<\/p>\n
Sanger takes a photo after defeating Clovis 2-0 for the Central Section Division I title on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026.<\/p>\n
Brian Penner<\/p>\n
Sanger High<\/p>\n
Sanger High defeated Clovis 2-0 on Thursday to capture the CIF Central Section Division I title, earning the program\u2019s first section crown since 2021.<\/p>\n
Apaches coach Alex Gutierrez said he was proud of the work his team put in throughout the season.<\/p>\n
\u201cAmazing, amazing,\u201d Gutierrez said. \u201cI\u2019m very proud of our boys and the hard work that they put in tonight \u2014 all season long, to be honest. We feel great.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gutierrez said what separated this group was its belief and unity, especially after a semifinal win over McLane.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think this group really believed,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen we beat McLane in the semifinal, we knew that whoever we were going to play, whether we had to go to (Clovis) North or play here at home, we were going to play with everything that we had. We were going to work together and really play as a team. That whole team mentality, the belief in each other and ourselves, that really carried us tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n
He credited Clovis for making it a battle.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were a very tough team, top to bottom,\u201d Gutierrez said. \u201cThey made it difficult for us all night, and they had their chances as well. It was a really tough matchup and a great game between both sides.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sanger struck early, earning a penalty kick in the opening 10 minutes after a handball in the box. Senior forward Elijah Pimental converted from the spot to give the Apaches a 1-0 lead.<\/p>\n
The second goal came late in the match on a free kick. Junior forward Gabriel Gutierrez corralled the ball off the volley and buried it into the corner of the net.<\/p>\n
\u201cGreat shot. Amazing shot,\u201d Gutierrez said.<\/p>\n
The title marked the Apaches\u2019 first since 2021. The Apaches fell to Reedley in the 2022 section final but have remained a consistent contender.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we\u2019ve built a program that\u2019s competing every year,\u201d Gutierrez said.<\/p>\n
The atmosphere matched the moment, with both fan bases packing the stands.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cBig-time atmosphere,\u201d Gutierrez said. \u201cThat\u2019s one of the reasons we were excited to host. Not just for ourselves \u2014 opponents too \u2014 when they come here, it\u2019s just a great atmosphere. It\u2019s really second to none. Both sides brought it.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for the postgame message, there wasn\u2019t much to say.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t even think we had time to talk,\u201d he said. \u201cEverybody knew. We\u2019ve worked so hard, had every conversation we needed to have. Even for myself as a coach, I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve been this calm coming into a valley final. At that point, it was just go out there and play.\u201d<\/p>\n
This story was originally published February 26, 2026 at 11:10 PM.<\/p>\n
Related Stories from Fresno Bee<\/p>\n
Anthony Galaviz<\/a><\/p>\n The Fresno Bee<\/p>\n Anthony Galaviz writes about sports for The Fresno Bee. He covers the Las Vegas Raiders, high schools, boxing, MMA and junior colleges. He\u2019s been with The Bee since 1997 and attended Fresno City College before graduating from Fresno State with a major in journalism and a minor in criminology.
\n
\n <\/a><\/p>\n
\n Support my work with a digital subscription<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sanger takes a photo after defeating Clovis 2-0 for the Central Section Division I title on Thursday, Feb.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":200272,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[93064,93066,112,114,113,93067,93063,93065],"class_list":["post-200271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fresno","tag-cif-central-section-division-i","tag-elijah-pimentel","tag-fresno","tag-fresno-headlines","tag-fresno-news","tag-gabriel-gutierrez","tag-sanger-high-soccer","tag-sanger-vs-clovis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=200271"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200271\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/200272"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=200271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=200271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=200271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}