Prep football: All-Out Blitz preview for Week 5

Oct. 03--UNBEATEN HANFORD FACES BIG LEAGUE TEST IN EL DIAMANTE

An epic Kings County collision looms as a possibility in four weeks with the Hanford and Lemoore high football teams off to undefeated starts.

If both arrive at Tiger Stadium on Nov. 7 with perfect records, it would create the most anticipated Milk Can game in years.

But eighth-year Hanford coach Josh Young knows the biggest game for his 5-0 Bullpups comes Friday at Neighbor Bowl when West Yosemite League kingpin El Diamante visits for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.

"In order for us to put ourselves in position to play for a league title, we have to beat El Diamante," said Young said, whose team opened WYL play last week with a 55-34 win over rival Hanford West. "Their record doesn't show how good they are. To win against them would be a big statement for us and the type of football we're playing."

The Miners enter 3-2 overall and 0-1 in the WYL with close losses to Dinuba (28-22) and Mt. Whitney (28-22) the past two weeks. But it's El Diamante's history that Young knows he has to compete with.

Since taking over for John Clark in 2007, Young has led Hanford to a 45-37 record overall and a 24-18 mark in the WYL, with the Bullpups' lone league title over the past seven years coming in 2011. Over that same stretch, El Diamante has gone 61-22 overall and 36-6 in the WYL with six titles.

"They are consistently at the top year after year," Young said. "That's the type of program we want to be. You can't have the ups and downs we've had."

After going a combined 5-16 the past two seasons, the Bullpups are enjoying a renaissance buoyed by a defense that has helped produce a 13-3 takeaway-to-giveaway ratio.

Defensive backs Francisco Ramirez and Nathaniel Hunt each have two of Hanford's seven interceptions. Ramirez has also caused two of five forced fumbles by the defense along with one of six fumble recoveries.

Hanford has also pressured the quarterback with 17.5 sacks in six games, led by Darrian Aguilar's five and Ellix Jimmeye's four.

It's been a collaborative effort for the defense, with 23 players of the 35 on the roster contributing at least one tackle. Kaipo Barnes leads the way with an average of 10.2 per game, including four for losses. Coleman Kaczynski, Juwuane Hughes, Chris Hill and Rhyan McCarty have also played key roles, Young said.

"These guys are playing pretty good defense," Young said. "When you've got 20-plus guys on the tackle chart, that's pretty good. Between our ones and twos, there's not a lot of drop-off. The kids have bought in. They know they are going to play."

Complementing the defense has been an offense led by running back Joseph McDaniel (697 yards rushing and nine TDs) and sophomore quarterback Ryan Johnson, who hasn't thrown an interception while passing for 646 yards and seven TDs.

PLAYER IN THE SPOTLIGHT: NICK SZPOR, CENTRAL

The junior quarterback is developing well while keeping the Grizzlies' pulse beating against a daunting nonleague schedule.

"He's not a super star athlete, but he's steady Eddie, that type of guy," Central coach Justin Garza says of the 6-2, 190-pounder with a 4.0 grade-point average.

Szpor has completed 61 of 98 passes (62%) for 740 yards and three TDs with one interception.

He was 10 of 14 for 192 yards in last week's 24-21 win over a Bullard team that arrived 3-1. And that followed losses against teams with a combined 12-2 record in Liberty-Brentwood (5-0), Grant-Sacramento (4-0) and Liberty-Bakersfield (3-2).

There's no letup in sight as the Grizzlies will remain home to play Southwest Yosemite League power Frontier (3-1) on Friday night.

"Nick's been solid," Garza says. "By his senior year, he'll be one of the best in the area, and right now he's very good. He's a real smart kid who runs well, has a good arm and a good knowledge of the offense. He gets us in and out of situations pretty well."

THESE GAMES MATTER

--No. 2 Bakersfield (3-1) at No. 3 Ridgeview (4-0): One of Kern County's most anticipated games in years. Bakersfield is ranked 20th in the state by Cal-Hi Sports a year after winning the state D-I bowl title. Ridgeview is No. 1 in The Bee's D-II and No. 6 in Cal-Hi's D-II South rankings for bowl purposes. And here's the main storyline: Ridgeview has already defeated D-I opposition in Frontier (42-21), Liberty-Bakersfield (42-21) and Stockdale (35-12) in addition to a 49-42 victory over a Bakersfield Christian team that opened the season as Cal-Hi's No. 1 D-III team in the state. It's unlikely Ridgeview will lose in the South Yosemite League, so a win Friday night would seem to go a long way in solidifying a Wolf Pack berth in a D-II South Regional.

--No. 16 Central Valley Christian (4-0) at Fowler (3-1): CVC is also No. 1 in The Bee's D-IV and No. 4 in Cal-Hi's D-IV South for bowl purposes. Fowler is No. 3 in The Bee's D-V. But reality doesn't match paper here, meaning: This could be a CVC running clock in the fourth quarter.

--Kennedy (5-0) at No. 20 Bakersfield Christian (2-3): Another game of deception. While Kennedy is The Bee's No. 1 team in D-VI, the Delano-based Thunderbirds will have to score 50 here to compete -- and that won't guarantee a win.

--Fresno (3-1) at Mendota (3-1): Intriguing if by coaching status alone. At Fresno, the Warriors have won three straight games for the first time in seven years in the second go-around at the program for coach Ray Reyes. They last had a winning record 10 years ago. Their coach then? Yes, Reyes. Mendota, a section finalist for the past three years, winning twice, is now directed by assistants after the arrest of coach Beto Mejia two weeks ago on suspicion of insurance fraud. He remains on administrative leave.

--Corcoran (3-1) at Kern Valley (5-0): Potential D-V championship preview here at Lake Isabella. Except, if that in fact materializes, it won't be back at the south end of the Sierrra Nevada range because schools from the High Desert League -- which shifted from the Southern to Central section last year -- agreed not to host playoff games regardless of their seeding for three years.

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Keep up with the action at blitz.fresnobeehive.com and @FresnoBeeSports on Twitter. Coaches -- Got a score or highlights to report? Call (559) 441-6379 or email [email protected].

The reporters can be reached at [email protected] or @NickG_FB on Twitter and [email protected] or @beepreps on Twitter.

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