Football: Porterville hosts Mt. Whitney; Granite Hills plays Strathmore
A test against a powerhouse and a budding rivalry highlights the opening week to the high school football season for Orange Belt teams.
Three Orange Belt teams will be in action this week as Porterville High will be tested right off the bat against perennial power Mt. Whitney when it hosts the Panthers at 7:30 p.m. today at Rankin Stadium. Meanwhile, Granite Hills and Strathmore could be embarking on the Porterville Unified School District’s “other” rivalry when the two teams meet at Strathmore also at 7:30 p.m. today.
PORTERVILLE VS. MT. WHITNEY AT RANKIN STADIUM, 7:30 P.M. TODAY
The Panthers are a lot healthier for their tough opener than they were last week when they hosted a six-team scrimmage at Rankin Stadium. Starting quarterback Joe Hovan, two-way starter Joel Smithy at wide receiver and defensive back, running back David Ali and lineman Frankie Valdez all missed last Friday’s scrimmages with injuries. But PHS coach Rick Stewart said all but Hovan are ready to go.
And the Panthers are still in good hands at quarterback with Cody Henwood, who was impressive in last week’s scrimmages, throwing six touchdown passes. “He threw the ball well,” said Stewart about Henwood, who led the Panther junior varsity team to a 10-0 record last year. Among Henwood’s favorite targets in last week’s scrimmages was Courtland Duckworth.
But Stewart wasn’t all that pleased with his team’s performance in last week’s scrimmages and he’s still concerned. “I’m still not going to sleep well tonight,” said Stewart on Thursday. “The scrimmages pointed out our weaknesses. I’m not confident that those weaknesses were taken care of during this week’s practices.”
But having the injured players, including Ali, the school single-season rushing record holder, should help. “That’s what we wanted,” said Stewart about playing Mt. Whitney. “To get where we want to go we’ve got to pay teams like Mt. Whitney.”
Stewart expects an aerial circus against the Pioneers. “They throw the ball well,” he said. “I think they’re going to throw the ball 70 times.”
GRANITE HILLS AT STRATHMORE, 7:30 P.M.
TODAY
Starting quarterback Blas Roman sustained an ankle injury during last week’s scrimmages at Rankin Stadium, but Grizzlies coach David Coldiron said Roman is good to go against Strathmore. “He’s doing good,” Coldiron said. “We don’t anticipate any problems.”
What’s also good to go is a possible rivalry between the two schools as Strathmore will be playing a fellow Porterville Unified Schools opponent for the first time. Not that Strathmore needs it, but Spartan coach Jeromy Blackwell said playing Granite Hills added a little extra to the opener. “Strathmore comes out in full force for every game,” he said.
“They’re looking for a school,” Blackwell also said about the series being a potential rivalry. “I think it’s the birth of a little rivalry.”
Coldiron also said he series could be a potential rivalry to begin the season. Coldiron said to “start the year off with a rivalry, that would be great. We’re hoping that we can do something like that.”
Granite Hills and Strathmore are similar in that both teams are heavily dependent on juniors. While the Grizzly juniors took their lumps last year as sophomores on the varsity, Strathmore’s juniors are moving up from the JVs.
“I’m nervous but I’m always like that,” Blackwell said. “But our kids are as prepared as we can get them. We’re still officially a JV football team. We’ve got to grow up in a hurry. We’re very ahletic. We’re going to surprise some teams with our speed.”
Blackwell and Coldiron look for an outstanding matchup. “I think you’re going to get two teams that are pumped up,” Blackwell said.
“We know that they’re going to be ready to play,” Coldiron said. “We know that they’re going to be fired up to play us. They’re going to play hard. It’s going to be tough. From what I know I think it will be a good matchup. I think we’re pretty even.”
It could clearly be seen in last Friday’s scrimmages that Granite Hills has made great strides from last season and Blackwell said the Grizzlies look impressive on film. He also said Granite Hills has an advantage with the scrimmages under its belt.
“They know basically where they stand against other teams,” Blackwell said. “I know where we stand against our scout team.”
The game against the defending Division VI champion also figures to go a long way in determining the Grizzlies’ fate as far as making the Division V playoffs.
Julio Arellano moves up from JVs to take over at quarterback for Strathmore. “He’s looking pretty good right now,” Blackwell said. “He’s going to mature real fast. He’s going to have to.”
Other leaders for Strathmore will be Juan Medrano at running back, Emilio Gutierrez at receiver and David Sanchez at linebacker. Granite Hills has quality skilled players in Tello Guzman, Brandon Avalos and Dante Cunningham and lineman Naz Abdula is among the leaders on defense.
