Twice the Madera Coyotes had the ball inside the Clovis North 10-yard line, and twice they fumbled in the deciding points of a 41-28 loss at Lamonica Stadium.
The Coyotes outgained the Broncos, 450-393, Friday night. In addition to the two fumbles, the Broncos got an interception return or a touchdown for the win, and gave Madera a second straight loss.
Darius White led the Coyotes with 98 yards on 16 carries and two touchdowns.
Quarterback Elias Mena was 25-of-32 for 319 yards. Lawrence Flores caught 10 passes for 166 yards and two scores. Jayden Martinez caught five passes for 60 yards. Jayden Perez caught three passes for 64 yards.
The Broncos used a strong rushing attack that gained 334 yards, including 38 carries for 263 yards by their leading ball carrier.
The Coyotes opened the game with a drive from the Madera 20 to the Clovis North nine. Mena hit Martinez, Flores and Perez for 28 yards to midfield.
Flores caught a five-yard pass on third down to get to the nine. On the next play, a mishandled center snap in shotgun was picked up by Clovis North.
The Broncos drove into Madera territory, but turned the ball over on downs.
Mena hit Flores for a 35-yard gain down the right sideline. He then hit Flores, twice, on quick screens to the right for five yards and an 18-yard touchdown. Carlos Ochoa hit the extra point for a 7-0 lead.
Three plays later, Clovis North scored from 37 yards out to tie the score.
The Coyotes went on a 13-play, 53-yard drive to inside the Clovis North 30-yard line. The big play was a 31-yard pass to Flores on the right on third-and-12. However, the Coyotes were faced with a fourth-and-12, and settled for a 43-yard field goal from Ochoa that went wide right.
On third down, Clovis North went back to pass, pressured by Martinez, and threw an interception to Xsavier Elenes at the Clovis North 20.
Mena hit Flores for 12, and a first down. White finished off the drive from eight yards out for a 14-7 lead.
Clovis North got the ball into Madera territory after a 33-yard run. Pressure from Martinez forced an incomplete pass on third down, and Clovis North picked up eight yards on fourth-and-13 to turn the ball over.
Mena opened the drive with a 17-yard gain. However, the Coyotes were forced to punt. Clovis North returned the punt 47 yards to the Madera 10-yard line.
The Broncos scored on the next play to tie the game at 14 entering the half.
After a trade in possessions to open the second half, Clovis North used six straight running plays to finish a 68-yard drive. The touchdown was scored on a 37-yard run for a 20-14 lead.
Flores returned the ensuing kick-off 57-yards, but a penalty moved the ball back. On third down, Mena found a wide-open Perez for a 60-yard completion to the Clovis North 13. However, two plays later, the Coyotes mishandled a hand-off, put the ball on the ground, and Clovis North recovered.
The Madera defense forced a punt, and the Coyotes gave the ball to White.
He carried on six of the seven plays of the Drive. Mena hit Martinez for an 18-yard gain to get the ball inside the 12. Four White carries later, the final from two yards out, gave the Coyotes a 21-20 lead.
The Broncos used a screen pass for 18 yards to get into Madera territory. The Broncos scored from four yards out for a 26-21 lead after the kick was blocked.
However, two plays later, Mena was picked off, and Clovis North returned it 25 yards for the touchdown. The two point run went into the end zone for a 34-21 lead.
Keyed by a 30-yard run off a direct snap by White, the Coyotes answered the Broncos’ score. On the next play, Mena found Flores for a nine-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 34-28.
The Broncos recovered the onsides kick at midfield. On the next play, Clovis North broke two tackles at the line of scrimmage, and bounced it down the left sideline for a 50-yard touchdown to put the final touches of a 41-28 victory.