Central Section: Ryan Markarian to Marshel Sanders pass gives No. 2 Clovis West stunning last-second win over No. 1 Buchanan

CLOVIS, Calif. — Eric Brown couldn't contain himself. 

"Clovis West is back," he exclaimed after his team's thrilling 29-22 win over Buchanan-Clovis at Lamonica Stadium Friday night. 

In a battle of the top two teams in the SBLive Central Section Fab 15 rankings, Ryan Markarian connected on a 45-yard touchdown pass to Marshel Sanders with 35 seconds left for the game-winner.

Buchanan had taken a 22-21 lead with 53 seconds left on a Michael Runnels 23-yard touchdown run. But the Eagles zipped right down field and the lethal junior combination of Markarian to Sanders connected. 

“I am so proud of these guys, they have been battling,” said the Clovis West coach, whose second-ranked team improved to 6-0 and 1-0 in Tri-River Athletic Conference play.“We have stuff to clean up but that is a really good football team we just beat, and I think we proved to people that the Eagles are back.”

Top-ranked Buchanan, also ranked 24th in the state by SBLive, dropped to 5-1 and 0-1. The Eagles play Clovis East on October 7th, while the Bears travel to face Central-Fresno. 

Clovis West took an early lead after a 2-yard touchdown run from Aidan Fortenberry with 8 minutes, 30 seconds left in the first quarter. 

Buchanan answered right back on the ensuing possession when Fresno State-bound quarterback Jayden Mandal scored on a 1-yard sneak to tie the game at 7-7.

The Eagles took a 14-7 lead when quarterback Markarian connected with Landon Wright on a 31-yard touchdown to give their team a 14-7 lead midway through the second quarter. The Bears hit a field goal late in the first half to cut the Eagles lead to 14-10 at halftime.

Clovis West extended the lead to 21-10 after Fortenberry’s second touchdown of the game. 

Buchanan, which had come back from two-score deficits to beat both Liberty-Buchanan and San Joaquin Memorial its previous two games, once again answered on the ensuing possession as Mandal scored from 1-yard away to cut the Clovis West lead to 21-16 with 4 minutes left in the third quarter.

After both teams had opportunities to score early in the fourth quarter, the battle between the top two teams in the Central Section would come down to the final minute.

Buchanan took its first lead with 53 seconds left when Runnels scored on a 23-yard touchdown run that gave Buchanan the 22-21 lead after a missed two-point conversion.

The Eagles took over at their own 45-yard line after penalties on Buchanan gave them positive starting field position. After a few plays, Markarian connected with Sanders to give the Eagles the lead. 

They held on for the win.

“We knew we could hang with them," Markarian said. "We knew if we were sound on offense and defense that we were going to come through and win the game,

"I believe Clovis West always has a chip on our shoulders when we play, but now we really do. It’s just a great win.”

Sanders said that the win over Buchanan shows that the Eagles are going to continue to be a force.

“I feel like this win puts Clovis West on the map," Sanders said. "For them putting us in Division II, I felt that was disrespectful. Our football team is going to come out and show that we can do way more than people think.”

All photos by Bobby Medellin