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.

** 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.

The Pac-10 has landed another Kendricks, only this one to the south in Westwood.

Hoover senior running back/linebacker Eric Kendricks has made an oral commitment to UCLA, where he'll compete against his brother, Mychal, a sophomore linebacker at Cal.

"He's excited for me," said Eric, who was present at the Rose Bowl three weeks ago, when Mychal returned an interception 68 yards for a touchdown, sealing the Bears' 45-26 win over the Bruins.

Eric, a 6-1, 215-pounder who will play linebacker in college, said he was bring recruited by every Pac-10 team except for USC, in addition to Fresno State and Nevada. He has a 3.7 grade point average.

Central is frightening, vastly improved and with question marks. What that means for the postseason, who knows, although we'll learn a lot more after the No. 4 Grizzlies visit No. 1 Buchanan next week.

This is what we do know, and it's mostly impressive:

** A year after going 1-9 in coach Casey Quinn's first year, they are 6-2 and have outscored their opponents 336-166. Most of their scores against common opponents from a year ago have been reversed emphatically. Examples: a 48-13 loss to a 41-27 win against El Diamante; a 27-21 loss to a 73-7 win against Sunnyside; a 38-7 loss to a 24-3 win against Clovis West; a 56-14 loss to a 20-7 win against Clovis East. And, while losing both seasons to Edison, they reduced the margin from 70-27 to 25-17.

** The Edison-Bullard game next Friday at Chukchansi Park presents arguably the best matchup in the Central Section this season with Tigers defensive linemen Rykeem Yates and Wesley Flowers against Knights running backs Devan Mack and Jordan Jones. That's about 1,000 pounds of collision, with speed and athletic ability. Sort of what you'd expect to see on Saturdays. To bad it will be staged in a baseball venue.

** A key for Edison will be the condition of Tevin McDonald, the Tigers' safety and all-purpose offensive player. He played only the first half of their 43-7 win over Hoover before hobbling away for the night with a bad ankle. His father, Edison coach Tim McDonald, hopes he will be "90 to 95%" for Bullard.

** Head-turning score of Week 8: Washington 45, Chowchilla 26 in a game played at D-IV defending champion Chowchilla as Panthers QB Adam McCurley accounts for six

8:09 p.m: Pretty obvious Hoover running back Eric Kendricks won't have his way with Edison as he did last week against Clovis North when he rushed for 163 yards, caught two passes for 37 yards and scored five times in the Patriots' 37-19 win.

Kendricks has carried four times for 1 yard. Worse, he's been knocked out of the game on a flush hit by Tigers defensive lineman Rykeem Yates.

Max Schuh has completed 8 of 10 passes for 110 yards and two touchdowns as Edison has bolted to a 23-0 with 1:41 remaining in the first half.

7:44 p.m: Tevin McDonald started, and Edison has forced Hoover to a three-and-out on its first possession.

7:15 p.m: By the looks of pre-game warmups here at McLane Stadium, Edison all-purpose player Tevin McDonald is going to play against Hoover in this key County/Metro Athletic Conference game.

After spraining his ankle and not playing the final three quarters in a 21-19 upset loss against Sanger last week, he told me he wouldn't play tonight, but should be ready for the team's showdown against No. 2 Bullard next week.

Clovis West wrestler Zach Zimmer has signed with nationally ranked Indiana of the Big Ten Conference.

As a junior last season, The Bee All-Star went 53-6 and placed fourth in the state at 112 pounds. He then placed fifth in the Junior Nationals at 112.

He'll enter this season ranked 12th nationally at 119.

Lot of injuries to a lot of key players in the Fresno/Clovis area. Here are the biggies and their impact:

** Bullard quarterback Kerr Taubler (elbow staph infection): Coach Donnie Arax says he'll be back for next week's Edison game. Meanwhile, he'll be replaced tonight against Sanger by brother Ian Taubler, a 6-5, 210-pound sophomore who played quarterback for the JV last year. This means the Knights will increase emphasis on their running game, which is powerful and fast with Jordan Jones, Demetrius Warren and Devan Mack. But a 223-yard per-game passing game will pay severely. A loss tonight for No. 2 Bullard could, ultimately, mean a lower D-I playoff seed and a possible trip into Kern County, which is never good.

** Bullard wide receiver Jajuan Hamond (shoulder): There's depth here, but he's a

Red flags were raised last week at Bullard and Tulare, not that they necessarily mean anything.

Regarding Bullard, I wondered why the Knights were tied, 28-28, near halftime to a Reedley team that was beaten 46-0 by Edison a week previous. Bullard would win, 52-42, while playing without its best defensive player, linebacker Daniel Snelling, for disciplinary reasons.

At Tulare, I observed Porterville running back David Ali carry 19 times for 211 yards, including a 66-yard touchdown -- IN THE FIRST HALF! Yes, the Redskins won 56-21. And, yes, they, too, were playing without their best defensive player in the first half, linebacker Jacob Guerrero (bad ankle).