{"id":467811,"date":"2026-09-18T10:32:19","date_gmt":"2026-09-18T10:32:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/467811\/"},"modified":"2026-09-18T10:32:19","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T10:32:19","slug":"buchanan-survives-sanger-in-ot-thriller-35-34","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/467811\/","title":{"rendered":"Buchanan survives Sanger in OT thriller, 35-34"},"content":{"rendered":"

Maybe the high school football game Thursday night at Tom Flores Stadium between The Bee\u2019s No. 3-ranked Buchanan and No. 23 Sanger will turn out to be the game of the year.<\/p>\n

Whatever happens the rest of the season, fans in attendance can say they were treated to a well-played thriller.<\/p>\n

Buchanan scored in overtime when Josiah Perry caught a 23-yard touchdown pass from Tommy Devany, then the Bears narrowly held on after Sanger coach Matt Logue decided to go for a two-point conversion.<\/p>\n

Fresno State commit Grant Moser made a tackle at the 1-yard line, and a flag was thrown against the Apaches, giving Buchanan a 35-34 victory in the nonleague game.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m known to go for it,\u201d Logue said. \u201cWe needed 3 yards. We\u2019ve been chunking them all game. I like the play call. It was inches away. I think if our guy dives, he probably gets in, but obviously, again, a holding call against us.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re just a potent offense. We can get 3 yards to win the game against a team like that … we\u2019re not supposed to win, or I can put their offense back on the field. I\u2019m going to do that every time, whether people like it or not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Logue\u2019s decision was consistent with the way the Apaches had played all night.<\/p>\n

Sanger traded touchdowns with Buchanan throughout the game and even took the lead on Miguel Salazar\u2019s 2-yard touchdown run with 11:26 remaining.<\/p>\n

Buchanan (4-1) answered when Devany found Carvell Wafer Jr. for a 21-yard touchdown, tying the game at 28-28.<\/p>\n

Sanger (2-3) then had a chance to win it in regulation, but Nicky Hernandez\u2019s 23-yard field-goal attempt went wide left as time expired with 2.3 seconds remaining, sending the game into overtime.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou go from a couple of ultimate highs to a low,\u201d Logue said. \u201cIt\u2019s tough.\u201d<\/p>\n

Buchanan coach Ross Wood breathed a sigh of relief after seeing how hard Sanger responded, especially in front of a raucous Apaches crowd.<\/p>\n

Wood said he wasn\u2019t surprised Logue went for the win.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re a tough football team,\u201d Wood said. \u201cThey\u2019ve been getting 2 to 3 yards pretty consistently. I thought it was the right call from their end. At the end of the day, we have to show up. Too bad it took until overtime to do that, but we finally got the job done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Logue also credited Moser for his quick awareness on the two-point try, calling him a \u201cstud in any situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moser was ready for the play. He knew he had to use his legs to reach the runner and make the tackle, but he also knew the game should serve as a wake-up call for the Bears, especially with the Tri-River Athletic Conference opener coming in two weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just fire off the ball and go,\u201d Moser said. \u201cThat\u2019s what we did. We stopped them at the 1-yard line, and that was a wrap. We won the game, but we honestly need to fix things up on defense and offense. We\u2019re going to have more time to clean up on some things going into TRAC play.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The The Bee\u2019s No. 2-ranked Buchanan and No. 23 Sanger met in a nonleague game on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026. The Bears won 35-34 in overtime. ANTHONY GALAVIZ agalaviz@fresnobee.com \"The The Bee\u2019s No. 2-ranked Buchanan and No. 23 Sanger met in a nonleague game on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026. The Bears won 35-34 in overtime. ANTHONY GALAVIZ agalaviz@fresnobee.com \"Sanger\u2019s Sanger\u2019s Bryan Valle scores a touchdown against Buchanan on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026. ANTHONY GALAVIZ agalaviz@fresnobee.com \"Buchanan\u2019s Buchanan\u2019s Josiah Perry celebrates Tommy Devany\u2019s touchdown run on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026. ANTHONY GALAVIZ agalaviz@fresnobee.com \"Buchanan\u2019s Buchanan\u2019s Carvell Wafer Jr. scores a touchdown against Sanger on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026. ANTHONY GALAVIZ agalaviz@fresnobee.com \"Sanger\u2019s Sanger\u2019s Miguel Salazar scores a touchdown against Buchanan on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026. ANTHONY GALAVIZ agalaviz@fresnobee.com <\/p>\n

This story was originally published September 17, 2026 at 11:30 PM.<\/p>\n

Related Stories from Fresno Bee<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
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Anthony Galaviz<\/a><\/p>\n

The Fresno Bee<\/p>\n

Anthony Galaviz writes about breaking news\/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.\u00a0
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