Central Section football championships: CVC, Mission Oak and Strathmore win titles
Bryson Donelson saved the best for last for the Central Valley Christian football team on Friday night.
Donelson scored the eventual game-winner when he scored on a 52-yard reception from Brent Kroeze with 4:41 remaining in the top-seeded Cavaliers’ 27-26 victory over No. 2 Lemoore in a rematch of last season’s Division II championship.
“I’m really proud of them,” CVC coach Mason Hughes said. “Just their fortitude, these kids worked really hard. I don’t think this team on paper is as good as last year’s, but yet, this is the team that got it done.”
CVC overcame three fumbles by Donelson, who felt terrible giving up the ball, Hughes said.
The Fresno State-bound running back eventually made up for it with the game-winning touchdown.
Donelson finished the game with one rushing touchdown that went for 79 yards and two receiving touchdowns.
“Just really happy that he was able to pull it together,” Hughes said. “Really happy that our team is good enough to withstand that.”
CVC trailed 20-15 in the fourth quarter. but answered on Donelson’s 25-yard touchdown reception from Kroeze.
Lemoore retook the lead when Elijah Daley scored on a 47-yard run midway through the fourth quarter for a 26-21 lead before the Cavaliers answered with the eventual game-winning touchdown.
It’s CVC’s seventh section title and Hughes’ third, section historian Bob Barnett said.
“It has been a special year,” Hughes said. “My son is a senior, obviously I’ve known this senior class for a long time. A lot of these kids went to preschool together. This whole season has just been really surreal. I probably showed more emotion and was more excited for many other games. It’s a lot of hard work that goes into this.”
Division III: Mission Oak wins title
It was celebration time for Mission Oak.
The No. 3-seed Hawks scored 34 unanswered points in a 34-14 victory over No. 5 Kerman for the school’s first section title, Barnett said.
The Hawks’ Danny Gonzales passed for four touchdowns and had a rushing touchdown.
Gonzalez completed 20-of 23 for 296 yards and also ran for 51 yards. Achilles Sierra caught two touchdown passes among his seven receptions, and rushed for 59 yards.
It was Marty Martin’s first title as coach. He had several stops, including at Kerman from 2008-2010.
Division VI: Strathmore holds off Mendota for title
Strathmore coach Jeromy Blackwell preaches to his team every week “1 and 0. That’s all that matters.”
The fourth-seeded Spartans heed those words from their coach.
Jacob Poole scored on a 2-yard run in the third quarter that gave Strathmore a 14-7 victory over No. 3 Mendota.
“It was a remarkable turnaround for our team,” Blackwell said. “We grew from a JV team with a freshman starting and five sophomores during Week 6 into a defensive juggernaut. Each week, our football fundamentals are executed at a higher level. The best is yet to come.”
Strathmore has won seven section titles, Barnett said, and it was Blackwell’s fifth.
Poole finished the game with two touchdowns.
