Ceres High’s football team earned a hard-fought 25-20 victory while battling Johansen on Senior Night last Friday at Bulldog Stadium.

“Honestly, it was a special performance,” said tight end/linebacker Daniel Davis, one of a host of Bulldog upperclassmen players recognized before the game. “We built some momentum going into next week.”

“We were just clicking,” Ceres High senior quarterback Kyle Phongsa said. “We were playing as a team. We were doing what we’re capable of.”

The Bulldogs improved to 3-2 overall and evened their record at 1-1 in the Western Athletic Conference standings.

The Vikings dropped to 2-3 and 1-1.

Ceres High exacted revenge for a 7-0 loss suffered when the two teams played this past fall.

“Whenever we’re firing on all cylinders, nothing can stop us,” Phongsa said.

The Bulldogs had 264 yards of total offense with no turnovers during the rematch.

Ceres High totaled five interceptions and one fumble in losing 21-14 to host Livingston on Sept. 20.

“We played really clean the entire game,” Davis said. “At Livingston, that wasn’t who we are as a team.”

Phongsa completed 25 of 35 passes for 227 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.

The first-year starter set career-highs for completions, completion percentage, attempts and yards.

“It’s my best game this season,” Phongsa said. “It’s all on my offensive coordinator (Debin Cowell). He let me play my game and be free.”

Phongsa bounced back after throwing five interceptions the previous week.

“I was motivated,” he said. “I learned from my mistakes.”

“It’s the most composed I’ve ever been,” Phongsa added. “I stood tall in the pocked, took my reads and really processed the game.”

Davis caught seven passes for 86 yards and one touchdown

Reis Smith caught six passes for 52 yards and one touchdown.

Jaiden Boss caught five passes for 52 yards.

Tre Karriem caught six passes for 27 yards.

Michael Solis had two rushing touchdowns.

Isaac Vizcarra gained 26 yards on eight carries.

Davis led Ceres High’s defensive unit with five tackles and two interceptions.

Manny Mendoza had eight tackles.

Solis had six tackles.

Gio Sio had five tackles and one sack.

Vizcarra had four tackles.

Oscar Caro had two tackles and one fumble recovery.

Karriem had one tackle and one pass deflection.

Johansen’s Kean Saing rushed for 145 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries.

Anthony Torres completed 6 of 10 passes for 48 yards with no touchdowns and two picks. He also gained 40 yards on three carries.

Ceres High appeared headed for a blowout win after storming out to a 13-0 lead.

Davis accounted for the game’ first touchdown when he made a diving catch on a 4-yard pass from Phongsa.

Solis had a pair of 1-yard rushing TDs.

Johansen returned a blocked field goal for a TD just before halftime to cut the deficit to 19-14

The Vikings grabbed their first lead of the game late in the fourth quarter on Saing’s 72-yard touchdown run.

Down 20-19 with less than one minute to play, Phongsa and Smith combined for what proved to be the winning touchdown.

Phongsa tossed a 25-yard TD pass to a wide-open Smith on fourth-and 1.

Smith missed the previous game with a groin injury.

“The play was originally supposed to be a short pass to Daniel,” Phongsa said. “Johansen covered him well. I saw Reis in the corner of my eye and threw it. It does help having him back. I’m not sure how to explain our connection. It’s something we’ve worked on over time.”

Davis preserved the win in the waning seconds. He dashed Johansen’s comeback bid when he intercepted Torres’ Hail-Mary pass at Ceres High’s 4-yard line.

The ball was tipped by Karriem.

In the third quarter, Davis prevented Johansen from scoring when he intercepted a pass on Ceres High’s 1-yard line. The ball was tipped by Solis.

“Defensively, we’ve been blessed with coaches that know their stuff,” Davis said. “They’ve been working with us a lot.”

“I was pretty confident we were going to find a way win,” Phongsa said. “We’re always going to fight until the end. We’re not going to give up.”

Ceres High will face host Lathrop (4-1, 2-0) this Friday at 7 p.m.

Panthers 42, Hawks 14

Central Valley’s football team battled Pacheco before suffering a 42-14 loss in Western Athletic Conference play Friday evening in Los Banos.

For the fourth week in a row, the Hawks never recovered after falling behind in the first quarter.

“I felt like we had the right game plan,” Central Valley receiver/defensive back Andre Flores said. “On the offensive side, we just couldn’t find our rhythm early. We start off every game slow. That’s our problem. If we could get our offense going early, it would shift the whole momentum of the game.”

The Hawks dropped to 1-4 overall and 0-2 in the WAC standings.

The Panther improved to 3-2 and 1-1.

Central Valley suffered its fourth straight loss.

“We have too much potential to be where we’re at,” Flores said. “Going forward we can still have a successful season. We have to get the offense rolling early and tighten up our defense. We need to all play well as a unit.”

The Hawks had 261 yards of total offense in defeat.

Central Valley sophomore quarterback Dominic Delatorre finished 19-for-31 with 166 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.

Flores caught nine passes for 73 yards and one touchdown.

Erick Mendoza ran for 28 yards and one touchdown on seven attempts.

Isaac Garcia carried the ball 14 times for 60 yards.

The Hawks trailed 21-7 at the break.

Central Valley will play host to Beyer (1-4, 0-2) on Homecoming this Friday at Ceres High. Kickoff slated for 7 p.m.

“If we practice well, we’ll play well,” Flores said.