** Most striking of Week 9 results is the obvious -- D-II strength similar to D-I. Friday, we had D-II Frontier lose 17-15 to D-I Stockdale, ranked No. 3 in the Central Section; and D-II Edison lose 17-14 in double OT to D-I Bullard, which is No. 2. And, oh, not to forget, four weeks ago, D-II Memorial's 28-21 loss to D-I and No. 1 Buchanan in a game that closed with Memorial on the Bears' 1-yard line.
** Bullard has played down the recent loss of WR Jajuan Hammond (shoulder) while emphasizing its depth at the position. But it was Hammond who caught TD passes of 79 and 45 yards last year in the Knights' 17-14 win over Edison. And it was Hammond who was clearly missed Friday in the identical score as Bullard had no one at wide out who could beat the Tigers' secondary.
Four local cage fighters opened the evening with victories in the MMA Strikeforce Challenger Friday at the Save Mart Center.
Fresno's Casey Olson (11-3) scored a first-round TKO in 2:33 over Sacramento's Chris Culley (4-6) at 145 pounds; Clovis High teacher Ben Holsher (4-0) stayed perfect at 155 pounds with a 30-27 unanimous decision against Johnny Goh (1-3) of Sacramento; Fresno's Cole Escovido (14-4) took out Long Beach's Maurice Eazel (7-11) with a TKO at 1:47 of the first round at 135 pounds; and Madera's Zoila Frausto (4-0) pulled out a 30-27 unanimous decision over Elisha Helsper (0-2) of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, in a 135-pound women's match.
11:05 p.m: Bullard sophomore Sean Kuehter, after missing a 31-yarder in the first OT, drills a 30-yarder in the second OT to win the epic battle of County/Metro Athletic Conference rivals.
10 p.m: We're going OT, tied at 14.
8:58 p.m: What a horrible venue to watch such an important game -- fans on same side of field and far away from the action. And the field doesn't look like it's been lined in 2 months. Bullard leads 7-0 in the third quarter on a 37-yard interception return for a touchdown by Chris Tate.
8:18 p.m: A year after Bullard defeated Edison 17-14 in a game the Tigers turned the ball over six times, it figured to be even more defensive this time -- and it has been.
It's scoreless at halftime. Edison has thrown an interception and fumbled; Bullard has thrown two interceptions and had a punt blocked.
Emptying the notebook on the Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame ceremony held Thursday at the Fresno Convention Center.
Boyd Grant, the legend from the Rocky Mountains who showed that Fresno State could compete at the highest level in college basketball, was typical Boyd Grant hours before his 1983 NIT championship team was inducted.
I asked him how his health was at age 76 and, with a twinkle in his eye, said: I had something a while back \[pointing to his head\] and went to the emergency room. They told me I was two ugly to die. So here I am."
Fred Litzenberger, an assistant on Grant's 1983 NIT champions, is in his third season as
** Sophomore quarterback Ian Hall has rebroken his collarbone and will be lost for the season for Clovis West. That means Connor Buss keeps the ball to the wire, and coach Coby Lindsey -- like an Optimist Club president -- believes the 3-5 Golden Eagles can win their last six straight. That would mean their final two in the TRAC and then four in the playoffs for a second-straight D-I title. They will need major improvement by Buss in the passing game to have a shot. Tonight, it won't matter against Madera.
** Wide receiver Jajuan Hammond (shoulder), out for No. 2 Bullard's CMAC showdown against No. 10 Edison, caught touchdown passes of 79 and 45 yards in the Knights' 17-14 win over the Tigers last year. Bullard does have depth at the position, featuring David Rische, a two-way player who intercepted three passes in last season's game.
So I've been doing some research on running backs. As we all know, Fresno State running back Ryan Mathews is leading Division I in yards rushing. It's not even close, actually. Here are your updated totals through Week 9* ...
1. Ryan Mathews, Fresno State...........1,316
2. Ben Tate, Auburn..........................1,067
*3. Bernard Pierce, Temple..................1,033
4. Darius Marshall, Marshall.................1,032
5. Dion Lewis, Pittsburgh.....................1,029
6. Mark Ingram, Alabama.....................1,004
7. Anthony Dixon, Mississippi State.........1,001
8. Toby Gerhart, Stanford......................994
*9. Ryan Williams, Virginia Tech...............930
10. Joe Webb, UAB..............................983
*Bernard Pierce and Ryan Williams have already played Week 10, and both had great games, but I'm leaving those stats out since no one else has played yet.
Robb Akey's radio show Thursday night was a mini pep rally.
The Idaho coach cracked jokes, gave his thoughts on his team and the Fresno State team, and rallied the crowd of at least 50 inside the Best Western conference room just down the hill from the Vandals' Kibbie Dome.
Fans laughed (a few wildly at times), clapped as the show came back from break and blew horns as it went to commercial.
It was the best crowd of the season, which has been a resurgent one for the Vandals, who have gone from a 2-10 record in 2008 to 7-2 thus far this season. (Read BJ Anteola's story about the Vandal turn around in today's paper.)
Tranquillity principal Jeremy Nichols, in an attempt to reverse eroding relations between the Tigers and rival Mendota, has arranged a dinner tonight that will bring together the junior varsity and varsity football teams, in addition to cheerleaders, at his school's cafeteria.
"In the past," Nichols says, "there has always been a rivalry between these two schools, and in recent years, there have been numerous activities that have crossed the line. . . "
It would be unfair to equate the Bullard-Edison football rivalry with this a day before they will play at Chukchansi Park. But it is accurate to say a volley of harsh words among administrators, coaches and players following their game last year at McLane was embarrassing for the Fresno Unified School District. So maybe they should be taking
It was nice to see Greg Smith back on the basketball court in Fresno last night.
The 6-foot-10 Fresno State freshman out of Edison High had no trouble fitting into a team that likes to run and gun. Twice he beat his Fresno Pacific defender downcourt for dunks, wasn't shy about catching and shooting and played some solid defense.
Coach Steve Cleveland said afterward that Smith (12 points, 3 rebounds, 1 block) has a bright a future here.
Mychal Ladd's 22 points on 8 of 12 shooting (5 for 6 behind the arc) broke open the 78-67 win early. Of course, the Bulldogs can't rely on that kind of shooting every game, but it he got open and hit shots, a credit to his teammates getting the ball in the hot hand.
The NCAA just won't stay off Emma Andrews' back.
Fresno State's junior guard had to sit out last season and the first three games this season as NCAA penalty for playing just a few minutes in an Australian professional league while she was in high school.
So, why didn't Andrews suit up for the Bulldogs' exhibition against Fresno Pacific last night? Coach Adrian Wiggins is wondering the same thing.
A bewildered Wiggins said Andrews couldn't play until the Dec. 22 home opener against St. Mary's -- the fourth game of the season.
