Tigers football at 4-1, head into WYL on a roll as they head to Redwood

Lemoore is 4-1 as they begin WYL action on Friday against Redwood (1-3) in the league opener. Game time is 7 p.m. in Visalia.

The challenges off the field include coping with health protocols related to COVID-19, including complying with contact tracing.

According to Lemoore High School Head Coach Rich Tuman, Lemoore’s only season loss was to Kingsburg. “Going into the Kingsburg game, we had five players out, and they were key players,” said Tuman, who said the protocols forced the five players to sit out the game.

“We didn’t leave that game with our heads down,” said Tuman. Kingsburg, he said, was a very good team. “We had someone out every week due to contract tracing.”

Tuman’s Tigers, despite the loss to Kingsburg, enter the always demanding West Yosemite League on Friday on a high as they travel to Redwood for the league opener. The Rangers surprisingly post a mediocre 1-3 record.

However, Tuman isn’t taking the Rangers lightly, insisting that Redwood has played some talented teams, including Kingsburg (to whom the Tigers suffered their only loss of the season, 31-21).

“Redwood’s a tough team. They played some high-quality teams, including Clovis North, teams like that,” said Tuman.

Tuman was pleased with last Friday’s relatively easy 39-0 win over 2-3 Porterville, a contest that may have helped prepare the Tigers for the WYL’s opener Friday night.

In Friday’s shutout game against visiting Porterville, the Tigers ran like a finely-tuned machine, scoring 33 points in the second quarter alone. Tuman predicted his team would win the game, and they proved him correct. “They came out and performed even beyond what I was hoping for,” he said.

He was also upbeat about his team’s defense, which shut out the vising Panthers. Tiger Demel Turner was one of the highlights, returning an interception 70 yards for a touchdown.

Junior quarterback Ty Chamber threw for 153 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for 81 yards a touchdown.