Central can surely put up some points, as evidenced by their 42 points per game average, and when they combine that potent offense with a fiery defense, look out, they morph into the most devastating team in the Central Section.
And Clovis West, unfortunately, found out the hard way at Lamonica Stadium in a matchup of league undefeateds as Central used three rushing touchdowns from Diotry Brewer, the steady play of quarterback Trent Tompkins and that stifling defense, as the Grizzlies (8-1, 4-0) took down a high flying Golden Eagles (7-2, 3-1) team 40-13 to take control of not only a league championship but the No. 1 seed in the D-1 Central Section playoffs.
“I’m quite happy with the team that showed up today,” said Central head coach Kyle Biggs, praising defensive coordinator Shawn Garrett for preparing the defense. “The defense played extremely well, they did their job. The linebackers blitzed, the defensive line occupied blockers, and our guys wrapped up their guys in the open field.”
The Clovis West offense struggled mightily against a vaunted Grizzly defense, and they put pressure on quarterback Dante Chachere by sacking him five times and forcing him out of the pocket. Chachere entered the game with over 2,000 passing yards and 18 touchdowns, however, he finished the night completing 25-43 for 188.
Central also recovered two fumbles, holding a Golden Eagles offense in check that came in averaging 37 points per game on the season. In fact, they hadn’t been held to under 30 points all year.
In addition, Clovis West was stuffed on the ground for 12 yards on 10 carries.
“That kid (Chachere) a phenomenal quarterback, he’s pretty special,” said Biggs, who played quarterback plenty of times at Lamonica Stadium for Clovis, including leading the Cougars to the 1997 Yosemite Division title as a No. 10 seed. “To get him out of his rhythm that was important to us. When he gets back there and fires it he’s tough to stop.”
Brewer, a 6’1”, 205 pound senior, scored touchdowns on runs of 3 and 29 yards in the first half, propelling Central to a 20-0 lead. He would also score on a 1-yard plunge in the third quarter.
And Tompkins, the wunderkind junior quarterback, calmly eluded defenders all night and hit receivers in stride in throwing for 303 yards on 19 of 26 passing including TD passes of 14 yards to Manuel Oliver-Davis in the second quarter and Jacob Torrez for 80 yards on the first play from scrimmage of the second half, a play in which Torrez lost his shoe at the 40-yard line.
Tompkins, who currently holds an offer from Nevada, would add a 10-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to make the game 33-0.
Central beat Clovis West twice last season, including a 34-28 overtime thriller in the D-1 Central Section semifinals.
“I don’t think we have their number, they give us a tough game every time,” said Tompkins of Clovis West.
Adding to the excitement of the game, along with it being senior night for Clovis West, was the presence of Fresno State head football coach Jeff Tedford on the sidelines, no doubt scouting the immense talent on the field.
Clovis West scored their two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, both by senior Rodney Wright III, on a 1-yard run and a 16-yard reception on the game’s final play.
A big loss on defense for Clovis West was linebacker D.J. Schramm; the Boise State commit is lost for the season after undergoing shoulder surgery last week.
Central can wrap up a second straight undefeated TRAC title next Friday against winless Clovis East.
Meanwhile, Clovis West takes on Clovis in the final regular season game, always the final game of league.