Clovis Football

The Clovis football teams had another solid season in 2005 with 3 of the 4 Clovis Unified (California) high schools reaching the Central Section Division 1 quarterfinals. The Clovis High Cougar football team reached the semifinals, making it farthest out of the Clovis high schools.

The Cougars lost 34-0 to Bakersfield High on Dec. 2 at Griffith Field in Bakersfield, ending their championship hopes. The championship game matchup of Bakersfield vs. Bullard makes this the first time since 1990 that a Clovis Unified school was not involved in the title game.

The 2005 success of the Clovis football schools came despite the graduation of all 4 starting quarterbacks last year. That rare bit of timing left the Tri-River Athletic Conference up for grabs for the first team to find their offensive chemistry. Through the 2005 regular season, that team was Clovis East, who went 9-1 overall and 5-0 in TRAC play. This included wins over Midland Lee in Texas and East Anchorage (Alaska) at home.

Clovis Football Recruits

In addition to the team accomplishments, several individuals have attracted attention from college recruiters. Buchanan defensive players Justin Prueitt (Cal) and Taylor Smith (Fresno State) had already issued verbal commitments prior beginning the 2005 football season.

Popular college recruiting site rivals.com had 3 Clovis high school players listed in its annual preseason California Rivals 100 player rankings. 17th-ranked Tracy Slocum from Clovis East was selected as an All-American entering his senior season at running back. Cal-bound defensive tackle Justin Prueitt from Buchanan was ranked 71st.

Clovis West's Chris Lewis had already been contacted by several major-college recruiters after his junior season. Of course, he had also been named all-state at defensive end twice by that time, showing that he deserved the #39 ranking and the attention that accompanies it.