The 2024 fall sports season concluded this past month. Now’s the perfect time to recollect and celebrate individual and team accomplishments.
Athletes of the Year
Ceres High’s Reis Smith and Maddie Schultz have been named the Ceres Courier’s Male and Female Athletes of the Year.
Smith and Schultz shined in football and girls flag football, respectively.
A standout cornerback during his first two seasons with the Bulldogs, Smith made a name for himself at receiver this fall.
Smith was voted the Western Athletic Conference’s Offensive Player of the Year.
He also earned first-team, all-league honors for his production as a pass catcher.
“It’s an honor,” Smith said. “I worked very hard to obtain this award and I appreciate everyone who has helped me to get it.”
“I’m really proud of Reis,” Ceres High leader Brett Johnson stated. “I’m happy for him.”
Smith caught 40 passes for 539 yards and eight touchdowns in nine games.
“He was such a dynamic weapon,” Johnson said. “Team knew he was the go-to receiver and still couldn’t cover him.”
Smith led Ceres High in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.
“He’s just an explosive player,” Johnson said. “He’s fast and athletic. He’s strong. He runs good routes and has good hands. He’s an intense competitor.”
“I attribute my success to my coaches and teammates,” Smith added. “They’ve always been there for me through thick and thin. Coach (Debin) Cowell had a big impact on me as a receiver in the way that I ran routes. He made sure I ran them to a T and finished strong. Coach Conner (Johnson) was also a huge factor in my growth as a receiver.”
Smith also started at cornerback for the third straight year.
He had 39 tackles, two interceptions, six pass deflections, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.
Smith played through finger, groin and toe injuries during the course of the season.
“I feel I met expectations,” he said. “There are some factors that slowed me down a bit but that’s a part of the game.”
Schultz was named to the WAC First Team for her production at quarterback.
The senior totaled 3,028 yards and 45 touchdowns during the regular season.
She also helped lead the Bulldogs to a pair of victories over the crosstown-rival Hawks.
Schultz started at center as a junior.
“Playing quarterback is a very tough position,” Bulldogs’ head coach Curtis Hulstine said. “She stepped up. She read the field well. She was competitive. She had a lot of support from her teammates to make her feel comfortable on the field.”
Newcomers of the Year
Ceres High’s Kyle Phongsa and Central Valley’s Addisyn Prudhel have been named the Courier’s Male and Female Newcomer Athletes of the Year.
Phongsa starred at quarterback during his final season in football, while newcomer Prudhel excelled at the same position in girls flag football.
Phongsa earned first-team, all-Western Athletic Conference honors.
He passed for 1,266 yard with 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions on the year.
“We had a pretty intense QB competition throughout the summer,” Bulldogs’ head coach Brett Johnson said. “He fought through it and took charge. He’s a hard worker. He’s competitive. He’s very coachable. He was a fun kid to be around.”
A first-year starting quarterback at the varsity level, Phongsa contributed at slot receiver as a junior.
“Once he got his confidence up, he was faster on his release,” Johnson said. “He was a good leader. He took responsibility for everything. He didn’t point fingers. Tremendous amount of growth.”
Phongsa propelled Ceres High to comeback wins against Grace Davis (41-35) and Johansen (25-20).
Phongsa completed 25 of 35 passes for 227 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions against Johansen on Senior Night.
Down 20-19 with less than one minute to play, Phongsa tossed a 25-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Reis Smith on fourth-and-1.
Phongsa threw for 201 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions against Grace Davis.
Tied at 35-all with five minutes left in regulation, Phongsa connected with Daniel Davis on a 31-yard TD pass on fourth down.
Prudhel was named to the WAC Second Team.
The freshman quarterback missed earning first-team all-league honors by just one vote.
Central Valley enjoyed a major turnaround this fall thanks in large part to the play of Prudhel.
“To be able to produce like she did was great,” Hawk’s head coach Tony Cordova said. “Her success comes from being a softball player. She’s a catcher. As a catcher, you control the game.”
Promoted from the junior-varsity team after starting QB Brianna Espinoza suffered an arm injury, Prudhel completed 192 of 346 passes for 2,481 yards with 29 touchdowns and 18 interceptions in 12 games.
“As she got more experience, she began to develop as a quarterback,” Cordova said.
“She has a natural throwing technique,” he added. “She has three more years to go. She’s only going to get better. It’s going to be fun to watch.”
Coach of the Year
Central Valley’s Nimrat Chahal (Central Valley girls tennis) and Brett Johnson (Ceres High football) have been named the Courier’s co-Coaches of the Year.
Chahal led the Hawks to new heights.
Central Valley amassed a program-best 14-1 overall record, claimed its first-ever league title with a perfect 12-0 mark in the Western Athletic Conference standings and notched its first Sac-Joaquin Section playoff victory.
Chahal was voted the WAC’s Coach of the Year.
“Credit goes to the players and their individual commitments to improve their game as well as support each other and hold each other accountable,” he said. “We had a great group of players who cared about each other and the team. It helped make our lives as coaches easier.”
The Bulldogs continued their recent tradition of excellence under Johnson’s guidance.
Just two football teams from Ceres High have won at least seven games during a season since 2004.
The 2024 Bulldogs compiled a 7-3 overall record and finished in second place in the WAC with a 5-2 mark.
Surprisingly, Ceres High was not awarded a playoff berth.
The Bulldogs capped off their season with a 36-7 win over the crosstown-rival Central Valley Hawks.
“I’m really excited to see the direction we’re headed,” said Johnson, who’s coached football at Ceres High for the past 33 years.
Team of the Year
Central Valley’s girls tennis program has been named the Courier’s Team of the Year.
The Hawks enjoyed their best season to date.
“Very proud of everything we were able to accomplish this year and motivated to improve next year and try to get better,” Hawks’ head coach Nimrat Chahal said. “I think overall we accomplished a lot of things that had not been done before at CV and reaching these new heights has been an amazing feeling.”
Central Valley compiled a 14-1 record.
The Hawks won all 12 of their matches while claiming their first-ever conference title.
Central Valley swept Grace Davis (8-1, 7-2), Pacheco (8-1, 7-2), Beyer (6-3, 6-3), Livingston (7-2, 5-4), Johansen (7-2, 9-0) and Lathrop (9-0, 9-0) on its way to compiling a perfect 12-0 record during Western Athletic Conference play.
The Hawks also advanced to the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs for the first time since 2018, ending a six-year drought.
Central Valley secured its first postseason victory, upsetting host Chavez 6-3 in the Division-II bracket in Stockton.
“Going into the season, I did not have many expectations because we were joining a new league,” Chahal said. “After the first half of league—once we saw every team once—I think we met our expectations of winning league. Our girls competed every day and their hard work paid off in the end.”
“Moving forward, expectations stay high,” he added. “We have a good group of returners and JV girls moving up the ranks who we expect to take the next steps and help contribute to another successful season next year. As long as our girls compete hard and do their best day in day out, I will be happy with whatever the outcome is.”
