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No Milk Can in 2014 for Tiger football, Tigers host West High in playoff opener Friday 7 p.m.
The surprising loss dropped Lemoore to a disappointing 3-3 in the West Yosemite League and 6-4 overall. Just a week ago, the Tigers narrowly lost to league-leading El Diamante 27-21 in a game that very well could have put the Tigers into first place. However, Lemoore's road to a Division II title begins this Friday when it hosts the West High Vikings from Bakersfield in a 7 p.m. game in Tiger Stadium.
The Vikings were 5-5 overall and 3-1 in the South Yosemite League. They are coached by Mark Camps. The Vikings are averaging 191 yards rushing per game, led by running back Stanley Dubard with 768 on the season, and 70 yards passing by from quarterback Enrique Salazar.
Central Section Division II Football Playoff Brackets
The Tigers, favorites to win the Milk Can Trophy for the second year in a row, struggled for much of Friday night’s game but led 14-12 with 2:47 left in the third period on the strength of a 47-yard touchdown run by Doctor, his second of the night. Doctor busted several tackles at the line and romped virtually unscathed into the end zone as Lemoore took the late lead. Doctor’s two touchdowns gives him 32 on the season.
Unfortunately for the Tigers, Hanford wasn’t about to give up the Milk Can again. Following a Tiger punt in the fourth period, the Bullpups, starting at their own 33-yard line, took quick action as Bullpups quarterback Jake Young and receiver Dustin Vasquez connected on a 68-yard touchdown pass at the 4:51 mark to take a 19-14 lead.
Cort Groathouse, starting from his own 26 on the ensuing kickoff, got a first down, but no more. On a fourth down on the Lemoore 42-yard line, Groathouse was unable to connect with receiver Allen Perryman and turned the ball back over the Hanford.
The Bullpups quickly moved the ball to the Tiger five-yard line and took a knee to end the game.
Trailing in the second quarter, Doctor put Lemoore ahead 7-6 when he scored from the left side, virtually walking into the end zone for the first of his two TDs.
Hanford finished in a tie with Lemoore for third place at 3-3 in the WYL. They were 4-6 overall.
El Diamante, as expected, won the WYL championship, ending their campaign with a 42-6 romp over Golden West Friday night. Redwood finished second at 5-1 and 8-2.
Tigers and El Diamante
There were probably two plays Friday night that sealed Lemoore’s fate and prevented the Tigers from winning a second straight West Yosemite League championship. The first came with just 11 seconds left in the first half when Lemoore allowed league leader El Diamante’s quarterback, J.C. Robles, who passed for over 190 yards in the game, to complete a 13-yard pass to Joey Chica with just seconds remaining to take a 27-14 lead into the half.
The other was a Miner’s fourth and one at their own 37 with about seven minutes left in the game. Had the Tigers stopped El Diamante, they would have been in excellent position to score and win the game. But Robles plunged up the middle and got the first down by no more than a football length.
From there Robles guided the Miners to the Tigers goal line, and with no timeouts Lemoore couldn’t do much. With just seconds left and a chance to score, the Miners opted to down the ball and preserve their fifth win in as many league contests.
The Tigers fell to 6-3 overall and 3-2 in the WYL, erasing them from title consideration. The Miners, 8-1 overall, appear headed to the Division II top seed.
The Tigers will begin preparing in earnest Monday for Friday night’s regular season finale against Hanford. The Bullpups have struggled this year to a 3-6 overall record and are 2-3 in league competition. Game time is at 7:00 p.m. in Neighbor Bowl. The freshmen and junior varsity games will be held in Lemoore Thursday night making the varsity game the only game Friday night.
Lemoore’s California state rushing leader, Richard Doctor, felt the brunt of El Diamante’s defense, which keyed in on him all night. The talented blue chipper, who recently was invited to play in the Blue Grey All American Bowl in Dallas, Texas, was held to less than 100 yards Friday night, by far his lowest total of the season.
Doctor did score three touchdowns on the night including a 15-yard run in the second period that cut the Miner’s lead to 13-7. He also hauled in a 47-yard pass from Tiger quarterback Groathouse, also in the second, to counter a Robles 39-yard pass to Adam Chavez moments earlier.
At that point Lemoore trailed 20-14 and appeared poised to make a thrilling comeback in the second half, but with just 11.5 seconds remaining completed his pass to Chica to put the Miners up 27-14.
Lemoore’s defense battled back and held El Diamante scoreless in the second half. Lemoore only got a two-yard touchdown run from Doctor to cut the lead to just six points.
