The Ceres Classic perpetual trophy will remain on Ceres High School’s campus for the next year.

The Bulldogs claimed the much-coveted prize after dominating the Central Valley Hawks, 36-7, during Friday’s varsity football crosstown showdown in front of a sellout crowd at CUSD Stadium.

“I’m really proud of them,” Ceres High head coach Brett Johnson said. “They didn’t let the festivities, crowd size and hype get to them. They just played football.”

“We had good practices throughout the week,” Hawks’ senior quarterback Edgar Peralta said. “We felt we were in a good position to succeed. Unfortunately, it didn’t go our way.” 

“I remember last season,” Bulldogs’ senior running back/linebacker Michael Solis said. “Losing and seeing them with the trophy. Taking it back home this year, everybody was ecstatic.”

With the win, Ceres High kept its Sac-Joaquin Section playoff hopes alive. 

Surprisingly, the Bulldogs were not awarded a Division-IV postseason berth during Sunday’s selection show despite winning seven games and having the second-best team in the WAC.

Del Campo (5-5, 1-5 Foothill Valley League) and Fairfield (5-5, 4-1 Greater Sacramento League) received the bracket’s 11th and final playoff bids. The Cougars and Falcons took sixth and third, respectively, in their conferences.

“It’s very frustrating,” Johnson said. “It doesn’t make sense. We beat them (Del Campo) in every possible metric there is. The teams we beat had 24 wins. The teams they beat had 12 wins. It’s disappointing the section didn’t divulge the exact reason we didn’t get into playoffs.”

“It’s heartbreaking we didn’t get in,” Solis said. “It would have been fun to go to playoffs. I think we would have competed.”

Ceres High generated a season-high 393 yards of total offense versus Central Valley last week.

The Bulldogs used a balanced attack to beat the Hawks.

Ceres High quarterback Kyle Phongsa totaled 184 yards, two touchdowns and one interception while completing 12 of 18 pass attempts.

Reis Smith caught six passes for 122 yards and one touchdown.

Daniel Davis caught four passes for 41 yards and one touchdown.

Tre Karriem caught two passes for 32 yards.

Ceres High piled up 193 yards on the ground on 33 carries.

Solis ran for 63 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries.

Manny Mendoza rushed for 73 yards and one touchdown on 11 carries.

Nathaniel Macias’ lone carry resulted in a 20-yard gain.

David Rodriguez finished a perfect 4-for-4 on point-after kicks.

“We knew it was a big game,” Phongsa said. “We just had to stay focused and execute. Everything we schemed up pretty much worked out.”

Central Valley had 249 yards of offense in defeat.

Hawk quarterback Edgar Peralta completed 5 of 11 passes for 72 yards before exiting the game with an injury in the third quarter.

All-purpose player Cesar Pimentel finished 1-for-1 passing with 51 yards and one touchdown and hauled in four passes for 67 yards.

Antonio Burgos caught two passes for 56 yards and one touchdown.

Erick Mendoza rushed for 28 yards on 11 carries.

Alejandro Valencia made one PAT.

Pimentel tossed a 51-yard TD pass to Burgos in the fourth quarter.

Solis led Ceres High’s defense with 15 tackles.

Mendoza had seven tackles.

Smith, Adrian Carrillo, Isaac Vizcarra and Fabian Torres all had three tackles.

Gio Sio had one tackle and one safety.

Pahulu Anitelea led Central Valley’s defense with 14 tackles.

Pimentel had six tackles and one interception.

Inderpreet Sangha had two tackles and one fumble recovery.

“It was a great, all-round team effort,” Johnson said. “Our main points were focus and finish. They executed it perfectly. We had a phenomenal night.”

Clinging to a slim 7-0 lead at halftime, Ceres High seized the momentum by outscoring Central Valley 29-0 during the middle periods.

“We were hungry,” Solis said. “We wanted that trophy back. We just had to execute. We didn’t underestimate them a bit. We knew they had nothing to lose. We had everything to lose.”

“We had a great week of practice,” Phongsa said. “That carried over to the game. When we do our best, these are the outcomes we can get.”

“Even though we were 1-8, we wanted to show we were competitive,” Peralta said. “We lost our fight towards the end of the game.”

A year removed from suffering a 34-8 loss, Ceres High exacted revenge this fall by dominating Central Valley.

“They’ll have bragging rights the rest of their lives,” Johnson said. 

“I hope it gives future teams that come through Ceres High more encouragement,” Phongsa stated.

Ceres High has an all-time record of 4-15 against Central Valley. 

The Bulldogs have won two of the last three meetings.

“The rivalry is always intense,” Solis said. “The fans go crazy. It’s loud. You got to keep calm and play under pressure.”

“Being able to play in front of a crowd like that was fun,” Peralta said. “Those were my last snaps. I’m not going to play this game anymore. I worked hard for three years. Now, it’s over. It’s a sad moment.”

Surrounded by players and coaches, Johnson hoisted the Ceres Classic trophy into the air following the Bulldogs’ latest victory against the Hawks.

“I loved seeing the excitement on their faces,” Johnson said. “They put the work into make it a reality. I’m proud of everything they’ve accomplished. It was a fun group of kids to coach. They bought into what we were doing.”

“Every year, we get reminded they’ve had it (the trophy) more than us,” Solis said. “We get to keep it at our house now.”

Peralta and Hawk players exited CUSD Stadium during Ceres High’s postgame celebration.

“I didn’t stick around,” he said. “I felt like how they did last year.”

The Bulldogs posted a 7-3 overall record and finished in second in the Western Athletic Conference with a 5-2 mark this year.

Just two football teams from Ceres High have won at least seven games during a season since 2004. The 2024 Bulldogs made program history.

“I’m really excited to see the direction we’re headed,” Johnson said. 

“Our mindset changed,” Solis added. “We worked hard all season. We did outstanding. Going from 3-8 to 7-3 feels great.”

The Hawks went 1-9 and placed last in the WAC standings (0-7).

 “I’m still shocked,” Peralta said while assessing his team’s overall play this season. “We could have had more than one win. We could have had a better record than last year.”