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Generals celebrate Homecoming with win over Arvin

The Shafter High Generals celebrated their Homecoming night with a big win against the Arvin Bears 47-7, keeping their SSL record unblemished at 4-0.

Shafter's stadium is in the middle of a major renovation, so the Generals played their Homecoming game at North High on Friday night. This didn't affect the crowd much, as a large number of Shafter fans were on hand to witness the festivities.

Led by quarterback Devon Sundgren, the Generals' offense played a strong game, rolling up yardage on a defense that didn't have an answer for Sundgren, as he flipped a quick pass to a receiver, or took off and scrambled for big first downs.

Shafter took an early lead in the first quarter as the Generals used a key third down pass play to get the ball into Bear territory. Shafter drove the ball down inside the Arvin 10 yard line when Sundgren took the ball in for the touchdown.

Shafter upped the lead in the second quarter with a drive that ended with Elijah Lucero, who had a very productive game on both sides of the ball, scored on a touchdown run. Lucero had several good plays on the defensive side of the ball as well, including a couple of tackles for losses, and some hard hits.

The Shafter defense almost pitched its second straight shutout, giving up just one score after a couple of miscues in the defensive backfield. But, on the drive after the Arvin score, the Generals answered right back. With the Bears pinning the Generals at their own eight yard line after the kickoff, Sundgren took the ball to the left side and raced down the sideline 92 yards for a touchdown.

The rest of the game was Shafter moving the ball at will, while keeping the Bears' offense off of the field, thanks to a ball-control offense and a defense that stopped the Bears at every turn. The Bears tried a couple of different quarterbacks on the night, but neither could penetrate that blue and gold wall.

At halftime, Shafter's Homecoming King and Queen were announced. General quarterback Tyson Dozhier, who is still rehabbing, won the King's crown, while Malia Maldonado won the Queen's crown.

Shafter will travel back to Reedley on Friday night for a game that was postponed when a lightning storm hit the area midway through their game with the Eagles earlier in the season, with the Generals trailing after the half, 14-7.

After that game, the Generals face their two biggest opponents in the SSL, Kennedy on Oct. 22 and rivals Wasco on Oct. 29.

 

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