By: Seth Lopez, Photography by Nick Miller and Abby Miller
Kickoff began on Friday at 7:30 at Mineral King Bowl, where the red-hot Rangers took on the undefeated Hanford Bullpups, winning in a nail-biter of a game, 24-21. Hanford came into the game favored to win, and had a perfect undefeated record at 5-0, but the Rangers stopped their roll with a huge win.
The Rangers won the toss and chose to kick off. The Bullpups had a huge return, getting all the way up to the 45-yard line, making quick work of the Rangers, by scoring on their opening drive but when they attempted a 2-point conversion, they were halted to a stop by the Ranger defense.
The Bullpups kicked off the ball to Redwood with the Rangers making a good run on the ball, getting all the way to the 30-yard line. The Rangers answered the call by scoring in their first possession, with the drive being led by Karson Everett ‘22, who brought home a rushing touchdown, which was followed by a successful extra-point attempt, making the score 7-6, giving the Rangers a slim lead.
Hanford had good field position on the kickoff, getting all the way to the 32-yard line. And picked up right where they left off, with a 68-yard drive. They capped off the drive with a touchdown, which was followed by a successful 2-point conversion. This gave Hanford a 14-7 lead.
When the Rangers got the kick off from the bullpups, they returned it to the 28-yard line, giving them average field position. The Rangers tried to start their drive with a pass that ended up incomplete, but advanced with the end of the first quarter.
The Rangers started the second quarter at the 28-yard line. They started off the second quarter ready to rock. Francisco Alvarez ‘23 tossed a huge pass to Ashton Ibarra ‘22, getting them down field. They would eventually score a touchdown that was followed by a successful extra point, tying the game up at 14 apiece.
The bullpups started their drive at the 25-yard line, but it didn’t amount to much, as the tough Ranger defense made the stop, forcing Hanford to punt the ball on fourth down.
The Rangers started at the 48-yard line to start their drive, but it ended quickly with a long pass attempt to Ibarra, that got picked off by Hanford defenders, giving them the ball.
When the bullpups got the ball, they were at the 7-yard line, but couldn’t make anything of it. This was due to the strong defense by the Rangers, forcing them to punt the ball on fourth down.
When the Rangers got the ball, they started in great field position at the Bullpups 30-yard line. Quarterback Alvarez dropped back on third down, and delivered an absolutely perfect throw to wide open Kolby Howard ‘22 for the touchdown. This followed by a successful extra point attempt to make the score 21-14, in favor of the Rangers.
When the Bullpups got the ball, they started at the 30-yard line, trying to score as quickly as possible. CJ Shin ‘22 was able to stop the Bullpups drive with a game-changing interception, giving the ball back to the Rangers before the first half ended, but they couldn’t make anything of it, as soon the Rangers got the ball, the first half was over.
The score at halftime was 21-14 Rangers, with the Rangers starting off the second half receiving the kickoff.
When the Rangers received the kick off, they didn’t have good field position, as they started on the 20-yard line. A huge pass to Ashton Ibarra ‘22 got them down to the Bullpups’ 13-yard line, but the Rangers could not get a first down, and were forced to try and make a field goal. That was good, making the score 24-14 Rangers.
When Hanford got the ball, they forced their way all the way down to the 15-yard line, but were halted to a stop by the Rangers, making them turn over the ball on downs.
The Rangers got the ball, but didn’t do much with it, and they ended up punting the ball away to the Bullpups on fourth down.
That concluded the third quarter. The Rangers were leading the Bullpups 24-14 at the start of the fourth quarter.
The Rangers made a stop on the 40-yard line, Which forced Hanford to punt. Redwood got the ball back, but could not get anything going, as the Rangers ended up punting the ball again.
The bullpups got the ball at the 28-yard line. They tried to get things going with big pass attempts, but they fell incomplete, and it led to another 3 and out drive, forcing Hanford to punt the ball on fourth down.
The Rangers received the punt at the 38-yard line, eager to score one more time, but things didn’t go the Rangers way, as the tough Hanford defense led them to a 3 and out situation. They would once again punt the ball on fourth down.
Hanford got the ball on their own 25-yard line. They knew they had to score in order for them to have a chance to still win the game. They got on a roll, making it to Redwood’s 20-yard line and then threw a touchdown pass that was followed by a successful extra-point attempt to make the score 24-21, with the Rangers still on top.
Hanford’s onside kick attempt did not fool the Rangers, as they took possession of the ball and held on. And the Rangers had a couple of runs to get rid of that extra time on the clock, and won the game 24-21.
This was a very good game to watch. It seemed like the whole team finally came together and played at the level they are capable of playing at. This was the first game the defense and the offense worked in-sync, and you could tell by the outcome of the game.
The Rangers’ next game is at Groppetti Automotive Stadium at 7:00pm, playing against El Diamante.