Even as the rain poured down at kickoff, nothing could dampen the mood of Buchanan and Clovis West football players on Friday night.
“The rain was coming down and one of the kids said, ‘Hey, the rain isn’t going to stop us,’” said Buchanan head coach Matt Giordano. “They’ve waited and worked hard for so long. You could tell they were ready to play tonight.”
The Bears were ready from the opening kickoff, when senior Hayden Petersen weaved through his blockers on the way to an 89-yard kickoff return touchdown to start Buchanan’s season.
Buchanan never looked back, battling through wet conditions in the first half before pulling away in the third quarter to defeat Clovis West, 38-6 in the season opener for both teams.
The Bears’ defense played physical and almost pitched a shutout. They only allowed a 17-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Dayton Tafoya to Preston Kilbert on the game’s final play.
“Our physicality goes to our head coach,” said senior running back and linebacker Cade Uehling. “We rag on him because he works us so hard, Monday through Thursday, but without him, I don’t think we would be as physical as we are.”
Buchanan forced a three-and-out on Clovis West’s first offensive possession. Then the Bears handed the ball off to senior running back Caden Rodgers five times for 39 yards on the ensuing drive, before Uehling scored on a 20-yard touchdown run.
“We were running a power play, and Gavin Nelson pulled around the side and pancaked a dude,” Uehling said. “That was my first run and I took it to the crib.”
Buchanan took a 14-0 lead over Clovis West with 6:12 left in the first quarter. Neither team scored again for the rest of the first half as the ongoing rain led to a slippery field and football, limiting both offenses.
A blocked punt helped Clovis West start a second quarter drive at Buchanan’s 27-yard line. But two plays later, with the Golden Eagles at their 18-yard line, the Bears forced a fumble with senior safety Camryn Bracha recovering.
On its next possession, Clovis West set up to kick a 39-yard field goal, but Bracha delivered again by getting a hand on the ball. The kick fell short.
Clovis West entered the red zone one more time in the first half, reaching Buchanan’s 15-yard line with under two minutes to play.
But earlier in the game, Clovis West’s starting center Nickolas Herrera injured his ankle and left the game. The backup center sent a shotgun snap over the head of Tafoya, who corralled the ball back at the 41-yard line. The play resulted in a loss of 26 yards and forced Clovis West to punt.
“What I was really happy about was that we played good team defense tonight,” Giordano said. “We kept our poise. There were a couple times where Clovis West was driving, but we didn’t panic. We didn’t get on each other. We kept our poise and played solid team defense, and that’s what we’re going to need every week.”
In three consecutive drives, Clovis West went inside Buchanan’s 30-yard line and came away empty-handed.
“Losing Herrera early in the game impacted us quite a bit,” said Clovis West head coach Tim Randall. “We had a couple of other guys who got injured early on and that created some depth issues. That made a difference too.”
Turnovers plagued Clovis West for a second time when Tafoya fumbled on a scramble. Defensive lineman Cyrus Lo picked it up and ran it to the Golden Eagles’ 38-yard line.
Three plays later, Buchanan quarterback Jayden Mandal threw his first career touchdown — a 26-yard scoring strike to wide receiver Josiah Ayon to extend the Bears’ lead to 21-0.
On Buchanan’s next possession, Mandal slipped in the pocket, eluded a diving Clovis West defender and tossed a 16-yard touchdown pass to Uehling.
“What I was really impressed with was his escapability in the pocket,” Giordano said. “He’s faster than what people think and he’s a phenomenal athlete. He’s already playing baseball at a high level, so you know what he can do with his arm. But now you can watch what he does with his feet and that’s going to be fun to watch.”
Mandal’s second touchdown pass gave Buchanan a commanding 28-0 lead with 4:46 left in the third quarter.
Less than a minute later, Buchanan added another score when junior safety Jerry Rangel intercepted a Tafoya pass and ran it back 26 yards for a touchdown.
“I saw [Tafoya] drop back and I saw a little out [route] come right there,” Rangel said. “I saw a little floater and I just had to come get it.”
Buchanan added a field goal in the fourth quarter, capping an emphatic win to secure the Golden Spur trophy for the third straight season.
Up next for Buchanan (1-0) is a trip to Koligian Stadium to face perennial TRAC power Central (1-0), who is currently on a 22-game league winning streak.