Coyotes take Stadium Road Showdown
Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune
Members of the Madera Coyote football team present the bandsaw trophy to longtime Coyotes football supporter Ryan Desmond who has spent the last eight months battling Guillain-Barre syndrome. The rare syndrome attacks the nerves and causes paralysis. The Coyotes regained the bandsaw with a 49-20 victory over Madera South after two years in Madera South possession.
The Madera high Coyotes finished off their turnaround season with a 49-20 Stadium Road Showdown victory over next-door neighbors Madera South after a 22-point second quarter turned the game around.
“It was a good performance overall,” Madera head Coach Yosef Fares said. “I thought offensively, we played very well throughout the whole game, but defensively we didn’t tackle well in the first half.
“Hats off to them. They came out in a double wing, something they haven’t shown all year, which is a specialty offense so we had to adjust on the fly and I think we did a good job of that.”
Madera South head coach Matt Johnson credited his team’s effort despite the outcome.
“It was a great effort and you’re going to get that in a rivalry game,” Johnson said. “We found a little offense tonight. We put about three different packages together and we only had three days to get it ready and right. These guys executed it to the best of their ability. Overall, give my hat off to Madera. It was their turn. It’s their time.”
Colt Nelson set the Coyote pace with more than 300 yards passing and five touchdowns. Nelson completed 20 passes while his receivers — K’Veon Jones and Jerry Hernandez — reaped the benefits of loose coverage to score a pair of touchdowns each. Hernandez stole the show with a 52-yard touchdown to seal the win in the third quarter.
Madera South’s Matt Manoz was a wrecking ball. He finished with over 75 yards along with a passing touchdown and two rushing touchdowns.
The Coyotes took their first shot on offense. After Joseph Saldivar carried the ball twice for 15 yards, the Coyotes stumbled.
Nelson executed a backwards pass that was dropped and called a fumble. The Stallions recovered the football and took over in great field position.
It wouldn’t take long for Madera South to capitalize after Manos found David Thomas for a 19-yard touchdown.
The Stallions used a combination of quarterback runs and halfback dives to get into position before the opening score. The Stallions couldn’t convert the two-point conversion, but led 6-0.
The Coyotes responded with a 10-play drive to take the lead. Saldivar shouldered the load with six carries and 45 yards on the drive before he punched it in for a touchdown.
The Stallions had another chance in the first quarter until Manoz was stripped by Matt Ylarregui for a fumble.
The Coyotes offense pounced on the Stallions secondary and torched them for 56 yards and a 16-yard touchdown by Jones for a 14-6 second quarter lead.
The Coyotes added another second quarter touchdown drive.
Nelson and Hernandez hooked up for a 20-yard pass then again for a seven-yard touchdown and led 20-6.
Madera South got back into the game after Israel Estrada took a handoff for more than 50 yards. Estrada broke three tackles en route to a monster gain. Manoz punched it in on a 15-yard run to cut the deficit to seven, 20-13.
Madera answered the Stallions; touchdown after Saldivar’s big run of 30 yards set up Josiah Velasquez’s first touchdown of the game. Nelson found Velasquez on a short pass before he broke it loose for an 18-yard touchdown.
The Stallions weren’t finished either after Manoz took another handoff for a 16-yard score. His second touchdown of the night came in the second quarter to cut the lead to six.
The Coyotes took over control of the game after Jones caught his second touchdown of the night from 20 yards out.
Saldivar iced the game on a six-play drive where he utilized his legs, along with his pass-catching ability. He caught a 25-yard pass and carried the ball for 23 yards before he punched it in for six. Hernandez scored his second touchdown and the final of the game on a 52-yard catch-and-run. Hernandez caught the ball and turned up field, outrunning Stallions defenders.
The Coyotes now look to their first-round playoff matchup against Mt. Whitney on Thursday in Memorial Stadium after their Stadium Road Showdown victory.
