Denair High's Edwin Flores tallied five onside kicks and recovered all of them last Friday en route to the Coyotes' 62-21 victory over the visiting Waterford High team, ending their six-game Southern Athletic League losing streak.
“I'd love to know what the record for onside kick recoveries in a high school game is,” said Denair head coach Ted Howze.
With a strong special teams unit, the Coyotes were able to control possession of the game as they were led by two 100-yard rushers in Alex Valle (131) and Austin Hughes (113) to tally the team's total to 458 for the game.
“I love coaching all the boys and also being lucky enough to coach my own sons is an amazing honor,” Howze said. “I know it's not easy being the coach's kid and I am proud of them beyond belief.”
The Coyotes scored first in the opening quarter to take a 7-0 lead and in the second Denair added 27 points after converting four onside kicks before the Waterford offense even took the field.
The halftime score read 34-7 and it was all over from that point on.
The Coyotes end their season 3-7 overall and 1-6 in the SAL.
As a senior, Hughes managed to rush for over 1,000 yards for the season and Valle added four touchdowns on senior night.
Turlock Christian wins first game to end season on a high note
Dominique Zendejas of Turlock Christian High ran for 156 yards and scored four touchdowns as the Eagles ended their 11-game losing streak dating back to last season with a 34-26 win over Valley Christian on Friday.
Freshman quarterback Jakob Skinner went 6-for-10 for 97 yards and the running game for the Eagles had, arguably, the best game from top to bottom for the year.
Junior Manuel Preciado ran for 80 yards on seven carries and scored the team's only other touchdown to bring the total to five—all on the ground.
They picked the right time to peak, because going into next year the Eagles will be looking like a team that can compete against their opponents.
TC will be losing only three players from this year's squad and will return a large portion of their contributors heading into the 2015 season.
The Eagles ended their first season with head coach Jake Von Sherrer posting a 1-9 overall record and 0-6 in the Central California Athletic Alliance.
Hilmar ends season with win
With the possibility of the postseason out the door, the Hilmar High football team was looking to snap its four-game losing streak and end the year on a high note.
They did, by notching their only Trans Valley League win of the season.
Hilmar trounced Riverbank 52-22 last Friday at Riverbank in what became a dominating performance from the Yellowjackets of Hilmar.
The defense was on point after allowing only 22 passing yards, despite allowing 297 rushing yards—but it did not matter.
The 'Jackets are now looking ahead into next season for a different spark from head coach Frank Marques, who always responds after a down year.
Hilmar finished the regular season with a 3-7 overall record and 1-4 in the TVL, avoiding the season shutout in league.
Delhi misses postseason after loss to RC
It was a win or go home situation for the Delhi High varsity football team last Friday, which needed to win in order to keep their playoff hopes alive but they met a much stronger Ripon Christian team and the Hawks fell 13-22 at Ripon Christian.
Coming off a two-game winning streak, including a 7-6 upset over Gustine, the Hawks seemed to be destined for the postseason but things just didn't work out at the end.
Despite taking an early 7-0 lead after the first quarter, the Knights of RC struck with 15 unanswered points before the halftime whistle blew and the score read 7-15, with RC up.
Delhi scored six more points as RC added on seven and the fourth quarter was a stalemate as RC captured its fifth league win and eighth win of the season.
Delhi senior Garret Thomas finished his final year with 133 rushing yards for the game on 11 carries and scored a touchdown on an 85-yard run.
The Hawks drop to 5-5 overall and finish the year 3-4 in the SAL.
