A model of consistency during the regular season, Ceres High’s girls flag football team continued its run of excellence in the playoffs.

The sixth-seeded Bulldogs advanced to the semifinals of the Division-I bracket after winning back-to-back games this past week.

“It’s a step forward in the playoffs,” Ceres High senior quarterback/defensive back Marissa Renteria said. “We’re excited but not satisfied. We still have a lot to prove.”

“The girls deserve to be exactly where they’re at,” said Bulldogs’ head coach Curtis Hulstine. “They’ve worked so hard throughout the year.”

Ceres High improved to 18-2 overall.

The Bulldogs captured the Western Athletic Conference championship with a perfect 7-0 mark during the regular season.

Ceres High has won its last 14 games.

“I’m a little surprised,” Renteria said while talking about her team’s success during its inaugural season. ‘”We try to keep a good mindset and motivate each other every game.”

Visiting Ceres High shut out third-seeded Atwater 34-0 in the quarterfinals of the playoffs on Thursday.

The Bulldogs exacted revenge for a 36-6 loss.

Ceres High competed shorthanded during the first meeting as Renteria and her younger sister Mariah missed the game while recovering from COVID.

“We were excited to play Atwater again,” said Marissa Renteria. “I think they did underestimate us a little bit.”

“It was a revenge game for us,” Hulstine said. “The girls were motivated by the loss earlier in the season. I got to give a lot of credit to our defense. Our defense has only given up six points in two playoff games.”

Ceres High was looking forward to the rematch.

The Bulldogs didn’t expect to win by blowout.

“I didn’t think it was going to be a shutout,” Marissa Renteria said. “We went out there and did our job. We executed really well. We played our game.”

Marissa Renteria accounted for 337 yards and five touchdowns on offense.

She threw for 204 yards and three TDs and ran for 101 yards and two scores.

She had 33 receiving yards.

She intercepted two passes on defense.

Mariah Renteria, Hailey Tsurui, Maddie Schultz and Savannah Leifried all contributed at receiver.

Mariah Renteria had 112 yards and one touchdown.

Tsurui had 25 yards and one touchdown.

Schultz had 20 yards and one touchdown.

Leifried had 47 yards.

The Falcons posted a 21-6-1 overall record and finished in third place in the Central California Conference (11-3-0).

Host Ceres High topped 11th-seeded Lodi 30-6 in the opening round of the playoffs on Oct. 24 at CUSD Stadium.

“We were firing on all cylinders,” Hulstine said. “We couldn’t be stopped.”

“There was a lot of pressure,” Marissa Renteria said. “Our team handled it very well. We didn’t underestimate them.”

Marissa Renteria passed for 231 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 61 yards and one score.

Mariah Renteria had 43 yards and two touchdowns at receiver.

Schultz had 20 yards and one touchdown.

Alyssa Santillanes had 67 yards.

Leifried had 63 receiving yards and 20 rushing yards.

She also intercepted one pass.

Maria Bravo, Izzy Boyd and Nehemiah Valenzuela had 28, 10 and 5 receiving yards.

Emily Esparza had one interception.

Lodi amassed a 17-7-1 overall record and finished in fourth place in the Tri-City Athletic League (8-4-0).

Ceres High will face second-seeded Del Oro in the semifinals on the road today at 7 p.m.

The winner will play either No. 1 Woodcreek (22-0, 12-0 Capital Valley Conference) or No. 4 Merced (23-4-1, 11-3 CCC) in the section title game.

“I think it’s going to be interesting, exciting and competitive,” Marissa Renteria said. “We got a lot to prove during that game.”

“They’re super athletic,” Hulstine said. “They got a lot of height.”

Leifried, Bravo and Valenzuela will not play against Del Oro due to other commitments.

“It’s a bummer but we have some good players that are going to fill in,” Hulstine said.

“We’re trying to keep our mentality positive,” Marissa Renteria said. “We’ll go out there and try our best. Some of our other players will get an opportunity to show what they got.”