Tulare and Visalia high school football teams kick off league play this week.
Here is a breakdown of each league:
EAST YOSEMITE LEAGUE
Defending champion: Mt. Whitney (2-3)
Mt. Whitney won its first league championship in nearly 25 years last season, running through EYL play with a perfect 5-0 record.
Can the Pioneers repeat that success?
Head coach Nathan Chamberlain has one of the top players in the Central Section this season. Junior receiver Israel Briggs, a four-star college recruit by 247sports.com, has 18 reported scholarship offers, including one most recently from Ole Miss of the SEC. He had two touchdown catches in Mt. Whitney’s non-league finale — a 14-7 win over Reedley (3-2).
The Pioneers also have a 48-0 win over Morro Bay (2-3).
The top challenger: Golden West (4-1)
Golden West is Tulare County’s highest-scoring team this season.
The Trailblazers have won four straight behind an offense averaging nearly 45 points per game.
Sophomore quarterback Jayden Najera (1,340 yards passing, 18 touchdowns) leads that attack. Najera’s 18 passing touchdowns are tied for the Central Section lead and his 1,340 yards passing is the second-most in the section.
Running back Case Anders (304 yards rushing, five touchdowns; 14 catches, 243 yards receiving, three touchdowns) may be the top running back in Visalia.
Can anyone slow down the Trailblazers’ high-powered Air Raid offense in the EYL?
Watch out for: Porterville (5-0)
Porterville rolled during non-league play, beating Wasco (2-3), Chavez-Delano (0-5), Selma (3-2), Highland-Bakersfield (3-1) and Exeter (3-2). During that five-game winning streak, they outscored their foes a combined 156-46.
The Panthers are just one of two undefeated teams remaining in Tulare County. The other is Tulare Union (5-0).
Junior quarterback Ethan Enriquez leads a Panthers team averaging 31.2 points per game. The Panthers are coming off a 10-6 win over Exeter and field a stout defense allowing an average of 9.2 points per contest.
Mark Salinas is one of the area’s top rushing and catching running backs.
Keep an eye on: Redwood (0-5)
Don’t let the Rangers’ record fool you.
Redwood played a brutal non-league schedule that featured five teams — Centennial (4-1), reigning Central Section Division I champ Clovis North (3-2), undefeated Tulare Union (5-0), Tulare Western (4-1) and unbeaten Hanford (5-0). Those squads are a combined 21-4.
Since entering the EYL in 2022, the Rangers have gone 9-1 while outscoring their league foes a combined 310-74.
In 10 lifetime EYL games, Redwood has allowed an average of just 7.4 points per game. Senior safety Cash Rico (36 tackles, two interceptions) is one of the top players at his position in Tulare County.
Don’t sleep on: Monache (4-1)
Monache is off to its best start since the 2018 season when the Marauders won seven games and reached the Central Section Division IV semifinals.
Can the Marauders make a similar run?
Monache has won four straight, including three consecutive in shutout fashion over Chavez-Delano (0-5), West Bakersfield (2-3) and Hanford West (0-5). The Marauders also have a 20-17 win over Templeton (2-3).
Under the leadership of head coach Aaron Berry, Monache blanked Chavez 53-0 and followed that with a 48-0 thumping of West and a 47-0 demolition of Hanford West.
The Marauders have a backfield that is anchored by senior running back Ty Baxter (442 yards rushing, five touchdowns) — the reigning EYL most valuable player — and junior D.J. Shimer (495 yards rushing, five touchdowns).
Monache has not won an EYL game since the 2022 campaign.
Don’t forget about: El Diamante (0-5)
The Miners have not won a game in nearly a year but their last victory, a 24-14 win in October 2023, came against this week’s opponent — Monache.
El Diamante is 7-1 all-time against the Marauders.
WEST YOSEMITE LEAGUE
Defending champion: Hanford (5-0)
The Bullpups have arguably the top team in Kings and Tulare counties.
Head coach Cannon Sanchez’s squad has talent up and down the field, led by NCAA Division I recruits Daniel Gomez (1,243 yards passing, 12 touchdowns; 255 yards rushing, four touchdowns), Kourdey Glass (476 yards rushing, five touchdowns; 11 catches, 231 yards receiving, touchdown) and Albert Richardson (106 yards rushing, three touchdowns).
Gomez, a three-star quarterback prospect, has six scholarship offers from Fresno State, Montana State, Northern Arizona, San Diego State, San Jose State and Toledo.
Glass is an Oregon State verbal commit. He is rated as a three-star recruit and has 11 scholarship offers.
A three-star prospect, Richardson has five scholarship offers (Cal Poly, Eastern Washington, Portland State, Sacramento State and UC Davis).
Hanford is among the section’s highest-scoring teams. The Bullpups average nearly 50 points per game and are coming off a 56-12 win over Redwood.
Top challenger: Tulare Union (5-0)
The Tribe have the firepower to keep up with Hanford offensively.
Junior quarterback Jordan Crisp led the state in passing yards last season and has continued that stellar play into 2024. He is completing nearly 73% of his passes for 934 yards and 12 touchdowns against just one interception in four games.
Tulare Union is averaging nearly 38 points per game behind an offense headlined by Crisp, junior running backs Rashawn Hayes (370 yards rushing, two touchdowns) and Brayden Stevenson (151 yards rushing, touchdown; 30 catches, 427 yards receiving, six touchdowns), receiver Demaje Riley (10 catches, 190 yards receiving, four touchdowns) and linebacker Dominic Wilson (51 tackles, two sacks).
Wilson leads a Tribe defense allowing just 13.6 points per game. Only one team, St. Joseph (1-4), has scored at least 21 points against the Tribe defense this season.
Stevenson and Riley both have a scholarship offer from the University of Nevada. Riley also has an offer from UCLA.
Watch out for: Lemoore (3-2)
The Tigers have lost back-to-back games to Sanger (3-2) and Clovis East (5-0) but have championship pedigree.
Lemoore won the Central Section Division II championship in 2022 and was the runner-up for that same title last season.
The Tigers are led by first-year head coach Jerald Campbell IV.
Keep an eye on: Tulare Western (4-1)
The Mustangs are one of the most inspiring teams of the 2024 Tulare County high school football season.
Tulare Western won just four games the past two seasons combined but have already matched that total through five contests in 2024. They have wins over El Diamante, Mt. Whitney, Redwood and Wasco (2-3).
Tulare Western rolls into its WYL opener on a three-game winning streak. The Mustangs are led by a defense allowing an average of 17.4 points per game.
Top Mustangs players are senior running back Mikey Johnson (493 yards rushing, six touchdowns), freshman receiver Amaron Taylor (16 catches, 288 yards, five touchdowns), senior wideout Malachi Ficher (eight catches, 176 yards, two touchdowns), senior linebacker Josh Harris (43 tackles, interception) and senior safety Aubrey Taylor (four interceptions, 21 tackles).
Don’t sleep on: Mission Oak (3-2)
The Hawks are the defending Central Section Division III champion and became the first high school football team from Tulare to play for a state title last season.
That winning formula has rolled into this season.
Mission Oak enters WYL competition with back-to-back victories over Mt. Whitney and El Diamante.
Mission Oak has relied on its defense in all three victories. In wins against Sanger West (0-5), Mt. Whitney and El Diamante, the Hawks surrendered a combined 15 points, which has been spearheaded by senior defensive back Finiccilo Hernandez (26 tackles, interception), senior linebacker Nick Retiz (21 tackles, two sacks, two interceptions), senior defensive ends A.J. Jackson (three sacks) and Ethan Rodriguez (18 tackles, sacks).
Don’t forget about: Dinuba (1-4)
The Emperors have pulled off an upset in each of the past two WYL seasons.
In 2022, Dinuba shocked Hanford 36-30 in overtime and last season, the Emperors outlasted Tulare Union 35-28.
Head coach C.J. Lester’s squad may have only one victory as the WYL campaign approaches but Dinuba’s physical, smash-mouth style of play tests the toughness of its opponents weekly.
The Emperors’ only win this season came against Selma — a 12-9 victory.
TRI-COUNTY CONFERENCE-KINGS CANYON
Defending champion: Central Valley Christian (2-3)
The Cavaliers are the reigning Central Section Division II champions and are led by veteran coach Don Arax this season.
Arax previously served as the head coach at Bullard from 2000-23 and amassed a 178-128-1 record with two Central Section championships. He is in his first year at CVC.
Under Arax’s watch, the Cavaliers have wins over Tulare Western and Mission Prep-San Luis Obispo (2-3).
Top CVC players to watch are sophomore quarterback Nathan Peters (840 yards passing, seven touchdowns), sophomore running back Josh Hilvers (245 yards rushing, two touchdowns), senior running back Micah Paden (224 yards rushing, three touchdowns) and junior wideout Ryan Lewis (18 catches, 188 yards, four touchdowns).
The top challenger: Kingsburg (2-3)
The Tri-County Conference title has come down between CVC and Kingsburg in each of the past two seasons.
In both years, the Cavaliers defeated Kingsburg to clinch the league title.
Will there be a new conference champion this year?
Kingsburg is led this season by junior quarterback Kade Holt (744 yards passing, nine touchdowns), junior running back Drew Lunde (269 yards rushing, four touchdowns), sophomore receiver Cooper Holt (12 catches, 244 yards receiving, five touchdowns) and junior linebacker Connor Davidson (51 tackles).
Watch out for: Kerman (4-1)
The Lions have one of the highest-scoring teams in the Tri-County Conference.
Kerman is averaging nearly 42 points per game and have wins over Torres (1-4), Caruthers (0-6), Hanford West (0-5) and Dos Palos (2-3). Those teams are a combined 3-18.
Keep an eye on: Reedley (3-2)
The Tigers kicked off the season with wins over Fresno (0-5), Sunnyside (3-2) and Orosi (1-4) but has since lost back-to-games, falling to Selma and Mt. Whitney.
Don’t sleep on: Washington Union (2-3)
Panthers senior receiver Rashad Perry (22 catches, 367 yards receiving, six touchdowns) is one of the top receivers in the Central Section.
Perry, a three-star recruit, holds three scholarship offers from Florida Atlantic, Montana State and San Jose State.
This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Who are the favorites to win EYL, WYL and Tri-County championships?
