Central Section: No. 9 Lemoore starts fast, finishes off No. 13 Hanford 42-15 to win Milk Can
LEMOORE, Calif. — The Lemoore Tigers came out with something to prove Friday in their rivalry game against the Hanford High Bullpups.
Lemoore scored the first 28 points to take a commanding lead in to halftime en route to a 42-15 victory, the first time win the series since 2015. Along with it the Tigers secured the West Yosemite League championship.
Lemoore came into the game No. 9 in the SBLive Central Section Fab 15 rankings while Hanford was No. 13.
"We came out and did everything that we wanted to do," Lemoor coach Rich Tuman said. "Our offensive line was physical. We ran the ball the way we wanted, and our defense stepped up, Our guys stepped up all the way. At the end of the day, the boys came out and played football.”
Andrew Moench and Ty Chambers each had two rushing touchdowns for the Tigers, while Anthony Garcia had one. Gio Quintero added an interception return for a touchdown to help offset a strong game by Hanford's Kourdey Glass who had a rushing touchdown.
The Tigers end the regular season 9-1 overall and 5-0 while Hanford ends the regular season 7-3 and 3-2 in the WYL.
“This is way bigger than me and the team, it is a whole community thing,” Lemoore senior quarterback Chambers said. “The community helped us bring this Milk Can to where it belongs.”
After stopping Hanford on the first drive of the game, Lemoore scored on its first possession of the game when Moench scored from 4 yards out. Later in the first quarter, Chambers punched in a touchdown from 7 yards away to extend the Lemoore lead to 14-0 with 2 minutes, 30 second left in the first quarter.
Moench added his second touchdown early in the second quarter scoring from the 5 to make it 21-0. Later in the quarter, the Tigers’ Garcia scored on a 4-yard TD run to give the Tigers a commanding 28-0 lead with 4:40 left in the first half.
Hanford got on the board with 10 seconds left in the half when Cayden Muir scored on a 3-yard touchdown run. This cut Lemoore’s lead to 28-8 at halftime.
Chambers added his second rushing touchdown late in the third quarter to extend the Lemoore lead to 35-8. Quintero picked off a pass from Hanford’s Muir early in the fourth quarter and returned it 11 yards for a touchdown to make it 42-8 with 11 minutes left.
Hanford’s Glass ran in a touchdown from 50-yard away on the ensuing Hanford possession.
Lemoore had five rushing touchdowns in the game which Chambers credited the offensive line for and believes Lemoore will be a force in the playoffs.
Lemoore celebrates its first Milk Can win since 2015. Photo: Chris Aguirre
“Our offensive line was dominant, they were getting like five yards of push every time,” Chambers said. “You shouldn’t count us out and be ready for us, we are going to be the team to beat.”
Seeding for Central Section playoffs will be released Saturday. Lemoore’s only loss this season was to Clovis West High School.
“I can’t be any prouder than I am of this group," Tuman said. "We had a goal structure going into the season. After last year ending with them (Hanford) pretty much beating us last year. We set a goal structure and these boys have met that every step of the way. “We treat it one game at a time. We will get prepared to go 1-0 next week.”
Photos below by Richard Posada
