Apparently it’s not how you start that matters, but how you finish.
While the Porterville High football team disappointed with its first-half performance, the Panthers showed their all in the second half, turning a 15-6 halftime lead into a 40-12 victory over Wasco on Friday at Jamison Stadium.
In other action Friday, Lindsay High also picked up an impressive win over Arvin 35-14 at Frank Skadan Stadium, while Monache fell at Lemoore 41-15.
Jonathan Ruiz had a great night for the Panthers, scoring four touchdowns, catching three touchdown passes from quarterback Enrique Enriquez and returning a kickoff for a touchdown. “Jonathan Ruiz was able to make great plays for us,” PHS coach Keith Thompson said.
Ruiz caught a touchdown pass from Enriquez to give Porterville a 28-6 lead. After Wasco cut the deficit to 28-12, Ruiz scored a touchdown on the ensuing kickoff to give Porterville a 34-12 lead.
Dillan Williams scored a touchdown for the Panthers after a fumble to end the scoring drive. Mark Salinas also scored a touchdown for PHS.
“It was a slower start than we would have liked,” Thompson said of the first half. “I’m proud of how the guys responded in the second half. We kind of challenged them in the locker room (at halftime) and the guys responded.”
Thompson added that it was an impressive win against a team that finished runner-up last season. “They challenged us at the start of the game,” Thompson said.
Thompson also praised the play of Wasco running back Hammie Lopez. “They have a great running back,” he said.
LINDSAY 35, ARVIN 14
It was a successful start for new coach Marcus Alonzo, as the Cardinals took the lead in the second half after fighting to a 7-7 tie in the first half with Arvin, who was the No. 1 seed in last year’s Central Section Division VI playoffs and lost 28-21 to Strathmore in the semifinals.
In the second half, Julian Ceballos scored on a jet sweep, Juan Nunez scored on a touchdown run and Juan Arroyo scored on an interception for a touchdown, giving LHS a 28-7 lead.
After Arvin cut the deficit to 28-14, Nunez scored the final goal with his second touchdown run. “We came into the second half wanting to come away with a win,” Alonzo said.
Alonzo added that Jose Cortes had a great game running the ball. “He ran the ball really well,” Alonzo said.
LEMOORE 41, MONACHE 15
Lemoore showed why it was ranked 11th in the Central Section by the Fresno Bee, but Monache coach Aaron Berry wasn’t too discouraged by his team’s play. “The score was a lot worse than it should have been,” Berry said.
Monache led 8-7 after one quarter, but Lemoore outscored the Marauders 34-0 in the second quarter to take a 41-8 lead. Lemoore capitalized on three second-quarter turnovers to win the game.
Lemoore scored a touchdown on the game’s opening drive to take a 7-0 lead, but DJ Shimer ran down the sideline and converted the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown. “That was pretty exciting,” Berry said.
Quarterback Devin Rodriguez then scored a two-point conversion on the run, giving Monache an 8-7 lead.
But on the first snap of the second quarter, Monache lost the ball and Lemoore returned it for a touchdown. Monache then lost the ball on the next snap and Lemoore returned the ball again for a touchdown. “Their defense is pretty solid,” Berry said.
Shimer scored a long touchdown run in the second half to end the game. “I thought our team improved a lot,” Berry said. “We moved the ball really well in the second half.”
Berry added that Lemoore took advantage of his team’s mistakes and scored most of the points, and that his defense also played well. “I thought we played a great game defensively,” he said.
