I covered my first high school football game as a sports reporter for the Ceres Courier in 2001.
Football might not be played in 2020-21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
With that being said, I thought now would be a perfect time to revisit the past by highlighting the play of the best quarterbacks, running backs and receivers I’ve watched and reported about from Ceres High and Central Valley during the past 19 years.
QUARTERBACKS
Trevor Mew, a 2009 Central Valley graduate, filled the stat sheet while starring at quarterback for three years.
Mew had a completion percentage of 65, 5,623 yards and 45 TDs during his career.
He was voted Valley Oak League Offensive Player of the Year as a senior.
He had the second-best quarterback rating in the Sac-Joaquin Section (138).
He completed 73 percent of his passes for 2,957 yards, 29 touchdowns and just eight interceptions.
Mew had a 2-0 record as a starter in all-star games, completing 18 of 29 passes for 356 yards and five touchdowns.
Derrick Goblirsch, a 2005 Ceres High grad, was a two-year starter with the Bulldogs.
He passed for 1,932 yards and 13 touchdowns en route to leading Ceres High to a share of the Modesto Metro Conference championship—just its third league title since 1968—and into the Sac-Joaquin Section Division-I Playoffs for the second year in a row in 2004. Goblirsch garnered second-team, all-league honors.
Chris Lubinsky (Ceres High, class of 2017) completed 443 of 682 passes for 5,595 with 54 touchdowns and just 16 interceptions in 20 career games.
Lubinsky led the Western Athletic Conference in touchdowns (15), yards (1,400), yards per game (280), completions (114), attempts (172) and rating (108.2) senior year.
He passed for 2,918 yards with 28 TDs and just eight picks while completing 65 percent of his passes on the season.
Lubinsky threw for a program-record 466 yards and three touchdowns in the Bulldogs’ 42-41 loss to the Los Banos Tigers.
He earned first-team all-WAC honors for his outstanding play.
He was an honorable-mention selection his junior year.
Brad Bussard (Ceres High, class of 2015) totaled 4,394 yards, 37 touchdowns and 27 interceptions in 20 games.
He totaled 2,853 yards, 25 touchdowns and 16 interceptions his junior year. He had three 400-yard passing games. Bussard tallied what was then a program-record 437 yards and six TDs in his debut against Modesto High. He earned second-team all-league accolades.
RUNNING BACKS
Ja’Quan Gardner (Central Valley, class of 2014) broke the Stanislaus District’s single-season rushing yards record during his final season with the 2013 Hawks, who qualified for the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs for the first time and posted their first-ever winning record (6-5).
He totaled 2,467 yards and 27 touchdowns in 11 games.
Gardner was voted USA Today/Asics Ultimate Athlete of the Year.
He was selected to the Cal-Hi Sports medium schools’ first-team offense.
He was named to the MaxPreps All-Northern California and All-Sac-Joaquin Section first teams.
He also won the Western Athletic Conference Most Valuable Player award.
Gardner ranked first on the Stanislaus District’s career rushing yards list (6,014) when he graduated from Central Valley.
He tallied a program-best 67 TDs in three seasons.
Brandon Crawford (Ceres High, class of 2004) ran for 954 yards and scored a school-record 16 touchdowns during his final season with the Bulldogs, who posted a 7-4 overall record, placed second in the Central California Conference standings and secured a Sac-Joaquin Section playoff berth for the first time in eight years. A first-team, all-league selection, Crawford also caught 15 passes for 205 yards.
Estevan Barragan (Central Valley, class of 2018) was voted the WAC’s Most Outstanding Offensive Player his senior year.
He rushed for 1,111 yards and 13 touchdowns.
He hauled in 31 passes for 503 yards and two TDS.
Moses Ghiorso (Central Valley, class of 2016) was named the WAC’s Outstanding Offensive Player his senior year.
He also earned first-team, all-conference honors.
Ghiorso led the WAC in rushing yards (1,041), rushing yards per game (173.5), yards per carry (11.4) and touchdowns (14). He fumbled just once.
Tyree Jones (Central Valley, class of 2011) had a memorable final season with the Hawks in 2010.
He rushed for 1,717 yards and 14 touchdowns, both school records at the time.
Jones earned first-team, WAC accolades.
RECEIVERS
DeAngelo Williams was a star receiver at Central Valley (2008, 2007) prior to transferring to Modesto High.
The Fresno State recruit caught 55 passes for 1,137 yards and 13 touchdowns during his final season with the Hawks.
Williams earned ESPN Rise/CalHiSports.com second team, all-state honors.
A newcomer to the sport, Austin Stiles (Ceres High, class of 2016) developed into one of the top receivers in the Stanislaus District.
He caught 64 passes for 1,015 yards and 14 touchdowns, all career-highs, during his senior year.
Stiles totaled 347 yards and two TDs on 27 receptions as a junior.
A three-year starter, Ricky Rogers (Central Valley, class of 2009) led the Hawks in receptions (62), and ranked second in yards (912) and touchdowns (10) as a senior. He had his prep career cut short by a knee injury.
Greg Tripp (Central Valley, class of 2012) amassed 80 receptions, 1,160 yards and 13 touchdowns during his two-year career with the Hawks.
Tripp managed to earn second-team, all-league honors senior year despite suffering a season-ending knee injury. He caught 37 passes for 541 yards and seven touchdowns.
Tripp was a first-team all-conference pick as a junior. He totaled 619 yards and six TDS on 43 receptions.
Dylan Canatsy (Ceres High, class of 2014) totaled 1,185 yards and 12 touchdowns on 80 receptions during his senior year. Canatsy was selected to the WAC First Team.
