The El Diamante High School Miners traveled to Fresno to face the Edison Tigers. Both schools were coming off 2 straight losses and were hungry to get their first wins of the season. It was the first home game for Edison, and you could feel the energy and excitement in the air. This was a revenge game for the Miners, as they fell to Edison last season 38-2.
The game started very slowly for both teams, as there were back-to-back-to-back interceptions on the first three drives. Dezjour Malone came up with the pick for the Tigers in the first quarter. The El Diamante offense was shut down and was forced to punt to end the 1st quarter.
With 10 minutes left in the second quarter, the Tigers missed a field goal, keeping the game scoreless. After a few more punts by both teams, Edison running back Tyree Sams broke off a 67-yard touchdown run to give the Tigers their first points of the game. Edison wide receiver and cornerback Rashad Perry came up big on the next two drives, intercepting a pass from the El Diamante quarterback, and catching a touchdown in the back of the end zone to put the Tigers up by two scores. They would lead the Miners 14-0 going into halftime.
On the first drive of the second half, El Diamante’s quarterback was knocked out of the game with a shoulder injury. They weren’t able to score at any point in the quarter, punting the ball to the Tigers twice. The Tigers however couldn’t find their rhythm and punted the ball back to the Miners at the start of the fourth quarter.
El D put together a strong drive, that ended in a touchdown run to make the score 14-7. After the kickoff, Tigers quarterback Phoenix Lawrence found Dezjour Malone for a 38-yard bomb to start the drive. With 8 minutes left in the game, Lawrence hit receiver Taemell Horton for a 20-yard touchdown to put Edison back up by 14 points.
The Tigers’ defense stepped up in a big way in the fourth quarter. Defensive backs James Rose and O’Shea Webb both recorded interceptions late in the game. With the Miners driving, threatening to score, Tigers defensive tackle Cameron Evans forced a fumble, that was recovered by defensive end Nicholas Ball to seal the game for Edison.
The Tigers walked away with their first win of the season, by a score of 21-7. The fans were a big part of it, as the grandstands were packed and were loud all game long. Edison head coach Mike Stamps said, “This was a good, needed win that boosted confidence in the team.” It was a great performance by the Tigers, who look to go repeat as winners next Friday as they take on the Clovis West Golden Eagles at 6:30 p.m. at Ratcliffe Stadium.
