Defending section champs Clovis North hold off Central behind a big Pick-6 in TRAC opener

Make no mistake about it, Clovis North showed why they are the defending Tri-River Athletic Conference and Central Section champions.

A little defensive help helps a lot.

McKay Madsen had an interception and returned it for a touchdown as The Bee’s fourth-ranked Broncos defeated No. 3 Central 26-21 at Koligian Stadium on Friday night.

“We knew they were going to throw the ball,” Madsen said. “All week we practiced a lot of drills. They went back to that same play and I kind of recognized the formation and saw the quarterback go in there just broke down on it like we’ve been working on and luckily I caught it.”

Clovis North never trailed and had a 20-0 lead in the third quarter before the Grizzlies finally got a touchdown late in the third quarter.

Then with 9 minutes remaining, Central scored again and trailed 20-14.

Jackson Cinfel iced the game for the Broncos on a 10-yard run to make it 26-14 with 1 minute remaining as Clovis North snapped a mini losing streak. He finished with two touchdowns.

“We were going to have to go through some growing pains,” he said. “As long as we learn from this things (we’ll be OK). I think tonight is a perfect example.”

In other TRAC games:

No. 1 Clovis East 44, No. 9 Clovis West 3: Tyus Miller passed for three touchdowns and the Timberwolves got a safety in the early going.

No. 2 Clovis 37, No. 8 Buchanan 10: Deagan Rose threw for four touchdowns as the Cougars made quick work over the Bears at Veterans Memorial Stadium. It’s Clovis’ first win against Buchanan at the Vet since 2014.

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