When you play a team with a battering-ram running attack like the Mendota Aztecs, the last thing you need is turnovers.
In the “Battle of 33,” the Aztecs took advantage of three Firebaugh turnovers last Friday evening. Then behind the power running of senior David Gonzalez, Mendota turned the Eagles away in the final quarter, 42-27.
The Aztecs and veteran head coach Beto Mejia finished the regular season with a record of 7-3, and 3-2 in the West Sierra League. They have been placed in Div. V for the Central Section playoffs as the No. 10 seed. They will travel to the southern part of the valley to take on No. 7 Selma in an opening round matchup. The winner of that contest will then take on the winner of No. 2 Woodlake and No. 15 Hoover-Fresno. Bishop Union is the division’s No. 1 seed.
Gonzalez carried the ball 14 times for 188 yards to lead his team, which totaled a whopping 294 rushing yards. Sophomore quarterback Ryan Preciado also had a fine night, completing seven of 10 passes for 120 yards and three touchdowns.
His Firebaugh counterpart, senior quarterback Isaac Ceja completed 13 passes for 224 yards and four touchdowns. He threw three touchdown passes to sophomore Dominic Barajas and another one to Jonathan Maya. Ceja also rushed for 126 yards on 15 carries, and senior wide receiver Arron Alaniz caught five passes.
The Aztecs broke the close game open in the final quarter, scoring three touchdowns to put the game away.
Firebaugh finished the regular season with a 4-6 record, 2-3 in the West Sierra League. They were placed in Div. VI as a No. 4 seed. They will host No. 13 Orange Cove, which lost a last minute 42-40 decision to Orosi last Friday. The Aztecs are 3-7 overall and 2-5 in the South Sierra League.
