Needing a win to keep its Sac-Joaquin Section playoff hopes alive, Ceres High’s football team sweated out a 28-0 win over Beyer Friday evening at Gregori.

The game was more competitive than the final score indicates. Ahead 7-0, the Bulldogs outscored the Patriots 21-0 in the fourth quarter.

The two teams battled to a 0-0 tie in the opening half as Beyer missed two field-goal attempts.

“Once we got the momentum, it was nice to see us finish strong,” Ceres High head coach Brett Johnson said. “A lot of credit to Beyer. They played a solid game. They came out fighting. It was their Senior Night.”

“We had to do something,” Bulldogs’ junior all-purpose player Nathaniel Macias stated. “If we lost, our playoff chances were gone. Once we got the spark going, it was hard to stop our team. We didn’t expect it to be that competitive.”

The Bulldogs improved to 6-3 overall and remained in second place in the Western Athletic Conference with a 4-2 mark.

The Patriots dropped to 2-7 on the year and remained in seventh in the WAC (1-5).

Macias played a major role in leading Ceres High past Beyer. He returned a punt 49 yards for a touchdown, set up the Bulldogs’ first score with a 47-yard punt return and totaled 38 yards after intercepting a pass inside Ceres High’s 5-yard line.

“Macias got us going in the right direction,” Johnson said. “It’s what we needed.”

“I’m just glad I was able to help my team,” Macias stated. 

Ceres High piled up 372 yards of total offense against Beyer. “Our offensive line did a great job,” Johnson said. “Our rotation of backs all ran hard. It’s nice when you can keep the ball on the ground and have success with it. Special teams stepped up. Our defense did a great job shutting them down.”

The Bulldogs had 226 rushing yards on 33 carries.

Michael Solis gained 48 yards and scored two touchdowns on nine attempts.

Manny Mendoza ran for 93 yards on 10 carries.

Isaac Vizcarra added 57 yards on six carries.

Kyle Phongsa completed 13 of 27 passes for 146 yards with no touchdowns and one interception.

Reis Smith caught five passes for 85 yards.

Tre Karriem grabbed four passes for 35 yards.

David Rodriguez made two of three point-after kicks.

Daniel Davis collected a team-high 11 tackles on defense.

Karriem had three tackles, one interception and three pass deflections.

Jose Arreola had three tackles and one fumble recovery.

Macias had two tackles, one interception and one pass deflection.

Adrian Carrillo had one tackle, one interception and two pass deflections.

Bulldog players remained upbeat at intermission despite their first-half struggles.

“As our team has done all season, they kept battling,” Johnson said. “That allowed us to stay in the game.”

“We stayed positive,” Macias added. “It shouldn’t have been that close. We should have dominated from the beginning. We got to learn from our mistakes.”