The 2021 fall sports season was filled with many highlights. Now’s the perfect time to recollect and celebrate.
Top male athlete: Verlis Smith did a little bit of everything for Ceres High School’s football team on his way to earning first team, all-Western Athletic Conference honors. The senior receiver caught 36 passes for 775 yards and 14 touchdowns. He rushed for 277 yards and four TDs on 35 carries. He completed 5 of 13 passes for 117 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Smith totaled 19 tackles, three interceptions and three pass deflections at cornerback. All three of Smith’s interceptions and pass deflections came in a 26-3 win against Pacheco. He returned one of the picks 100 yards for a touchdown.
Top female athlete: Junior Alysabeth Marquez starred on Ceres High School’s girls golf team for the second year in a row. She joined rare company by becoming just the second Bulldog female golfer to earn league Most Valuable Player honors for the second time. Marquez claimed the 2021 Western Athletic Conference MVP award. She was the top player in the WAC South Division as a sophomore. Marquez compiled a 13-1 record versus league cluster competition this season. She shot a 27-over-par 98 while finishing third overall at the WAC tournament at Manteca Park. Marquez secured her first-ever berth to the Sac-Joaquin Masters Tournament after posting the fifth-best individual score at the Division-IV Championships at Stockton’s Swenson Park Golf Course.
Male newcomer: A role player on Ceres High School’s football team as a sophomore, Tarrell Lee-Gill elevated his level of play en route to securing a spot on the Western Athletic Conference Second Team. He gained 1,006 yards and scored 13 touchdowns on 130 carries. He averaged 7.7 yards per attempt. He also caught 12 passes for 212 yards and one TD. Lee-Gill ran for just 54 yards and one touchdown and totaled 108 yards and one TD on three receptions while appearing in three of Ceres High’s four games during the 2020 COVID-shortened season.
Female newcomer: Freshman Brooke Trio qualified for the Sac-Joaquin Section Division-IV Tournament during her first season with Ceres High School’s girls golf program. She advanced to Divisionals after shooting a 117 while competing at the Western Athletic Conference Championships at Manteca Park.
Team: Ceres High School’s football team advanced to the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs for the first time since 2004, ending a 16-year drought. The Bulldogs amassed a 5-6 overall record and finished in fifth place in the Western Athletic Conference standings with a 3-4 mark. Ceres High had six players earned all-league honors, including Verlis Smith, Landyn Hudson, Lebron Stallworth, Kahmi Smith, Tarrell Lee-Gill and Austin Munguia.
Coach: Led by second-year head coach Clinton Goblirsch, Ceres High School’s football team enjoyed its most successful season since 2004. The Bulldogs participated in the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs for the first time in 16 years. Ceres High had a 5-6 overall record and placed fifth in the Western Athletic Conference standings (3-4). Goblirsch has a career record of 7-8 since being promoted to head coach in 2020. The Bulldogs totaled just eight wins from 2016-19, finishing 0-10 in 2019 and 1-9 in 2018.
Honorable mention: Ceres High’s Landyn Hudson (football), Lebron Stallworth (football), Kahmi Smith (football), Tarrell Lee-Gill (football), Austin Munguia (football), Nicholas Campbell (boys water polo), Jaden Joy (boys water polo), Elise Cannella (girls water polo), Andrea Contreras (girls water polo), Jazmyne Arendt (girls volleyball), Jada Harris (girls vollyeball) and Abigail Prado (girls volleyball), and Central Valley’s Osvaldo Pelayo (football), Adrian Perez (football), Ruben Valenzuela (football), Alexis Becerra (football) and Alejandro Hernandez (football).
