THE PAGMETER
Here are the Pag Meter's Early line
Predictions & Notes
I want to take a moment to say GREAT JOB for all of you who reports and gives back to the Central Valley local Sports scene.
To ALL my spotters at all the games, for you to take the time for keeping everybody updated, you are greatly appreciated!!
I want to thank some of the spotters that kept the Pag Meter updated during the playoffs:
Glen from CVC
Ace, Alex Landucci
Janis Tatum
Brianna Moss
Chris Aguirre
Buchanan Athletics
Coach Work
Jay Preuss
McLane Athletics
Nick Anderson
Joey Velasquez
Tiffany Armstrong
Shawn Holzworth
Mike Burchett
Hector G Munoz Sr
Jeremy Berbereia
Brittney Bailey
Davis Holland
FHS Redcat Athletics
Robin Rogers
Michelle Perez
Benny Prado
Fred Clark
Allyson from Clovis West
Greg Vitucci
MyKenzie McMasters
Alan Clark
Mark Givens
Mike Bronze
Coby Lindsey
Plus there are many more during the year and THANK YOU SO MUCH to all!
Thanks to all the Coaches, Athletic Directors, Players and Parents for everything that you do to make valley sports special!
I love local sports as you all can tell. It’s the best entertainment in town.
Fresno Pacific University Sunbirds are on the rise and do a great job recruiting our local players so make sure you get out there and support the Sunbirds!!
The Central Valley gets the best coverage for high school/local sports and there isn’t a better place where you can get the topics and voice your own opinions like you can on the CVHSPREPS website.
CVHSPREPS does a GREAT job with all the local topics with every sport.
http://www.cvhspreps.com/ Check it out!
The Pag Meter would like to thank all of you who report on high school/local sports.
Thanks for making it a super year and If I miss anybody, I’m so sorry.
I want to thank the CIF committee and office who has a very tough job on trying to make teams and players/coaches happy! We all have no idea what you go through. It can't be easy.
The Fresno Bee covers the valley with Andy, Nick, BJ, Andrew, and Anthony. The Fresno Bee does a great job at reporting from Tulare to Yosemite.
Andy Boogaard, is a Hall of Famer and is out at all the games. Andy has been at it for over 39 years. WOW!
Nick Giannandrea, is most of the time reporting from Visalia.
BJ Anteola, reports on high school and Fresno State sports.
Andrew Rich, reports on high school
Anthony Galaviz, does a tremendous job with Junior College and Fresno Pacific/Fresno State sports.
www.fresnobee.com/high-school-sports.com
Zach Ewing, and Trevor Horn, at the Bakersfield Californian newspaper are off the charts for the south valley!
Zach and Trevor do a spectacular job on reporting and also on their podcast with the BVarsity Live show and Bakersfield should be so thankful to have them! Somebody will snatch them away soon just like Guy Haberman (95.7 the game) and Marcus Grant (NFL Network) were snatched away from the valley. I have so much respect for BVarsity Live show because that’s what the Pag Meter wants to do in the North Valley. It is awesome Guys and keep up the great work!
http://www.bakersfieldcalifornian.com/sports/bvarsity
Paul Meadors, sports writer for the Clovis Roundup. Everything you need to know about the TRAC, Paul, is on it.
paulmeadors.com
Thanks to Cal Hi Sports for keeping the State updated on rankings and where teams might be for the state playoffs!
Mark Tennis and your team...Great Job!
Clay Moffitt does a great job on Central Valley Football with photos and also gets the players/fans involved and Clay really enjoys it.
http://centralvalleyfootball.com/
940 ESPN high school show- Christian Lukens, and Coach Q, interview teams/coaches and 940 ESPN also broadcast games and gives plenty of outstanding coverage.
KFRE 59 TV- with Ralph Wood, and Vince Wesson, broadcasts Friday night football games and they do a great job along with Kevin Miller on the sidelines.
Central Valley Sports report with Vince Bailey and Jason Phillips who focus on recruiting and reports on all the sports.
CMAC TV-They broadcasted several FUSD games with Fred Clark and the Pag Meter even helped out and they will do many more games next year. The students filmed all the games and CMAC TV rocks!
Visalia Times Delta Newspaper and they cover Visalia and Tulare surrounding areas
Hanford Sentinel-Josh Butters, is all over the Hanford and Lemoore areas
VTD Sports-covers all things in Tulare County
Madera has the Madera Tribune- covers Madera & north
All the local TV stations who follow local sports with ABC 30, KMPH 26, KSEE 24 and CBS 47.
Thank you to Marty Solis!!! Marty takes outstanding photos for the Pag Meter.
The Pag Meter would like to thank you all for your time and dedication for covering Local sports…
Players, Parents and Fans….The Central Valley Media is off the charts good!!
On a side note;
The Pag Meter, is back on the air on 1680 AM radio broadcasting Fresno Pacific Basketball/ show with Matt Johnson and we will be doing a Nick & Matt show soon. The Central Valley loves to listen to FUN/SERIOUS/HOT topics along with interviews and call ins the way we used to do it. Stay Tuned!
I want to thank my local sponsors:
* Rain For Rent
*Dog House Grill
* Fresno Ag Hardware
* Wendy’s
* Progressive Sports
That being said, I just felt it was time say thanks to everybody that supports the Pag Meter and the central valley. When it comes to local sports & local businesses…..Keep up the great work!!
CHAMPIONSHIP FRIDAY 7PM Kickoff
The Pag Meter struggled and went 8-4 in the semifinals and for the year the Pag Meter is 484-98 (83%)
In the semifinals, the Pag Meter almost nailed every game on what would happen.
Here are the Early Lines for Championship night.
The losses in the semifinals
LIBERTY 41 BULLARD 7
Don’t know what to say but the Pag Meter flat out blew this one. Give huge credit to the Patriots because they put a good old fashion butt kicking on the Knights
CHOWCHILLA 46 KERMAN 27
The Pag Meter should have waited until after the warm ups from watching both teams before making the prediction because I would have change it to a Chowchilla blowout
WASHINGTON UNION 31 CHAVEZ 28
The Pag Meter nailed the score but the wrong team
MENDOTA 49 DOS PALOS 34
The Aztecs brought their A game
CHAMPIONSHIP FRIDAY EARLY LINES & PREDICTIONS
Valley Championship Division 1
No 2 Liberty Patriots (8-3) vs No 1 Clovis Cougars (11-1)
Pag Meter Early Line Liberty -7
Over/Under total points scored 52
How they got to the Valley Championship
Liberty beat Central 40-27 in the quarterfinals and beat Bullard in the semifinals 41-7
Clovis beat Edison 28-6 in the quarterfinals and beat Clovis North in the semifinals 28-14
Valley Championship history for both teams
Liberty is looking for their 1st valley Championship in school history. The Patriots did win a division 3 section title in 2001
The Cougars have won 8 valley championships and the last was in 2002
The scoop
Everybody has been talking about the heavyweight championship game since August. They were both clearly the two best teams in the valley championship division.
This is a great matchup of two very good defenses vs two very good offenses.
One thing that people will look at in this game is score comparison from whom they have both played. DON’T DO IT It’s a rookie trap! It means nothing unless you are seeding teams for the playoffs.
Football is about matchups on that given week. You can’t compare week 2 to week 10.
Example, they both played the Centennial Golden Hawks.
Clovis beat Centennial 28-27 and that’s when Centennial was at full strength and a huge title contender.
Liberty beat Centennial 49-0 when Centennial was done and full of injuries. The Golden Hawks were a completely different team. On that comparison alone, Clovis shouldn’t even show up and play tonight. Right….Wrong!
Clovis lost to Central 21-20 and we all know what happened in that game with 13 players.
Liberty beat Central 40-27 and take away the last 2 minutes and that game is dead even.
The X Factor
For the Patriots, is the secondary and how they handle the Cougars passing game? This will be the best passing attack that the Patriots will have played against all year. The Cougars are not loaded with speed but they will spread it out and pick you apart.
For the Cougars, it’s pretty simple….can they slow down QB Jordan Love from running all over the yard?
Both teams are big and physical upfront.
The Keys to the game;
Is the X factor in this game with both defenses vs the very good offenses.
The Cougars defense can be beat playing against a running QB and senior Jordan Love can run and pass. The Cougars defense is playing their best football heading into the game and the Cougars 3-5 defense will have to win the line of scrimmage to win their 9th valley championship. The Cougars must be smart and know their assignments to win. Contain, contain and contain some more. They have to keep Love in the pocket.
The Patriots are going to see the best pure passer in the valley with Sean Kuenzinger who has thrown for 2,756 yards with 29 TD passes. Sean’s two favorite targets are JJ Wills and Coltin Velasquez. The Patriots have to decide if they want to put pressure on Kuenzinger or sit back and play zone. Kuenzinger will get rid of the ball in a hurry and will take off running if nobody is open.
The players to watch out for
The Patriots have RB Quincy Jountti who is beating up teams along with the offensive line. Jountti has had two outstanding playoff games with over 400 yards rushing and teams also have to pay attention to Quincy or he will take the game over. On defense there is senior LB Krys Barnes and junior DE Kurtis Brown. They are both two of the best in the valley.
For Clovis it is RB/LB Josh Hokit. Josh is a big part of the offense with his running between the tackles which opens up the passing game. The linebackers have to keep an eye on Josh when Kuenzinger hands or fakes it to Hokit. On defense Josh plays in the middle and will make 20+ tackles. No 11 is always around the ball. Nash Vidmar is coming up with some huge runs in the playoffs running with the football.
The Pag Meter says
This game has so many twist and turns on both sides of the ball. Clovis playing at Lamonica is huge with the big crowd. What if this happens, what if that happens….Epic showdown!!
Liberty is a knockout team and that means they want to bury you early and step on your throat. Can Clovis avoid the knockout and keep it close heading into the 4th quarter?
For Clovis, they don’t have the killer instinct and they will get a lead and every team will hang around.
Besides playing at home, the Cougars have a big advantage and that is they know how to win the close games and in the playoffs that is huge. Liberty has steam rolled everybody and can the Patriots stay together if this game is close in the 4th quarter? Some teams will panic if they are in a close game. Stay tuned on that.
Jordan Jove plays like the Clovis West sophomore QB Adrian Martinez who can fly but Jordan is a senior and will make great decisions. Love can make every throw.
The Cougars kryptonite has alway been playing against a running quarterback.
I’m very interested to see how the Patriots defense comes out against the Cougars passing attack. If the Patriots can put pressure on Kuenzinger and stay with Wills and Velasquez then the Patriots will win their 1st valley championship!
If the Cougars defense can continue to play a great front 7 and slow down Love, then the Cougars win. Jordan Love has waited a year to get back to the big game and wants the ring!
The crowd will be huge for the Cougars. Players that played back in the day are expected to be at the game. The Cougars have one of the best alumni’s in the valley.
On paper, the Patriots have it all but something tells me that the Cougars will not be nervous playing in a close game and that could be the difference.
It’s amazing to me that the No1 Cougars is the big underdog and playing at home. For the Cougars to win is they have to be clicking with the passing game. Kuenzinger might have to throw it 35 plus times because it’s hard to run on Liberty and the Patriots secondary is untested.
Pag Meter Prediction (UPSET SPECIAL) Clovis 28 Liberty 27
DIVISION 2
No 2 Lemoore Tigers (10-2) at No 1 Ridgeview Wolf Pack (12-0)
Pag Meter Early line Ridgeview -19
Over/Under total points scored 59
Breaking news! Lemoore head coach Shannon Pulliam was suspended because he told a kid to spank a birthday boys butt on his birthday. Pulliam said Spank his ass. Pulliam then said just Kidding. Just kidding. That's the world we live in now!!
How they got to the section championship
Lemoore beat El Diamante 24-7 in the quarterfinals and beat Sanger 15-5 in the semifinals
Ridgeview beat West 54-35 in the quarterfinals and beat Sunnyside 56-16 in the semifinals
Last won a section championship
Lemoore last won a section title in 2005 and it was the Division 3 title beating the Yosemite Badgers 48-16.
The defending champions Ridgeview Wolf Pack has been in 5 straight section title games. Last year beating Dinuba 16-14. in 2012, they beat the Dinuba Emperors 55-12 in division 3.
The Scoop
The Wolf Pack comes in as a heavy favorite to win back to back titles.
The X Factor
It’s the Tigers offense. The Tigers defense is very good and playing tremendous so the offense has to play out of their minds to pull the shocker.
The Keys to the game
The Wolf Pack has so much talent and speed and they can score on offense, special teams as while as defense in a split second. Can the Tigers get thru the 1st half and keep it close? Ridgeview usually has the game over by the end of the 1st quarter. What happens if the Wolf Pack has to play in a close game?
The players to watch out for
For Lemoore it starts with QB Logan Ahlin who has thrown for 1,435 yards with 23 TD passes and he needs to get the ball to his playmakers of Allen Perryman, Reggie Davis and Trey Perryman. The Tigers are big upfront on both sides of the ball. The defense will need big games from Angel Solis, Noah Wright, Kelechi Ndoh, Rigoberto Carrillo and Christian Martinez.
For the Wolf Pack they have the speedster at QB Lawrence White who has thrown for 1,594 and 20 TD passes. White also has rushed for 508 yards and has scored 5 TD’s. RB Darius Smith is another speedster who has rushed for 1,553 and has scored 23 TD’s. Along with Smith, there is Jamar Moya and he has rushed for 640 yards and has scored 10 TD’s.
The Pag Meter says
The Tigers are a heavy underdog so they have to come in with a frickin attitude and take it to the Wolf Pack. Once they get off the bus, they should be ready for a hard hitting war and make a statement with their pads!! If the Tigers play scared then the Wolf Pack will run them right out of town and it will get ugly. This will be the best defense that the Wolf Pack has played this year and this will be the best offense that the Tigers have played. I have watched many game films of Ridgeview and most of the teams they play against are horrible defenses that don’t match up or the defense alignment is wrong. The Tigers can't miss tackles or can’t afford to punt one time and that means they need long drives and finish with points and can’t turn the ball over. Lemore has a very good defense and especially the front 7. When the Wolf Pack runs their zone read offense, the Tigers need to be in the back field and cause havoc.
The big question is can the Tigers defense win this game like they did against Sanger? The Apaches offense ran out of gas and the Wolf Pack offense is on a full tank of gas so don’t go by that semifinal game. Will this game be close or will it be a Ridgeview blowout? Stay tuned..
Pag Meter Prediction Ridgeview 40 Lemoore 21
DIVISION 3
No 2 Memorial Panthers (9-3) at No 1 Hanford Bullpups (11-1)
Pag Meter Early line Hanford -9
Over/Under total points scored 63
How they got to the section championship
Memorial beat South 27-21 in the quarterfinals and beat Tulare Western 35-26 in the semifinals
Hanford beat Kingsburg 42-7 in the quarterfinals and beat Golden Valley 42-14 in the semifinals
Both teams last won a section championship
Memorial won the division 4 title in 2003 beating the Dos Palos Broncos 41-14
Hanford won their 1st section championship in school history last year beating Madera 35-14
The Scoop
This is a very interesting matchup because they are both dangerous. Hanford has the better offense and Memorial has the better defense
The X Factor
Has to be Memorial and they can’t afford to get behind like they did in the last two playoff games. In the semifinals, SJM trailed 26-7 to Tulare Western before winning 35-26. That won’t cut it in Hanford. Memorial has yet to play great for 48 minutes. Still waiting...
The Keys to the game
Both teams will spread it out and use their athletes. The key will be how the Panthers defense matches up with the Bullpups speedy offense.
The players to watch out for
The Panthers have junior QB Michael Alvarez who has thrown for 2,268 yards with 17 TD passes and has rushed for 566 yards and has scored 9 TD’s. Red hot running back Joey Ruiz is peaking at the right time and has rushed for 1,177 yards and has scored 16 TD’s. WR Chris Paz has caught 51 passes for 973 yards and has scored 6 TD’s.
Hanford’s Ryan Johnson, Ju’Wuane Hughes, Cole Taber and Jonathan Stevens are looking to win their 4th section title rings. 2 in basketball and last year in football. 4 rings would shine at graduation and the 10 year reunion. Johnson has thrown for 2,288 yards with 25 TD passes. RB Jo Jo McDaniel has rushed for 1,654 yards and has scored 20 TD’s. The big key is WR Ju’Wuane Hughes is back after he missed time with a broken arm. Ju’Wuane opens up the offense and that is big for the running game.
The Pag Meter says
Both teams have very good junior quarterbacks that make both offenses go. Besides Lemoore, this will be the best defense that Hanford has seen. For SJM to win on the road, Joey Ruiz and the offensive line has to win the battle upfront.
The Panthers defense has to slow down the speed of Hanford and that’s not easy.
SJM played a much tougher schedule but SJM got smoked in the 3 tough games on the schedule. (Bullard, Edison and Sanger) Did they learn anything from it?
Hanford’s only loss was to Lemoore and the Tigers flat out beat them up by being physical.
Can SJM play that style of football against Hanford? This game has the makings of a shootout and SJM can’t win in a shootout.
The big 3 for each team will decide this game. It’s Alvarez, Ruiz and Paz vs Johnson, McDaniel and Hughes.
The Pag Meter’s big issue is Memorial has not played great yet for 48 minutes. If SJM plays well for 48 minutes, then it will be a great bus ride home.
The stadium should be packed so get there early.
Pag Meter Prediction Hanford 37 Memorial 28
DIVISION 4
No 4 Chowchilla Redskins (10-2) at No 3 Washington Union Panthers (9-3)
Pag Meter Early line Washington Union -2
Over/under total points scored 49
How they got to the Section Championship
Chowchilla beat Madera South in the quarterfinals 27-20 and beat Kerman 46-27 in the semifinals
Washington Union beat Selma 31-14 in the quarterfinals and beat Chavez 31-28 in the semifinals
Last won a section championship
Chowchilla last won the section title in 2008 beating the Kingsburg Vikings 20-0.
Washington Union last won it in 2011 beating the Wasco Tigers 55-12.
Washington Union also won the state championship in 2011 beating Campolindo 21-16.
The Scoop
This is the shotgun Wing T offense of Chowchilla vs the passing attack of Washington Union.
This is a rematch from week Oct 16 when WU beat Chowchilla 30-12.
The X Factor
Is the Redskins defense because if they can slow down the Union passing game, then they will win.
The other X factor is the Redskins hate throwing the ball and 80% of the time they don’t need to throw. The Panthers run defense is very good. What will happen if the Redskins have to throw the ball?
The Keys to the game
This Redskins team are a completely different team from when the Panthers beat them up on Oct 16. The Redskins are a very mental team and when they get way behind, they will pack it in. Chowchilla wing T was stuffed on Oct 16 and they had no plan B. Chowchilla had a 12-0 lead in the 1st quarter and WU took the game over in the last 3 quarters and Redskins RB Gutierrez was out.
This game is for everything and both teams will be drooling to hit somebody. The Panthers defense is very quick so can the Chowchilla offense work this time around?
The Players to watch out for
For Chowchilla, they have red hot RB Anthony Stewart who has scored 6 TD’s in the last 2 playoff games. Stewart has rushed for 1,494 and has scored 19 TD’s on the year. Stewart will return punts and kickoffs. The Redskins lost their best back Alex Gutierrez, to a broken arm 5 weeks ago and what a stud, he has the cast off and is playing again. Alex is the team's downhill runner that helps with the offense and teams now can’t just focus on Stewart.
The Panthers have one of the hottest quarterbacks going with Ashanti Ross who has thrown for 1,373 yards in 9 games with 14 TD’s. Junior RB Noah Beukers never comes off the field and is always around the ball.
The Pag Meter says
The strength for both teams is the Chowchilla Wing T shot gun running offense vs the Panthers outstanding run defense. Something has to give?
Can the Panthers slow down the Wing T and force the Redskins in 3rd and long?
Can the Redskins put pressure on QB Ross and slow down the speedy receivers?
The Pag Meter loves a team that can pound the ball on a cold playoff night.
The Redskins can’t afford to get a couple TD’s behind because they can’t pass the ball consistently. Chowchilla needs to work the clock and frustrate the Panthers.
Chowchilla’s head coach Mike Pittz’s wife Trish is going to hate the Pag Meter but I have to take the Redskins with a red hot offense and the difference could be Gutierrez.
The Pag Meter and Matt Johnson can’t wait to watch this big game!!
Pag Meter Prediction Chowchilla 27 Washington 24
DIVISION 5
No 7 Mendota Aztecs (9-4) vs No 1 Immanuel Eagles (9-2)
Pag Meter Early line Immanuel -13
Over/under total points scored 55
How they got to the section championship
Mendota beat Bishop 41-14 in the 1st round, beat Fowler 27-7 in the quarterfinals and beat Dos Palos 49-34 in the semifinals
Immanuel beat Caruthers 44-14 in the quarterfinals and beat Woodlake 42-7 in the semifinals
Last won a section championship
Mendota last won the section title in 2012 in division 6 beating Farmersville Aztecs 34-13
Immanuel won the division 4 championship in 2005 beating the Chowchilla Redskins 40-7
The Scoop
The Eagles head coach Matt Armstrong used to coach at Mendota and will coach against Beto Mejia.
The X Factor
Can the Aztec defense matchup with the larger Eagles?
The Keys to the game
Mendota is playing their best football heading in and has a fighter's chance but has to play out of their shoes for 48 minutes to win.
The players to watch out for
For Mendota it’s hot QB Junior Cardenas who has thrown for 2,533 passing yards with 29 TD’s. The receivers of Junior’s cousin Julian Cardenas, Fabian Jasso, and Luis Mojarro, and RB sophomore Erick Segura.
The Eagles have their own hot QB with Caleb Paulson, who has thrown for 2,286 yards with 33 TD passes and his favorite target is Chris Rosedale and running the defense is senior linebacker Cody King.
The Pag Meter says
As Yogi Berra used to say it’s like déjà vu all over again for Mendota.
Mendota played in the section championship game in 2013 and lost to the Liberty Hawks 31-9. The Hawks were much bigger than the Aztecs just like the Eagles are. The smaller Aztecs fought like hell and that was the last game for Erick’s older brother Edgar Segura.
The big difference in that game was the running of Edgar because Mendota didn’t put in the forward pass on offense until this year. Mendota never had to pass and when they did they were done!
Fast forward to 2015 and the Immanuel Eagles are compared to the Hawks. The Eagles are huge with so many big players transferring in. The only way the Aztecs can win is throw the ball and they sure can this year. The X factor is the Eagles offense going against the Mendota defense.
Pag Meter Prediction Immanuel 34 Mendota 20
DIVISION 6
No 2 Avenal Buccaneers (8-4) at No 1 Kennedy Thunderbirds (8-4)
Pag Meter Early line Kennedy -7
Over/under total points scored 57
How they got to the section championship
Avenal beat Mcfarland 72-6 in the quarterfinals and beat Sierra Pacific 35-21 in the semifinals
Kennedy beat Strathmore 40-28 in the quarterfinals and beat California City 49-18 in the semifinals
Last won a section championship
Avenal is looking for their 1st section title in school history.
Kennedy beat Avenal last year 41-20 for their 1st section title in school history.
The Scoop
This is the rematch from last year when the Thunderbirds rolled 41-20. Bucs head coach Charles Price is back coaching after Mike Crews resigned after three games. Price gets another crack at Kennedy!
The X Factor
Can the Bucs defense step up and slow down the Kennedy running game?
The Keys to the game
There is no secrets this year for the Buccaneers and I’m guessing this week the Bucs have watched last year’s game film a 100 times.
The players to watch out for
For the Bucs it’s running back Jordan Barrera along with QB Santiago Padilla, and WR’s of Manuel Alvarez and Felipe Padilla
For Kennedy it starts and ends with RB David Zepeda. He is a force.
The Pag Meter says
The Bucs have had one year to think about getting crushed in the section title game. What will change this year? Can the defense step up? Both teams are playing their best football!
This game could come down to the final minutes..
Pag Meter Prediction Kennedy 31 Avenal 24
CHAMPIONSHIP NIGHT
