You're the hottest high school football coach in the country east of the Sierra Nevadas and the objective is to land California's dream job.
So, naturally, you apply at De La Salle-Concord, Long Beach Poly, St. Bonaventure-Ventura, Mater Dei-Santa Ana and -- of course -- Clovis West, right?
The spectacular flying Golden Eagles. With all their history and tradition. With all those resources and financial support. With that wonderful school district, right?
Then you take a deeper look after they've flushed out Marty Martin and you realize: Wow, I'll be the sixth coach in 11 years.
D-I, Clovis West vs. Bakersfield: Drillers score in 20s, that's enough for 7-point victory. Too bad Eagles couldn't throw it; rather, they had no one to throw to, not against quality defense.
D-II, Tulare vs. El Diamante: Redskins, playing with a chip, win by 9 because Jontell Reedom's the best player on the field.
D-III, Foothill vs. Tehachapi: Warriors control chill and the ball at 4,000-foot elevation, winning by 10.
D-IV, Corcoran vs. Taft: Brant Botill fantastic as usual for Panthers, but Wildcats balance on both sides of the ball makes the difference in 2-point triumph.
It will go this way tonight in Division I-IV semfinals and the D-V championship:
D-I
Clovis West vs. Edison: Tremendous pre-game buzz, evident in an apparent Edison-crafted gold and black banner targeting Clovis West south-bound traffic and hanging on Highway 41 overpass at Bullard Avenue saying, "The lights are back on." This, of course, is a spin off the teams' 27-27 tie on Sept. 14 at Sunnyside High, where the game ended in overtime when lights operating on an automatic timer went out. This time? Golden Eagles needed rain, mud and a slow track. Conversely, perfect conditions for Edison speed and a 10-point win.
Bakersfield vs. Centennial: Rematch won by Centennial 28-26 two months ago. Golden Hawks win by 2 TDs tonight.
D-II
Lemoore vs. El Diamante: Miners by 20, even while looking forward to title showdown with unbeaten Tulare.
Reedley vs. Tulare: Pirates wing-T will cause problems, but they don't have the ponies to ride with Tulare, which wins by 17.
D-III
Garces vs. Tehachapi: Garces much improved in past month, but Warriors prevail by 7.
Washington vs. Foothill: Not a good sign for Trojans, requiring game-ending FG to nip seventh-seeded Dinuba 10-9 last week. Now to defend QB Ebahn Feathers, the best player on the field in Washington 10-point victory.
D-IV
Exeter vs. Corcoran: Panthers won Round I 57-12 at Exeter. Monarches make up 45 points on the road? Negatory, but it's closer. Corcoran by 23.
Chowchilla vs. Taft: At this point, Wildcats are most clear-cut favorite in all five divisions. Wildcats win this by 17.
D-V
Bakersfield Christian vs. Fowler: Eagles are decidedly taller than Redcats, but this isn't basketball on grass, is it? Fowler by 13 to close unbeaten season.
Three Bullard High football starters – Clifton Rogers, Phillip Brandt and Rick Marr – have been reinstated to the team after serving suspensions for undisclosed reasons, Knights athletic director Jody Sharp said.
Marr is the only player suited up for tonight’s Central Section Division I quarterfinal game against Clovis West. Rogers and Brandt are in street clothes and are not playing tonight.
Sharp said it is the decision of coach Don Arax as to the playing status of the players.
How'd the Central Section playoff seeding committee do Saturday? I'd give them a B-.
D-I: Giving Bullard a 4 seed was far too generous, showing absolute disregard for "what have you done lately?" Knights are 1-2 in past three games, with only win a 3-point decision Friday over 3-7 Hoover. Bullard should have been given a 6, behind TRAC co-champions Clovis West and Clovis East. Instead, the Golden Eagles are a 5 and the Timberwolves a 6. . . . Watch out for No. 9 Central -- again -- at No. 8 Liberty-Bakersfield. The Grizzlies, as a No. 10, crushed No. 7 Centennial 49-14 on the road in a playoff opener a year ago.
D-II: Good call, giving No. 1 El Diamante (9-1) the edge over No. 2 Tulare (10-0). This proves there is such a thing as a "good loss." And that was the Miners' 30-17 defeat at Clovis West in Week 2. Regardless, this division's a two-horse race.
D-III: Tehachapi's a 1 and Foothill a 2, but I like No. 3 Washington to win it all behind QB Ebahn Feathers, The Bee All-Star's probable Player of the Year.
D-IV: Mistake, seeding No. 3 Corcoran above No. 5 Central Valley Christian only hours after the Cavaliers defeated the previously unbeaten Panthers 29-22 in Corcoran. Again, what have you done lately? . . . Taft is No. 1, but No. 2 Kingsburg will win the plaque.
D-V: There's nothing -- absolutelyl nothing -- to suggest No. 1 Fowler (10-0) won win it in a walk.
** If the Central Section Division I title game were today, I'd like to see Clovis East and Edison. The only section team with a shot at beating the No. 1 Tigers is one who can run the ball -- and run it well. And no one does it better than Clovis East because of its double wing.
** Bullard star running back Clifton Rogers is in coach Donnie Arax's doghouse. Arax wishes he had the Hoover transfer for more than one year to instill better discipline.
** The word on Tulare-Kings counties streets is No. 7 El Diamante (7-1) of the West Yosemite League is superior to No. 4 Tulare (8-0) of the East Yosemite League. It's quite likely we won't know until they meet in the Nov. 30 D-II championship game.
** Spring (baseball) and fall (football) for Fowler boys' major sports? Try 41-2. The baseball team went 33-2 while finishing No. 1 in the state last spring. And the football team's rolling this fall at 8-0. The common denominator: Josh Poytress, The Bee's All-Star Player of the Year in baseball and the school's quarterback in football. He'll attend Fresno State on a baseball scholarship.
It's electric here at Chukchansi Park for the No. 1 Bullard vs. No. 2 Edison showdown
There were 9,000 presale tickets in what will be one of the best-attended football games involving Fresno Unified schools in 30 years.
I wrote in today's column of the drawbacks playing at this Triple-A baseball facility, mainly because of the dirt infield that's part of the playing surface and the distance fans sit from the action. And I compared it to Sunnyside High, which Edison uses as its "home" field. It's a traditional football field, creating a much-more intimate environment.
Interestingly, the 6,000-seat Sunnyside facility wouldn't have come close to accommodating tonight's crowd, which will exceed 10,000. Only 15,000-seat Ratcliff Stadium would have.
Some thoughts heading into Week 8, which begins the regular-season stretch run:
** I like Edison's chances against Bullard for two reasons: 1, Tigers are on top of their game, playing so loose behind a superb senior, QB Jerry Davis; and 2, Clifton Rogers (bad ankle) has to be 100% for Bullard to have a chance, and I'm not sure he will be.
** Clovis West has a lot of problems, the immediate worst attempting to stop Clovis East's double wing. This is a priority game for the Golden Eagles, which no doubt led partly to their loss to Buchanan last week because they may have overlooked the Bears. I don't see CW beating the Timberwolves, but know this: There's plenty of time for the Eagles to find stride with a talented cast and win the Division I championship.
** No shock if Delano, at home, upsets unbeaten Tulare. Why? Two reasons: 1, Tigers are at home and with talent; and 2, We still don't have a true read of Tulare because of the Redskins' Tulare-Kings County exclusive schedule. And there's no question that region is down this season. Just look at Mt. Whitney as the worst of examples.
** How about Selma, which stopped a 34-game losing streak this season, actually going to Dinuba -- the Central Section's 15th-ranked team -- with realistic thoughts of winning? There's no greater insurance in football than a successful running game. And wing-T Selma has it with RB Adrian Pacheco. Then, again, this is a Dinuba outfit that rocked previously unbeaten Kingsburg 33-0 last week. Makes for an intruiging game, doesn't it?
** A day after writing a column on Scott Seward -- the 5-7, 160-pound state-leading rusher in eight-man football for Clovis Christian -- I watched his clone, Clovis East quarterback Taylor Scott, chew up Central in the Timberwolves' 35-14 win. They're built alike and have similar speed. So who's to say Seward couldn't play with the big boys?
** Wow, how Clovis West fooled me. I just knew the Golden Eagles were ready to explode after nearly knocking off the state's second-ranked Centennial-Corona on the road three weeks ago. Then they barely beat Central before losing to unranked Buchanan Friday night. Gotta wonder at this point if they'll ever truly find their stride this season under first-year coach Martin Martin.
** Kingsburg, while unbeaten, had only played one team with a winning record (Caruthers). Then the 12th-ranked Vikings met reality in humbling 33-0 loss at DInuba.
** I ruffled some Bullard community feathers when writing two weeks ago that the unbeaten Knights could be 2-2 had not transfer running back Clifton Rogers arrived from Hoover. Wonder if those same people were paying attention in the second half Friday night, when Bullard was shut out by Reedley after Rogers was sidelined with an ankle injury. No Central Section player means more to a tean than Rogers.
Gotta love having quarterbacks Jerry Davis (Edison), Beau Sweeney (Clovis West) and Ebahn Feathers (Washington) in next summer's City-County All-Star Football Game. Last year's game was marred by fights. This one, conversely, should be an entertaining showcase and big draw at the gate.
City-County exception: Sanger running back/safety Justin Webber deserves to play in the game despite not playing a down this year because of a knee injury. He and Bullard's Clifton Rogers would be an outstanding complement to the quarterbacks.
** Trap game for Clovis East tonight at Central for two reasons: Timberwolves play Clovis West next week and Central is determined to prove it can win the TRAC.
** Shocking numbers: Clovis, which hasn't had a losing season since 1973, is 0-6 while being outscored 229-52; and Mt. Whitney, coming off a 12-1 and D-II championship seasson, also 0-6 while being outscored 256-94.
** Fowler, in a great cycle of athletes that will extend for at least two more years, will beat Strathmore tonight on the road. Redcats QB Josh Poytress is one of the top five athletes in the Central Section.
I expect the Sanger-Edison crowd at Sunnyside Stadium to at least match the 6,000 that turned out for the Clovis West-Edison 27-27 tie in Week 3 on Sept. 14. In that one, Edison out drew the Golden Eagles' fans 2-to-1.
Actually, I thought tonight's game would outdraw the CW-Edison contest given the fact Sanger traditionally draws much better on the road than the Eagles.
Looking at the ticket line outside the stadium, it appears that could be the case. The line measures about 100 yards a few minutes before kickoff.
There's a decent parking lot here at Sunnyside, but it doesn't accommodate capacity crowds, forcing fans to line their cars down Peach and Kings Canyon avenues.
Edison hasn't defeated Sanger since 1990, losing eight straight to the Apaches. But the second-ranked Tigers (4-0-1) are prohibitive favorites tonight over No. 10 but injury ravaged Sanger (4-1).
No Central Section Division I team has made a more convincing statement this season than Clovis West in its 31-24 loss at Centennial-Corona Friday night. Centennial -- ranked third in the state and about to move to No. 2 after St. Bonaventure lost -- required a fourth-quarter touchdown to win it against a Golden Eagles team minus star running back Matt Jelmini and four suspended players. I can't imagine any other section team -- even at full strength -- nearly beating Centennial on the road. So Jelmini returns, CW finds its stride under new coach Marty Martin and the Eagles win the section D-I title on Nov. 30. Count on it.
Bullard's Phillip Brandt is the area's most underrated quarterback. And, while running back Clifton Rogers hogs the headlines, the Knights' passing game is real with Brandt and wide receivers Brandon Williams and Evan Caldwell. They're as good as any at Edison, and the Tigers are loaded.
Imagine Clovis, which hasn't had a losing season since 1973, going winless this year? Could happen. The Cougars are 0-5 entering the TRAC. If they're going to win, it's going to have to be at home against either Madera and Buchanan Oct. 12-19.
DIVISION I -- Clovis East 33, Clovis West 14
DIVISION II -- Mt. Whitney 28, El Diamante 9
DIVISION III -- Garces 42, Foothill 14
DIVISION IV -- Dos Palos 17, Chowchilla 7
Mt. Whitney's Terrance Beavers intercepts a Tanner Snead pass and returns it 75 yards for a touchdown and a 28-9 Pioneers lead with 4:48 left in the game.
Matt Jackson follows runs of 10 and 11 yards by Ray Randle with a 1-yard touchdown run and Ryan Jennings makes the extra-point to give Mt. Whitney a 21-9 lead with 4:15 left in third quarter.
Mt. Whitney's Derrick Little levels El Diamante QB Tanner Sneed as he releases the throw; the ball flutters short of its target and Mt. Whitney's Adam Andrus intercepts it at the Mt. Whitney 2-yard line to thwart a Miners scoring threat with 25 seconds to play in second quarter.
Mt. Whitney's Derrick Little lays out in the end zone to catch a 41-yard touchdown pass from Matt Jackson on 4th-and-8 to give Mt. Whitney a 14-9 lead with 2:17 left before halftime.
Chris Luis scored on a 9-yard run in the first quarter as Chowchilla took a 7-0 lead into haftime of their Central Section Division IV championship game against Dos Palos.
El Diamante's Earvin Gonzalez catches a 14-yard touchdown pass from Tanner Sneed with 6:33 to play in the second quarter on a 3rd-and-12 play. A botched snap on the point-after leads to a run failed. Miners lead 9-7.
It's 7-3 Mt. Whitney at the end of first quarter in Visalia.
Mt. Whitney is driving. QB Matt jackson fumbles a dive handoff on a 3rd-and-inches, then picks up the ball 2 yards into the backfield and sprints out for the first down. Mt. Whitney is in El Diamante territory.
Bee reporter Andy Boogaard reports an overflow crowd for the Clovis East-Clovis West game.
They brought in extra bleachers -- which are filled -- at Buchanan Stadium. Fans are sitting on the grass berms; there probably are 9,000 in attendance.
El Diamante's Earvin Gonzalez kicks a 35-yard field goal with 5:27 left in first quarter for 3-0 lead over Mt. Whitney in their Central Section Division II high school football championship game.
Mt. Whitney's Keith Pankey takes the ensuing kickoff, a short squib kick, 66 yards for a touchdown and a 7-3 Mt. Whitney lead with 5:18 to play in the first.