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Real Name: Zach Ewing Address: 1707 Eye St. Bakersfield, CA 93301 Date of Birth: July 29, 1984 Member Since: December 19, 2007 Last Signed In: November 22, 2009 Profile Views: 3021 Blog Views: 134150 Week 11 (playoffs) running thread and scoreboard Week 11 (playoffs) HS football podcast (YAY!!!!! EDITION) Week 11 (playoffs) HS football podcast (FAIL EDITION) Week 11 (playoffs) HS football predictions Central Section football rankings, Week 11 (playoffs) Time to talk volleyball Week 10, most important things Football playoff seedings (UPDATED with predictions) Week 10 HS football running thread and scoreboard Week 10 HS football podcast December 07 January 08 February 08 March 08 April 08 May 08 June 08 July 08 August 08 September 08 October 08 November 08 December 08 January 09 February 09 March 09 April 09 May 09 June 09 July 09 August 09 September 09 October 09 November 09 
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Central Section football rankings, Week 7
I'm headed up to Wasco for some interviews on a story I'm working on for Friday in a few minutes, so I'll make this a bit brief. The biggest shake-up of the week comes from the northern part of the Central Section, where Fresno-Central got a breakthrough win for its program, 24-3 over defending Division I section champion Clovis West. Gives you one of those tied round-robin situations: Central beat Clovis West, which beat Fresno-Edison. But Edison beat Central. Down in Kern County, we have the same thing between Liberty, Stockdale and Bakersfield after the Mustangs' win against the Patriots this week. Centennial's in that jumble too. Maybe Frontier will go 10-0 and clear things up for us. But the way this year is going, I'd expect more confusion. 1. Fresno-Bullard (6-0, Division I, last week: 1) — Every team has a letdown at some point, but the Knights' came against Clovis West and they still won by a touchdown. I maintain that Bullard has been the most consistent, well-rounded team in the section, and I think that lead is being extended rather than threatened. 2. Clovis-Buchanan (6-0, Division I, last week: 2) — Keep in mind that Madera actually came into its game with the Bears at 4-1 when you consider that a supposedly pass-happy Buchanan offense finished with 286 yards passing, 284 rushing on Friday night. Looking forward to seeing what this team can do against a tough Clovis West D. 3. Tulare Union (6-0, Division II, last week: 4) — As the Redskins continue to pound competition not close to their level, I'm going on faith from last year's D-II championship that this team really is that good. But it can't help that when TU runs into Edison or Memorial or Frontier in the playoffs, they won't have played anyone near that good all year. Can it? 4. Stockdale (5-1, Division I, last week: 5) — I toyed with the idea of putting the Mustangs ahead of Tulare Union for that No. 3 spot, but I backed off. The loss to Bakersfield still bothers me a little bit because I'm not sure how well Stockdale will respond to great offenses. The D has appeared to turn a corner, though, and if the wins continue, I think I'll have to relent and push Stockdale ahead of TU. 5. Fresno-Central (4-2, Division I, last week: 10) — The only way these rankings make sense to me is if the Grizzlies get the nod on the round-robin conundrum. Yes, they lost to Edison, but that was a close game, and yes, they lost out of section to Paso Robles, but there's not much shame in that and that was out of section anyway. The whooping they put on Clovis West, however, speaks triple-digit decibels. They'll have to be consistent to stay here, though. 6. Bakersfield (4-2, Division I, last week: 7) — The second half of the win at Garces might show exactly what the Drillers are capable of when they put everything together. Expect a quartet of blowouts now as they rest up for the playoffs. 7. Clovis West (2-4, Division I, last week: 3) — I know the record is ugly, and Edison is a quality team, but I'm all about what teams have done lately. That's why the Golden Eagles fall to seventh, but not below the Tigers, whom CW dominated in the second half just two weeks ago. But the road continues to stay tough. 8. Fresno-Edison (4-2, Division II, last week: 8) — Edison exposed previously unbeaten Reedley and rebounded nicely from the loss to Clovis West the week before. The County-Metro Athletic Conference, by the way, looked mighty good in the non-league season and is, at least at the top, every bit as good as the Tri-River Athletic Conference. 9. Liberty (3-3, Division I, last week: 6) — No need to count the Patriots out — not with close losses to Clovis West and Centennial and a win against Bakersfield on the resume — but Liberty didn't look like it was at Stockdale's level Friday night. Offense continues to be a problem, so key in on any improvement there as the schedule lightens. 10. Fresno-San Joaquin Memorial (5-1, Division II, last week: 9) — The Division II playoffs are shaping up to be nearly as good — and probably more wide-open — than the Division I bracket. Memorial is an intriguing wild card: The Panthers don't have a really tough schedule, but when they have played good teams, the results have been great. A 41-17 beatdown of Oakhurst-Yosemite, a 20-0 win against Garces, a 15-12 win against Fresno-Hoover, and a 28-21 loss to Buchanan. The D is for real. 11. Centennial (4-2, Division I, last week: 11) — Speaking of wild cards, remember that the Golden Hawks have a manageable schedule and a perfectly good enough running game — enter Myren Moore and his 200 yards last week — to get through the next few weeks without Cody Kessler. Then comes a test against Frontier with potentially a huge amount of league and seeding impact on the line for both teams. 12. Frontier (6-0, Division II, last week: 12) — I've seen a couple of other sets of rankings around the section, and some don't have the Titans mentioned, others not until a few spots later than this. And I'm sitting here trying to figure out how to get them higher. People around the Valley might not have noticed, but Rich Cornford has this team rolling right now. And it won't stop for at least two weeks. 13. Kingsburg (6-0, Division IV, last week: 14) — A key win against Division III Dinuba that will go a long way towards a Central Sequoia League title (or at least a Week 9 showdown with Exeter) gives the Vikings a bump at the expense of El Diamante. This team, by the way, is in the state's Division II for bowls — and still gets CalHiSports' mention as a top-10 contender in that bracket. 14. Visalia-El Diamante (5-1, Division II, last week: 13) — The Miners keep winning, and I keep sliding them down the rankings. Just correcting myself for starting too high, I think; it's clear that this team doesn't quite have the firepower of last year's. 15. Tehachapi (5-1, Division III, last week: 15) — I'm not sure which, but the Warriors either made a bunch of mistakes or took it awfully easy on Shafter last week. They had 412 rushing yards and yet only won 28-0 — and one of the touchdowns was a fourth-quarter fumble recovery in the end zone. Either way, this still is the SSL's force to be reckoned with. Taft against Wasco this week is only for rights to be the main challenger. Dropped out: none 8 comments from 7 users
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posted by
Patrick319
on Oct 20, 2009 at 04:36 PM
Frontier is the real X factor in the SWYL and in these rankings. Personally, I believe that they should have made their DEBUT higher. But what I'm noticing is that once a team debuts on the top 15, they can move down and off the list with a sudden loss, but have to 'beat the man, to BE the man'. Although I believe in all fairness, they are BETTER than #12, until they BEAT someone that's 1 through 11, they aint going ANYWHERE in the rankings. Weeks 9 and 10 will confirm if my gut feeling about the Titans is true: that they are on par with any D-I team and can compete with Tulare Union and Edison in the playoffs. posted by
DTFan
on Oct 20, 2009 at 05:14 PM
Its funny Zach how you give absolutely no respect to Delano. The team loses one game to a team thats not that bad and Delano is considered a dissapointment? Maybe you should come to one of the games to see players in action before you pass judgement. Delano has the best chance and is THE MAIN threat to knock off an unbeaten Tulare Union team. If this happens, will you give them the respect they deserve? I highly doubt it, but we'll see... posted by
zewing
on Oct 20, 2009 at 05:36 PM
I wouldn't say a team can't move up without teams above it losing — Frontier moved from 14 to 12 without either Kingsburg or El Diamante losing. But I don't see fit at this point to drop any of the other teams above the Titans. If they get to 9-0 or 10-0, you'd better believe they'd be moving up. As for Delano: I have not seen the Tigers, but I haven't seen many of the teams on this list. I'm going off of what I hear, what I see when I do watch teams and on results. So no, it's not going to be perfect. Nothing against Delano, but at this point, its results don't measure up, simple and true. The Tigers have lost to the only team with a winning record they've played, and that team, Porterville, lost handily to Taft and Wasco, which are teams I don't even have in the top 15 at this point. Hence, Delano isn't that close to a top-15 spot. A win over Tulare Union would absolutely change things, but at this point, would you favor the Tigers in a game against Tehachapi? Frontier? El Diamante? posted by
DTFan
on Oct 20, 2009 at 05:43 PM
You've made many good points Zach, but you are leaving something out...You said that you are going off of what you hear but have not seen Delano in action. Make a trip out to Delano and watch them play before you pass judgement. Then can you back up what you say and not go off of hear say. posted by
timmyg
on Oct 20, 2009 at 07:59 PM
zack, coach denman will not run the score up on anyone. he is respectful of the other teams and only play's the starters for a quarter or two.believe me, our pactices were harded than most of our compition including playoffs. class act, warrior proud posted by
pin4win
on Oct 20, 2009 at 10:05 PM
Wow Zach, come on and give Delano a spot in the top 10 already PLEASE! DT Fan sounds pretty desperate for you to show some respect to his team man. Ok, why don't you just go out there, watch them play, come back and tell us exactly what we already know: Delano has a ton of heart with some great kids (as does every school) but are no where near the likes of any team in your rankings. Perhaps if you SEE it instead of going by what the stats and results have already given you, DT Fan will give YOU some respect for the reporting you do. I have seen them play, and to be honest, I think teams like Foothill, East, and Golden Valley out of the SEYL would beat them. Reason Being the level of competetion. While Delano gets TU once a year, the teams I mention get BHS, Liberty, and Garces to go along with the rest of their schedule. Look DT, Im not trying to bust your nut here, but the facts are the facts. Zach does not need to see your team to make rankings but you should feel lucky that he has your team in the "waiting" category. Perhaps you are letting your personal feelings get in the way of reality? Zach, keep up the good work. posted by
footballfan
on Oct 21, 2009 at 11:57 AM
I agree with Pin4Win, Delano has been playing really good but hasn’t really beaten anyone with a good record. They lost to a pretty good Porterville team. I’ve seen TU play and they are a great team. They have a good Defense and a great offense. I believe Delano has just been playing better than what they actually are. Nothing against Delano but they lost to a decent Porterville defense; however their defense did manage to stop Monache. Zach I know week 10 there are a lot of rival games but it would be great if you travel down to Delano for the match up between the Tigers and the Titans in their annual Golden T Bowl. Let’s see if Delano can move the ball on Chavez great defense or if Chavez gets their offense clicking by then to move the ball against Delano’s defense.
posted by
jfrancais
on Oct 21, 2009 at 12:16 PM
Just keep winning, Delano. That's all you can do to change the perception.
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