Ceres High’s upset-minded girls flag football team challenged heavily-favored Christian Brothers in the opening round of the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs last week.
The 13th-seeded Bulldogs kept the game close in the opening half before losing 37-20 to the defending Division-II champion Falcons on Oct. 29 in Sacramento.
“The girls played like it was their last game,” head coach Curtis Hulstine said. “They did everything they could to be successful.”
Ceres High quarterback Maddie Schultz passed for three touchdowns versus Christian Brothers.
Sovannary Carter caught two TD passes.
Lilly Staggs had one receiving TD.
“We got a tough draw,” Hulstine said. “We could have played better on offense. Our defense played well.”
The Bulldogs battled the Falcons during the opening half.
Ceres High faced a five-point deficit, 19-14, at intermission.
“The first half was a good game,” Hulstine said. “We were trailing by just one score. We should have been leading.”
The Falcons outscored the Bulldogs 18-6 during the second half.
“Christian Brothers was the better team,” Hulstine said. “They had an answer for every defensive scheme we had.”
Ceres High amassed a 13-9 overall record, finished third in the Western Athletic Conference standings with a 10-4 mark and qualified for the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs for the second year in a row.
“The goal was to keep that winning standard,” Hulstine said. “We did. We made playoffs and had another winning season. We played to our strength the whole year, which was the long ball.”
The Bulldogs managed to secure a playoff berth despite dropping six of their first 10 games. Ceres High faced a rebuilding year as six players were lost to graduation, including Western Athletic Conference Most Valuable Player Marissa Renteria. A dual-threat quarterback, Renteria totaled 2,161 yards and 34 touchdowns. She also had 16 interceptions while starring at defensive back.
“We had a rough start to the season,” Hulstine said. “We had some growing pains. We had a lot of new additions to the team and tried to figure out where everyone fit. The girls gained confidence in each other and played as team.”
Ceres High will lose 10 players to graduation, including Schultz, Kylie Bond, Emily Esparza, America Lara, Alexa Rocha, Joselin Ruiz, Illiana Saldana, Alyssa Santillanes, Hailey Tsurui and Nehemiah Valenzuela.
“It’s sad to see the seniors leave,” Hulstine said. “A lot of the girls were second-year players and helped us make history. Our future is still bright. We’re bringing players up from an 11-0-1 JV league champion team.”
