Coyotes win back Governor’s Hat

Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune

Madera Coyote football coach Kenny Paolinelli puts on the Governor’s hat after Friday’s 48-25 victory over Merced in the Governor’s Hat game between the two schools.

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The Madera Coyotes used a dominant second half to win back the Governor’s Hat with a 48-35 victory over the Merced Bears in Memorial Stadium.

The two teams last played in 2021, and the Bears came out on top and held the hat until this year. Head Coach Kenny Paolinelli won the hat his first year, in 2019, and was happy to put the hat on his head this year.

“It was really fun to win the hat,” Paolinelli said. “It’s cool to get it back and fun to win. They are a good team. We were kind of down the whole game. We had some injuries early in the game, like with Izaak Lopez. He sprained his knee, and didn’t play the rest of the game. We had a bunch of guys hurting. Merced is a step up in physicality, and they had better athletes than we’ve seen. That’s why I like to play them before league. We get a sneak peak of what a CMAC athlete is like.”