Sophomore TE Anthony Valencia catches a pass in the red zone earlier in the year vs. Shasta. (Photo by Norma Foster)

October 20, 2022

COS Football to Host Reedley this Saturday at 1pm

The Giants and Tigers will square off for the 78th with the first meeting being 1928.

GAME NOTES . . .

College of the Sequoias (3-3) vs. Reedley College (3-3)

Saturday, October 22, 2022—COS Campus Field

LAST GAME: Both teams lost their Valley Conference openers last week. In game where mistakes dictated the outcome, COS lost to Fresno City 21-13. Three COS turnovers equated to 18 of the Rams' points, and one of the Giants touchdowns came after a Fresno punt gave COS the ball on the Rams' 13-yard line. Reedley scored with 35 second remaining to tie the game but fell to Contra Costa 22-14 in double overtime.

SERIES: One of the oldest in community college football. The Giants lead,51-26, with three ties. The first game was in 1928. The schools played every year from 1951-1988. Last year's meeting, a 42-35 Tiger win in Visalia, was the first game since 2013 and broke a five-game COS winning streak.

RANKINGS: After last week's losses, both Sequoias and Reedley fell in the JC Athletic Bureau's state rankings. COS dropped from 17^th to 25^th in the state and is ranked No. 10 in Northern California. Reedley dipped from 20^th to 32^nd in the state, and the Tigers are ranked No. 15 in NorCal.

COACHES: COS head coach Travis Burkett is now in his third season, having been hired in April of 2020. His career record at COS is 9-10. Burkett has 15 prior seasons as an assistant at the Division 1 level, most recently as the running backs coach at Nevada-Las Vegas. He was also an assistant at Cornell for 10 seasons. Travis starred at San Luis Obispo High before advancing to St. Mary's College on scholarship, where he earned a degree in history. Burkett is the 22^nd head coach in COS history. Reedley coach Rob Hartenfels is in his second season as head coach and third year on the staff. Hartenfels' first team went 7-4 a year ago and played in the Gridiron Bowl post-season game. He was the associate head coach on Reedley's 2018 championship team, before spending the next two seasons at San Diego Mesa. Prior to that he spent two seasons at Quincy University, one at East Los Angeles College and three years at Occidental. Hartenfels is a northeastern Pennsylvania native, played at East Stroudsberg University, earned a bachelor's degree at Ashford University and a master's from Concordia of Chicago. His Reedley career record is 10-7.

TIGERS: Reedley has averaged 375.2 yards per game, including 239 passing. The defense has allowed 297.8 yards a game but only 102.7 on the ground. The Tigers have three returning all-conference players, including receiver Shemar Kirk, running back Tamicus Napier and lineman Michael Jordan, one of the top defensive players in the league. Kirk is third on the team in receptions (24 for 345 yards, 4 touchdowns). Jordan is the "big play" guy as he has 3 sacks, 4.5 tackles for loss and a fumble recovery. Napier has rushed for 128 yards and two scores but has given way to sophomore T'Ky Posey, the leading rusher with 318 yards and 2 TDs. Quarterback Josh Magana is a returning starter, and has thrown for 1114 yards this year with 11 touchdowns and only 2 interceptions. The leading receivers have been Antwan Ficklen (30 for 433 yards, 6 TDs) and Andrew Dowie (26 for 315 yards). Other Tiger standouts include offensive lineman Ruben Hunter, linebacker Noah Hunter, safety Dante Lawson and linebacker Kanye Young. Punter Hunter Pittman (37.0 average) has been reliable and kicker Elias Soliz is 13-15 on extra points and 2-5 in field goals. Denon Fagan and Nijah Richards each have two interceptions and Shamar Hawkins has averaged nearly 9 tackles per game.

GIANTS: The COS defense couldn't do much better than it did last week—holding Fresno to a season-low 187 yards, including 7 yards rushing and did not give up a first down until approximately 6:30 remaining in the second quarter. Linebacker Anthony Vaca was the team's Player of the Week for his efforts. Linebacker Isaak Guzman also played very well, as did defensive tackle Shayden Molina. A key for the Giants this week will be to pressure Reedley upfront, as the Tigers' offensive line has been unable to protect Magana lately. Reedley has given up 17 quarterback sacks in its last three games, including seven last week by Contra Costa. Giants QB Nathan Lamb has completed 61.4% of his passes for 1194 yards, with 13 TDs and 5 interceptions. Danny Olivera is the leading rusher with 310 yards and two scores. Aidan Galvan has six touchdowns rushing. The top receiver is tight end Anthony Valencia, with 18 catches for 228 yards and 5 TDs…punter Mike Melanson ranks 4^th in the state with a 41.3 average.

NOTES: Six other Sequoias opponents are ranked in this week's poll, headlined by unbeaten San Mateo, who is second in the state and No. 1 in Northern California. Others include Butte, 8^th in the state and 3^rd in NorCal; Diablo Valley, 15^th in the state and 6^th in NorCal; Fresno, 17^th and 7^th; Sacramento, 29^th and 13^th; and Modesto, 35^th and 16^th…Reedley's opponents have a cumulative record of 16-19, COS' opponents are 20-16…the Giants have now lost their last 11 games vs. Fresno…next week Sequoias is again home, to play Sacramento at 1 pm.