Senior receiver Manny Mendoza and his Ceres High football teammates addressed each other and their coaches following Friday’s road loss to Pioneer in the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs.
The sixth-seeded Patriots pulled away for a 35-14 victory against the 11th-seeded Bulldogs in the Division-V bracket.
“I thanked everyone for what they did for me,” Mendoza said. “My coaches taught me things I can carry on with me for the rest of my life. They’re family now.”
Ceres High amassed a 3-8 overall record.
Pioneer, which notched its first playoff win since 2006, improved to 8-3 and earned the right to face third-seeded Hilmar in the quarterfinals this Friday. The Patriots won four of five games on their way to finishing in second place in the Golden Empire League.
Ceres High earned a playoff berth despite losing seven of 10 games and finishing in sixth place in the Western Athletic Conference standings with a 2-5 mark during the regular season.
The Bulldogs were awarded a postseason spot for having the second-highest strength rating among three, three win Division-V teams.
Ceres High lost four of its league games by seven points, including 35-28 to WAC-champion Los Banos, 28-21 to second-place Lathrop, 10-3 to fourth-place Johansen and 20-13 to fifth-place Grace Davis.
Los Banos, Lathrop and third-place Mountain House all advanced to the postseason.
Hughson, which shut out Ceres High 32-0 in non-league play, also qualified for the playoffs.
“We definitely should have won a lot more games,” Mendoza said. “But making playoffs was a huge accomplishment. Win or lose, we were having fun out there. We learned a lot. That’s all that matters. I’m proud of my team.”
“We fought all year long until the last second,” Bulldogs’ quarterback Brayden Clark added. “We kept pushing.”
Clark completed 5 of 9 passes for 34 yards with no touchdowns and one interception He had one rushing touchdown.
Clark exited the game in the third quarter with a concussion.
“My performance in the fourth quarter of the Davis game gave coaches confidence to start me,” Clark said. “I was ready. I was confident. It was tough not being able to finish the game.”
Backup QB Donovan Osuna completed 2 of 4 passes for 43 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. He rushed for 22 yards on seven carries.
Junior Reis Smith caught three passes for 43 yards.
Ernie Miranda had a 1-yard rushing touchdown.
Junior Isaac Vizcarra gained 39 yards on 15 carries.
Isaiah Cardona ran for 38 yards on four carries.
Mendoza caught two passes for 18 yards.
Chris King caught one pass for 9 yards.
Jayden Singh caught one pass for 7 yards.
The Bulldogs totaled 175 yards of offense versus the Patriots.
“We didn’t give up,” Clark added. “That’s what we did all season.”
Ceres High challenged Pioneer early in the game.
The two teams traded scores in first quarter.
Clark’s rushing TD and Gilbert Nuno’s first point-after kick evened the contest at 7-7.
“We shook them up a little bit after we marched down the field and scored after they scored,” Clark said.
“In my head, I thought it was going to be a back-and-forth game like Los Banos,” Mendoza stated. “Multiple injuries prevented us from doing a lot of things.”
The bus ride from Ceres High to Pioneer lasted two-plus hours.
“It was quiet,” Clark said. “We were locked in listening to our music.”
“The opportunity to play one more game with my teammates was a blessing,” Mendoza added. “We all wanted to make it to the second round because Ceres High lost in the first round the last two years.”
Ceres High managed to secure its third straight playoff berth this fall despite competing with a revamped roster.
The Bulldogs lost the core of last season’s team to graduation.
Ceres High ended a 16-year playoff drought in 2021.
“In past years, Ceres High only had a couple wins,” Clark said. “We’re expected to make the playoffs. The program is headed in the right direction.”
