with 6:54 left in the game, put it up 28-13.
The Vikings managed to score one more time on quarterback Daylon Leach’s touchdown with 2:38 left to play.
Upcoming Games
11/15 at Bakersfield Christian High School, 7 p.m.
