UPDATED, 12:36 a.m.: Week 4 turned into a huge statement night for several teams around town. Let's get straight to the nitty-gritty.

Liberty 27, Bakersfield 20: Don't forget about the Patriots just yet, folks. Their offense was all but written off after three poor weeks, but what we forgot is that this team was learning a new offense. The team I saw in Week 0 had no hope of consistently moving the ball, but Liberty was able to do that tonight, and that's a sure sign of progress. Of course, it was the defense, that old stalwart, that came through in the end with a big fumble recovery for the touchdown to ice it. This win means an inside track to the SEYL title for Liberty and probably is the program's biggest win in four or five years.

Stockdale 49, Centennial 20: This Stockdale team looked fantastic. Like, best team in the county, maybe best team in the section fantastic. Don't know if they can keep it up every week, but if the Mustangs play like this, they'll be a tough out for anyone in the playoffs. They ran the ball well. They got Centennial guessing, and then they passed the ball well. They flew to the ball on defense. They've got some of the best kickers in the county and they don't make many mistakes.
These results tonight do raise an interesting point that we'll talk more about later, but here's what I'm thinking: All four Division I teams in town have at least one loss, and the two big games they played against Clovis schools were losses. That means that come playoff time, everybody's traveling, just like last year.

West 42, Ridgeview 35: A back-and-forth game that might have been the best of the evening, this one turned the Vikings' way late with two short touchdown drives. It gives West a leg up in the SWYL race, obviously, but it also knocks the Wolf Pack down a notch. We'll see how they regroup. West, meanwhile, gets Frontier next week in what's turned into a surprisingly big game.

East 20, Highland 0: How bout them Blades? Their first league win since the Andre Smith days comes courtesy of the defense. Highland was stifled five — count em — times inside the East 20 and came away without points. That's super-frustrating for the Scots, but it's gotta feel great for the Blades. Congrats.

Garces 49, Golden Valley 0: So much for the David Fanucchi saga being a distraction. That is all, except that I found it funny that the Diocese extended its gag order to the football field, where players were permitted only to talk about the game, not about their feelings on their soon to be outgoing coach.

South 48, Foothill 28, and Delano 36, Visalia-Golden West 22: OK, Delano fans, I got it. You think your team deserves some credit. And it does, to be sure, as does South. Both teams got to 4-0 tonight. But I'm not going to be sold on either team until the schedule stiffens a little bit. The Rebels' opponents have a combined record of 3-14, and for Delano, it's 4-13. South we'll find a lot out about next week when it plays Stockdale. Delano? Maybe Week 6 against Porterville, definitely Week 8 against Tulare Union but it doesn't look like the Tigers will lose for a while. The howls for respect will continue.

UPDATED, 10:42 p.m.: 49-20 Stockdale the final here after Centennial scores on the game's final play. Huge night for the Mustangs.
Liberty comes up with a huge night as well, hanging on to beat Bakersfield 27-20.  Also big wins for East, 20-0 over Highland. Ridgeview was tied 35-35 with West with 6:47 to play at last update. I'll be back tonight late with a final scorelist and some thoughts.

UPDATED, 9:50 p.m.: Ridgeview has come back on West and now leads that game 35-28 late in the third quarter.
Here, Stockdale's running game is busy running out the clock in a hurry. The Mustangs have had a really balanced night, with offense, defense, special teams and even the passing game getting in on the act. We just went under the five-minute mark. I'll update the final in a bit, but I'm going down to the field for some interviews. Also have BHS-Liberty and West-Ridgeview finals as soon as possible.

UPDATED, 9:42 p.m.: Call that one the double juggular, courtesy of Stockdale's Kyle Desimone. First he caught a short swing pass from Efren Venegas and took it 35 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter. Then, after an extra point and a touchback on the kickoff, Desimone jumped a crossing route, intercepted Cody Kessler and took THAT one back 42 yards for a touchdown. In less than 30 seconds, that's two TDs and a 42-14 lead for Stockdale.
The bigger news, perhaps, is at Liberty, where BHS blocked a Patriots punt and gave themselves good field position, but then fumbled and let the Pats take it back for a touchdown. A commanding 27-17 lead for Liberty now with about six minutes to go. All this is going to really hurt Kern County come playoff seeding time, but that's a discussion for later. Right now, it's Stockdale's and Liberty's night.

UPDATED, 9:31 p.m.: Stockdale didn't get the long drive, but it did get another Centennial turnover. Myren Moore was making some nice moves along the sideline after a reception from Kessler, but he forgot the ball. Stockdale recovered and now has it inside the Centennial 40 as the third quarter comes to an end. Going for the juggular now.

UPDATED, 9:25 p.m.: Perhaps the play of the game made by Isaiah Turner on fourth-and-goal for Centennial from the Stockdale 2. Turner burst through the line and tripped up Myren Moore before he could even get his momentum going forward. Turnover on downs, and Stockdale takes over at its own 8 again. Another long drive and this one will be all over but the shouting.
Up at Liberty, the home team leads 20-17 in the third.

UPDATED, 9:13 p.m.: What an opening drive for Stockdale in the second half. A penalty on the kickoff pushed the Mustangs back to their own 8, and they methodically pushed the ball out towards midfield. Then, faced with fourth-and-1, Malik Henderson burst through the line for a 52-yard gain down to the 1. He scored on the next play to make it 28-14 Stockdale. Meanwhile, West has scored three times in the final four minutes at Ridgeview to take a 28-21 lead at halftime.

UPDATED, 8:57 p.m.: First off, a surprise going on at Liberty, where the Patriots have a 14-10 lead at halftime. Don't have many details, but I'll try to update again as the second half goes on. Also at the half, it's East 7-0 over Highland, Corcoran 21-14 over Wasco and Frontier 28-0 over North. West has fought back and is even with Ridgeview, 21-21, just before halftime.
Here, it's 21-14 Stockdale and a very even statistical battle. Centennial leads total yardage 267-246. Individual leaders for the Hawks: Cody Kessler 15-of-23 passing for 182 yards and no TDs, one INT; Myren Moore 11 carries for 75 yards and a TD. For the Mustangs: Malik Henderson 8 carries, 95 yards, TD; Spenser Prince 6-18 on the ground and a TD catch for 80 yards; Efren Venegas 4-of-7 through the air for 97 yards and a TD. Both teams have missed a field goal. Really, the difference in this one is an early muffed punt from Centennial that led to Stockdale's first score. Gonna be a doozy of a second half. Stay tuned.

UPDATED, 8:43 p.m.: Very impressive two-minute drive by a run-first offense there, with Efren Venegas showing off his arm a couple of times. It's no Cody Kessler gun, but it's effective when the defense has eight or nine guys in the box. The drive gets Stockdale down to the Centennial 17, but Tyler Schleicher's 35-yard field goal, while it had plenty of leg, went wide right with 11 seconds left in the half. The score stays 21-14 at halftime.
Meanwhile, South looks like it's struggling with Foothill, but the Rebels have recovered to take a 13-7 lead just before halftime. East has a surprising 7-0 lead at Highland, could be the Blades' first win in more than a year. And Garces is doing just fine with David Fanucchi still at the helm, thank you very much. The Rams are putting a 30-0 welt on Golden Valley at halftime. No update from BHS-Liberty yet, but I'll work on that plus some stats here at halftime.

UPDATED, 8:35 p.m.: Things slow down for a while here, but Centennial just completed a crisp 75-yard drive to cut Stockdale's lead in half with 1:48 to go before halftime. Stockdale's only got one timeout left, so you'd think the Hawks could keep it at 21-14 going into the half. It's crucial that they do, because Stockdale gets the ball first in the second half.

UPDATED, 8:12 p.m.: And the defense makes itself be known at Mustang Field. Hank Hobson just laid a slobberknocker of a hit on a Centennial receiver to force a fourth down. Cole Hallum came on to try a 40-yard field goal and missed it barely wide right. So Stockdale takes over, still 14-7.
And before I can even post that update, Efren Venegas shows that the Mustangs can pass if you're not careful, too. He hits Spenser Prince across the middle, wide open. And Prince can MOVE. He outruns the Centennial secondary all the way 80 yards for a score to make it 21-7. Gonna be interesting now, because you'd think Stockdale would start trying to milk clock if they can get this lead a little deeper into the game.

UPDATED, 8:01 p.m.: Boom. Answered. After squeaking out a couple of first downs, the Mustangs hit the big play, with Malik Henderson busting up the gut for a 60-yard TD run to make it 14-7, 1:03 left in the first quarter. Meanwhile, it's 14-7 Ridgeview over West in the first. All scores below.

UPDATED, 7:56 p.m.: I'm running out of breath trying to keep stats with Centennial's hyper-active no-huddle offense. Cody Kessler dug the Hawks out of a hole with a 26-yard completion on third down to Matt Castellano and then finished the drive several plays later with a 2-yard sneak up the middle to tie the game at 7. About three and a half minutes to go, first quarter, and we've got the shootout we thought we'd get so far.

UPDATED, 7:44 p.m.: So my first update is that the officials are using pink penalty flags for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Then the first flag came out yellow. So who knows.
Anyway, a stuffed run and a penalty force Centennial three-and-out on their first possession. Now Stockdale's vaunted Wing-T. And they come out passing. An incompletion, but who would have thought that.
Anyway, Stockdale goes three-and-out as well, but the Hawks muff the ensuing punt and give it right back. Now the Mustangs have it at the Centennial 23. And Stockdale capitalizes with three straight runs, the last a 10-yard scamper over left tackle from Nic Shannon. Just like that, the turnover costs Centennial and it's 7-0.

UPDATED, 7:30 p.m.: Sitting here on a gorgeous night at jam-packed Mustang Stadium, where Centennial and Stockdale are set to kick it off in about six minutes.
We should have quite a shootout here, if things go according to plan for both offenses, who have moved the ball well in their first three games (with the exception of Centennial's gutsy 10-6 win against Liberty. Both teams could really make a statement with a win, too, but I think that's especially true for Centennial, which would be 4-0 with a visit from Bakersfield possibly the only obstacle between it and a 10-0 season. But this is a big one tonight to get through. Stockdale won the JV game 41-21, if you're interested. Varsity kickoff coming up.

ORIGINAL POST: It's a beautiful Friday morning — first one we've had since the season started, if you say it's can't be beautiful and miserably hot at the same time. It might actually feel like football weather tonight.

If you missed it, I posted the Week 4 podcast late last night, so check it out to gear yourself up for tonight's games. Also feel free to make fun of my Week 4 predictions. There are two big games tonight, Centennial at Stockdale and Bakersfield at Liberty, but nearly every team in town begins league play, so meaningful matchups abound. Check back here often for updates tonight; I'll be live-blogging the Centennial-Stockdale game, but I'll have tabs on BHS-Liberty, West-Ridgeview, Garces-Golden Valley and as many other games as I can throughout the night.

Meanwhile, in the college game, there's a bit of news surrounding the Fresno State/Kern County Bulldogs. West High's Ryan Mathews, as many probably know, still leads the nation with 592 rushing yads. What you might not know is that there's been talk about Bakersfield Christian grad Derek Carr getting another shot at the starting quarterback job. The Bulldogs are 1-3, and though they've been very good offensively, one weakness has been starting QB Ryan Colburn's seven interceptions. Coach Pat Hill says in this story, though, that right now Colburn still is the man. But Carr is getting more reps in practice. Fresno State plays at Hawaii next Saturday, then returns home Oct. 17. Stay tuned.

Back on the high school field, here's tonight's schedule. This will morph into a scorelist when the games start tonight, so keep your mouse on that refresh button.

(Central Section ranking in parentheses; games start at 7:30 p.m. unless noted)

Kern County scoreboard
(12) Liberty 27, (4) Bakersfield 20
(5) Tulare Union 58, Chavez 0
(6) Stockdale 49, (8) Centennial 20
(14) Frontier 40, North 0
Wes 42, Ridgeview 35
Garces 49, Golden Valley 0
East 20, Highland 0
South 48, Foothill 28
Wasco 35, Corcoran 28
Delano 36, Visalia-Golden West 22
Independence 41, Kennedy 14 (at Chavez)
Woodlake 26, Shafter 7
Burroughs 26, Arvin 0
McFarland 31, Cambria-Coast Union 7
Boron 40, Desert 14
Frazier Mountain 41, Simi Valley-Grace Brethren 32
Mojave 26, California City 0
Acton-Vasquez 27, Rosamond 6
Lighthouse Christian 49, Visalia Christian 8
Immanuel Christian 52, New Cuyama-Cuyama Valley 50
Granada Hills-Hillcrest Christian 40, Maricopa 14 (Saturday)

Other Central Section scores
(1) Fresno-Bullard 28, (3) Clovis West 21
(2) Clovis-Buchanan 22, (7) Fresno-Edison 12
(9) Fresno-San Joaquin Memorial 15, (15) Fresno-Hoover 12
(10) Fresno-Central 73, Fresno-Sunnyside 7
(11) Kingsburg 63, Reedley-Immanuel 14
(13) Visalia-El Diamante 41, Visalia-Mt. Whitney 20
Clovis North 61, Tulare-Mission Oak 7 (Thursday)
Clovis East 42, Modesto-Davis 0
Chowchilla 30, Oakhurst-Yosemite 22
Fowler 22, Lindsay 21
Dos Palos 27, Tollhouse-Sierra 10
Exeter 21, Dinuba 17
Madera 14, Madera South 13
Clovis 21, Sanger 12
Reedley 34, Fresno-McLane 6
Lemoore 41, Hanford West 20
Visalia-Redwood 28, Hanford 21
Porterville-Monache 48, Porterville-Granite Hills 14
Porterville 27, Tulare Western 11
Laton 51, Avenal 22
Madera Ranchos-Liberty 10, Kerman 0
Temecula-Linfield Christian 33, SLO-Mission Prep 13
Fresno-Washington Union 54, Selma 34
Coalinga-Faith Christian 49, Alpaugh 14
Caruthers 41, Firebaugh 26
Visalia-Central Valley Christian 18, Coalinga 15
Fresno Christian 40, Lemoore-Kings Christian 6
Mendota 26, Parlier 16
Farmersville 37, Orosi 6
Tranquillity 27, Riverdale 20
Orange Cove 28, Strathmore 24
Riverdale Christian 71, Madera-Lighthouse Academy 0 (Saturday)