Ceres High’s football team was looking forward to challenge of playing Lathrop High.
Seeking to hand the Spartans their first league loss, the upset-minded Bulldogs struggled to find a rhythm on offense.
Ceres High mustered just 85 yards during Friday’s 34-14 road loss at Bennie Gatto Field.
“They were a tough team,” Bulldogs’ quarterback Kyle Phongsa said. “We could have beat them. We just needed to execute better and get our energy up. We were kind of lackadaisical.”
Ceres High dropped to 3-3 overall and third place in the Western Athletic Conference standings with a 1-2 mark.
Lathrop (5-1, 3-0) remained in first place.
“We’re going to try to do everything we can to make it to playoffs,” Phongsa said.
A week removed from throwing for 227 yards and two touchdowns in a 25-20 win over Johansen, Phongsa completed 4 of 12 passes for 54 yards with one TD and one interception against Lathrop.
He split time at QB with Parker Borges, who finished 4-for-10 for 45 yards, one touchdown and on interceptions.
Receivers Reis Smith and Tre Karriem both caught two passes for 30 yards and one touchdown.
David Rodriguez made both of his point-after kicks.
The Bulldogs had trouble slowing down the Spartans’ pass rush.
“Pressure was a big factor,” Phongsa added while talking about Ceres High’s offensive struggles. “They sent a lot of blitzes.”
Daniel Davis led the Bulldogs’ defense with 14 tackles and one fumble recovery.
Smith and Nathaniel Macias both made nine tackles.
Karriem had eight tackles.
Spartan running back Pablo Pena rushed for four touchdowns.
Lathrop’s Jordan Blase tossed a 19-yard TD pass to Treydon Santos.
Ceres High challenged Lathrop in the first half.
Phongsa’s 27-yard touchdown pass to Smith and Rodriguez’s PAT cut the deficit to 14-7 with 8:23 remaining in the second quarter.
The Spartans outscored the Bulldogs 20-7 the rest of the game.
Borges and Karriem accounted for Ceres High’s final touchdown. Borges 4-yard TD pass and Rodriguez’s second PAT brought the Bulldogs’ within two scores (28-14) at the 10:02 mark of the fourth quarter.
“We kept fighting and tried to get points on the board,” Phongsa said.
Ceres High will play host to third-place Pacheco (3-3, 1-2) during this Friday’s Homecoming game.
Kickoff slated for 7 p.m.
Patriots 48, Hawks 13
Central Valley’s football team had its Homecoming spoiled by Beyer this past week.
Seeking to entertain their home fans, the Hawks endured a 48-13 setback while playing the Patriots Friday evening at Ceres High.
Central Valley sustained its fifth straight loss.
“Everything that could go wrong happened,” Hawks’ senior lineman Aiden Prudhel said. “I think it was a nervous thing, not wanting to mess up on an important night. It wasn’t because of a lack of effort.”
Central Valley dropped to 1-5 overall and 0-3 in the Western Athletic Conference.
Beyer improved to 2-4 and 1-2.
The Hawks have lost five consecutive games since opening the season with a 27-0 win over the Pitman Pride. Central Valley has been outscored 195-45 during its winless streak.
“We work as hard as we possibly can at practice,” said Prudhel. “Come game time, nerves kick in and we overthink. We have to stay level-headed and not let our emotions take over.”
First-year receiver Andre Flores has been one of Central Valley’s bright spots on offense this season.
He caught seven passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns versus Beyer.
He set career-high marks in yards and touchdowns in a single game.
“Andre is one of our best, skilled-position players,” Prudhel said. “He’s making the most of his opportunities. He’s doing a fantastic job. I could tell he was going to have a good season because of the constant effort he puts in at practices.”
“I’m not satisfied with how I’ve been playing,” Flores said while talking about his individual performance. “We’re not winning. We have some work to do.”
Central Valley racked up 339 yards of total offense against Beyer.
Sophomore quarterback Dominic Delatorre passed for 223 yards and two touchdowns.
Erick Mendoza ran for 52 yards on 11 carries.
Ryan Alfonso totaled 42 yards on four carries.
Pahulu Anitelea and Cesar Pimentel led Central Valley’s defense with a career-high 18 tackles apiece.
Emmanuel Luna had a career-high 17 tackles.
Isaias Valdovinos collected eight tackles.
The Hawks trailed 34-13 at halftime. Central Valley showed flashes of competitiveness against Beyer.
Flores’ 80-yard touchdown catch cut the Patriots’ lead to 21-6 with 6:40 remaining in the second quarter.
Down 27-6, Flores hauled in a 15-yard TD pass and freshman Alejandro Valencia added the point-after kick to cut the deficit to two scores with 56 seconds left in the first half.
The Patriots outscored the Hawks 14-0 during the second half.
“It was super competitive at some points,” Prudhel said. “Slight miscues let them run away with it.”
Central Valley will face Livingston (3-3, 2-1) on the road this Friday.
The contest will get underway at 7 p.m.
YOUTH SOCCER
The Ceres Earthquakes 14-and-under girls competitive soccer team had a memorable showing last month while competing out of state for the first time.
Ceres took first at the Come Up For Air Tournament, which was staged Sept. 14-15 in South Lake Tahoe.
“I always have high expectations for them,” head coach Javier Alvarez said. “They’re a really, hard-working team.”
The Earthquakes amassed a near-perfect 3-0-1 record in tournament and improved to 8-0-2 on the year.
“It was our first out-of-state tournament,” Javier Alvarez said. “We added extra cardio days at practice to get the girls ready for the elevation.”
Ceres stormed back for a 2-1 win over Rocklin FC White in the championship game on Sept. 15.
“It was very emotional after the game,” Alvarez said. “I had tears in my eyes. We had never been down before and had to fight like that. We had to dig deep. We showed a lot of heart.”
The Earthquakes battled back from a two-goals-to-none deficit during the second half to secure the victory.
Sofia Mejia scored the game-tying goal with five minutes to play.
Mila Zaragoza tallied the game-winner off a throw-in pass from Aleah Alvarez in the final seconds.
“It was a nail-biter,” coach Alvarez said.
Ceres tied Manteca Futbol Club 1-1 on Sept. 15, and shut out Nevada Futbol Club Academy 4-0 and Rocklin FC White 1-0 on Sept. 14.
