Ceres High’s girls flag football team moved a step closer to winning the Western Athletic Conference title this past week after dominating Los Banos.
Central Valley competed against Buhach Colony and El Capitan in Central California Conference play.
The Bulldogs remained unbeaten and in first place in the league after rolling to a 46-6 victory against the Los Banos Tigers on Senior Night at CUSD Stadium on Oct. 11.
Ceres High also notched its 10th-straight victory.
“We’re making history,” Bulldogs’ head coach Curtis Hulstine said. “That’s been a theme throughout the whole year.”
“The girls play so well together,” he added.
Ceres High improved to 14-2 overall and 5-0 in the WAC standings.
Los Banos dropped to 6-6 and 3-2.
The WAC will send three teams to the playoffs following the conclusion of the regular season.
“We definitely have things to improve on,” Hulstine said. “We’re peaking at the right time going into playoffs.”
Ceres High didn’t expect to win by blowout versus Los Banos.
The third-place Tigers challenged the second-place Escalon Cougars (17-4, 4-1) in a 12-8 loss.
Ceres High rallied for a 14-12 victory over Escalon.
“I knew the girls were a little nervous going into the game,” Hulstine said. “Once they got rolling, they got comfortable. Everybody was communicating well. They were on the same page. They were having fun.”
Marissa Renteria had another standout game on both sides of the ball.
Renteria, Ceres High’s dual-threat quarterback, threw for 259 yards and five touchdowns.
She ran for 104 yards and one TD.
She also had 90 receiving yards.
She had two interceptions at defensive back.
Renteria completed passes to eight different players, including Madeline Schultz, Mariah Renteria, Savannah Leifried, Maria Bravo, Nehemiah Valenzuela, Alyssa Santillanes, Hailey Tsurui and Destiny Marron.
Schultz had 75 yards and two touchdowns.
Mariah Renteria had 59 yards and one touchdown.
Leifried had 42 yards and one touchdown.
Bravo had 11 yards and one touchdown.
Valenzuela had 32 yards and one touchdown.
Santillanes had 20 yards.
Tsurui had 15 yards.
Maron had 10 yards.
Tsurui intercepted one pass on defense.
“We are super heavy in talent on the offensive side of the ball,” said Hulstine. “Every receiver we have is a threat. It’s a recipe for success.”
Central Valley dropped to 2-19 overall and 1-11 in the CCC standings after suffering a 12-8 loss while battling Buhach Colony on Oct. 11 in Ceres.
The Hawks remained in a tie for last place in the league standings with Golden Valley.
Central Valley quarterback Alexa Cadenas threw for 126 yards and one touchdown while completing 10 passes versus Buhach Colony.
She rushed for 57 yards on four carries.
Cadenas made four tackles on defense.
Emma Garcia hauled in four passes for 47 yards and one touchdown. She also had a 2-point conversion catch.
Tarnjot Kaur caught four passes for 45 yards and gained 10 yards on one carry.
Kalli Hoffman ran for 26 yards on three carries and caught one pass for 18 yards.
She had five tackle and one pass deflection.
Bella Contreras caught one pass for 8 yards.
Rylee Rendez caught one pass for 5 yards. She had two tackles and one pass deflection.
Brianna Espinoza caught one pass for 4 yards.
Vanessa Perez rushed for 10 yards on one carry.
Jade Castro had one interception.
Maddie Mastropierro had four tackles.
Central Valley lost 20-0 at El Capitan on Oct. 10.
Cadenas passed for 87 yards.
She made six tackles.
Dulce Del Valle caught four passes for 63 yards.
Jocelyn Rivera rushed for 43 yards on three carries and caught two passes for 19 yards.
Kaur caught one pass for 5 yards.
She had three tackles and one pass deflection.
Rendez collected a team-high nine tackles.
Itzel Romero had two tackles, one sack, one interception and three pass deflections.
Alicia Espinoza had eight tackles.
Castro had one tackle and one pass deflection.
