Neon crowd cheers on first varsity football win

By Seth Lopez. Photography by Abby Miller

Last Friday night, the mighty Rangers played Kingsburg High at home at the Mineral King Bowl, where they picked up their first win in a nail-biting score of  20-18.

Varsity kick-off began at 7:30. The Rangers received the kickoff, but did not get good field position to start off the game. They started on their own 15-yard line.

Karson Everett, ‘22 started off the night right with a 50-yard run to get the Rangers to Kingsburg’s 28-yard line. 

The Rangers didn’t make much of this run, as they got a few flags to move them further back and eventually gave up the ball on downs.

Kingsburg came out of the huddle ready to rock. They got a big pass, getting them all the way to the 50-yard line.

Kingsburg took advantage of their momentum by scoring on a long pass by Kingsburg’s quarterback.

On their extra point attempt, the snap was botched and the Rangers stopped them from scoring, making the score 6-0. 

When the Rangers got the kick, they started their drive on the 22-yard line, but couldn’t get things going, as Kingsburg’s defense stopped the Rangers just one yard shy of the first down marker, making them punt the ball right after the second quarter started.

Kingsburg got the punt at the 30-yard line, and was ready to move with a series of passes and runs, eventually leading to a touchdown ran in by Kingsburg’s running back.

The Vikings tried a two-point conversion, but it failed, and the score was 12-0 Kingsburg. 

That didn’t affect the Rangers.

They followed up Kingsburg’s scoring drive with a kick return that got them to the 50-yard line. Then, a 23-yard pass by quarterback Francisco Alvarez, ‘23 to tight end Kolby Howard, ‘22 got them to the 27-yard line.

Star running back Karson Everett ran in the ball for a touchdown, making the score 12-7 Kingsburg.

Kingsburg got the kick-off and started at the 20-yard line, but a big sack by PJ Meyers, ‘23 halted the Vikings momentum, making them punt the ball away on fourth down. 

The Rangers got the ball at the 47-yard line. Alvarez tossed the ball to Ashton Ibarra, ‘22 getting to the 30-yard line, but the scoring threat was eventually snuffed out, thanks to the end of the first half.

At the end of the first half, the score was 12-7 Kingsburg.

The Rangers kicked off to Kingsburg, and the second half went underway.

The Vikings started at the 30-yard line, but they were halted by the Rangers and their lockdown defense. They forced Kingsburg to punt the ball on fourth down. 

The Rangers received the punt, and started their drive at their own 32-yard line.

The Rangers made good progress getting to Kingsburg’s 32-yard line. Then, Everett scored yet another touchdown in that drive, giving the Rangers the lead, making the score 14-12 Rangers. 

Everett rushed for a total of 141 yards with two touchdowns. When asked how he did it, he said it was really a team effort. 

Everett said, “At practice all week, we were able to get down blocking schemes and really figure out what would work best, and when we got in the game it worked.”

When the Vikings got the ball, they had a really good kick return, and got to the 42-yard line.

Kingsburg got all the way to the 17-yard line, but the tough Ranger defense made the stop, and halted them, making them turn over the ball on downs. 

The Rangers got the ball but didn’t do much, as the third quarter came to an end with the score being 14-12 Rangers at the end of the third quarter. 

When the Rangers got the ball at the 17-yard line, Alvarez threw a short pass to Ibarra, who ran over 70 yards for a Ranger touchdown, which made the stadium erupt in noise.

When the Rangers went for an extra point, they were blocked by Kingsburg’s defense, making the score 20-12 Rangers. 

The Rangers kicked off to the Vikings, and they had an amazing return, running right past the Ranger defense until he was tackled at the 20-yard line. The Vikings didn’t make much of this huge run, and got to the 9-yard line, but came up short on a fourth down attempt, turning the ball over to the Rangers.

When the Rangers got the ball, they made it to the 50-yard line, but didn’t do much with their momentum, and they punted the ball away to Kingsburg.

The Vikings started at the 27-yard line, where they knew they were running out of time and needed to score.

Kingsburg’s quarterback threw a deep pass to one of his receivers, getting them all the way to the 40-yard line. Kingsburg got a first down, and were now at the 30-yard line and while scrambling, he threw a ball into the end zone caught by a Kingsburg receiver for a touchdown. 

The score was now 20-18 Rangers. Kingsburg needed to make a two-point conversion to force the game into overtime, hopeful for a win. 

The Vikings lined up, the Rangers lined up both teams knowing this was the most important play of the game.

The ball was snapped and was handed off to the Vikings running back, but was shut down by Rio Sanchez, ‘23 making the game winning tackle.

When asked about the whole experience, Sanchez said, “Felt great to make that crucial play and help seal the team’s first win. They snapped the ball and the running back came directly to me and I was able to make a good play on the ball and stop him short.” 

The Rangers got the ball back, and sealed the team’s first win by kneeling down.

Final score, 20-18 Rangers.

This game was a really good game, and it showed the fans and critics what Ranger football is all about. Their next game is at home starting League play on October 1 against Lemoore at 7:30.

Tags: football, neon, neon crowd, Redwood, redwood football, rhs, rhs football, Seth Lopez