Ceres High School's varsity football team lost its starting quarterback and the game.
Senior Blake Hurst injured his left shoulder midway through the third quarter and watched from the sidelines as Pacheco pulled away for a 41-20 victory over the Bulldogs Friday night in Los Banos.
"It's upsetting not being able to help my team," said Hurst, who was slowed by a knee sprain earlier this season. "I wanted to go back on the field and the coaches wouldn't let me."
The Bulldogs dropped to 2-3 on the year and 0-1 in the Western Athletic Conference.
The Panthers improved to 3-2 and 1-0.
Pacheco limited Ceres High to 277 yards of total offense.
Hurst tossed two touchdown passes to Caden Johnson on his way to totaling 83 yards on nine attempts.
Backup quarterback Devon Ruger completed 4 of 13 passes for 54 yards. He also had a rushing TD and caught two passes for 28 yards.
Jorge Arroyo gained 56 yards on 15 carries.
Mark Lerma and Damien Underwood rushed for 31 and 22 yards, respectively.
Adam Welsh tallied a team-high 12 tackles.
David Page and Brandon Arevalos both made six tackles.
The Panthers outscored the Bulldogs 20-7 in the second half, including 13-0 in the third period.
"They got the momentum going their way," Hurst said. "They ran their plays well."
Ceres High trailed 28-13 when Blake got knocked out of the game. Hurst was driven into the ground by one of Pacheco's defensive linemen.
"I fell on it wrong and tweaked it a little," he said. "I'll be fine. I'm expecting to play (against Central)."
The Bulldogs trailed 21-13 at intermission.
Pacheco prevented Ceres High from tying the game with a goal-line stand just before halftime. Ceres High turned the ball over on downs at the Panthers' 1-yard line.
"It could have been a total game changer," Hurst said. "But you live and learn."
Ceres High will play host to Central Catholic (3-2, 1-0) this Friday at 7 p.m.
"We just got to do whatever it takes to win," Hurst said.
JV team wins nail-biter
Ceres High's and Pacheco's junior-varsity football teams scored a combined 25 points in the fourth quarter during Friday's Western Athletic Conference opener.
The visiting Bulldogs tallied a touchdown in the final minute and escaped with a 27-26 victory.
"I love the way they competed," Ceres High head coach John Bussard said.
Ceres High improved to 3-2 on the year and 1-0 in the WAC.
The Bulldogs totaled 342 yards of offense.
Ceres High's Brad Bussard passed for 141 yards and two touchdowns.
Twin brother Brent Bussard caught a 60-yard TD pass and rushed for 17 yards and one score on seven carries.
Juan Anderson hauled in five passes for 81 yards and one touchdown.
Freshman Tyree Williams accounted for 147 of the Bulldogs' 201 rushing yards. He scored one touchdown.
"The offensive line did a great job," coach Bussard said.
Defensive end Tristen Day racked up a career-high four sacks.
Williams had a team-high eight tackles.
Tied at 14-all, the Bulldogs outscored the Panthers 13-12 in the final period.
Ceres High beat Pacheco on the strength of Brad's 60-yard TD pass to Brent with one minute to play, Caleb McDade's go-ahead point-after kick and Luke Corsaut's timely play on defense.
Pacheco got within one point when it scored on a 20-yard pass play with less than 30 seconds to play. The Bulldogs stopped the potential game-winning 2-point conversion. A Panther player ran a sweep to the left, fumbled the ball, recovered it and reversed field before being tackled by Corsaut.
"We were expecting a quarterback sneak," coach Bussard said.
Ceres High will play host to Central Catholic (3-2, 1-0) this Friday at 5 p.m.
Wolves 16, Hawks 14
Central Valley High School's junior-varsity football team appeared headed for a one-point victory over Livingston.
A bad quarterback-running back exchange with less than one minute to play proved costly. The Wolves recovered the fumble and Cole Brown booted a 21-yard field goal as time expired.
Livingston spoiled the Hawks' homecoming with a 16-14 victory on Friday at Bulldog Stadium.
"I'm mad," Central Valley standout Kenneth Campbell said. "We should have won."
Hawk all-purpose player Moses Ghiorso intercepted a Livingston pass at the 2:05 mark of the fourth quarter.
A little over a minute later, Central Valley turned the ball over on their own 33-yard line. The Hawks tried to run one last offensive play before punting.
With the loss, Central Valley dropped to 2-2-1 overall and 0-1 in the WAC.
The Hawks will play host to the Patterson Tigers this Saturday.
Freshmen lose 28-20
Ceres High School's freshman football team found itself in an unfamiliar position during last week's Western Athletic Conference showdown with visiting Pacheco.
Winless through their first four games, the Bulldogs held a commanding 20-0 lead midway through the first half.
"Everything I was calling was working," Ceres High head coach Scott Smith said. "We just didn't finish."
The Panthers rallied from a three-touchdown deficit and stunned the Bulldogs 28-20 on Thursday in Ceres. Ceres High lost 8-6 at Johansen the previous week.
"It hurts," Smith said. "That's the worse feeling, to have the game in your control and give it away. It all came down to execution. We didn't execute on offense or defense in the second half."
Ceres High dropped to 0-5 on the season and 0-1 in the WAC standings.
The Bulldogs outscored the Panthers 20-8 in the first half.
All-purpose player Seth Gibson delivered a 7-yard touchdown strike to Will Hilgen and caught a 52-yard TD pass from Cole Silva in the first quarter, and returned a punt 50 yards for a score in the second period.
"We controlled the tempo," Smith said. "It was the Seth Gibson show."
Pacheco shut out Ceres High 20-0 after intermission. The Bulldogs turned the ball over twice.
"We couldn't stop them," Smith said. "We tried everything we could. It's disheartening."
Ceres High will play at Central Catholic on Thursday.
"We got to put two good halves of football together," Smith said. "It's going to be tough. We didn't touch a football at practice on Friday. We ran."
Senior Blake Hurst injured his left shoulder midway through the third quarter and watched from the sidelines as Pacheco pulled away for a 41-20 victory over the Bulldogs Friday night in Los Banos.
"It's upsetting not being able to help my team," said Hurst, who was slowed by a knee sprain earlier this season. "I wanted to go back on the field and the coaches wouldn't let me."
The Bulldogs dropped to 2-3 on the year and 0-1 in the Western Athletic Conference.
The Panthers improved to 3-2 and 1-0.
Pacheco limited Ceres High to 277 yards of total offense.
Hurst tossed two touchdown passes to Caden Johnson on his way to totaling 83 yards on nine attempts.
Backup quarterback Devon Ruger completed 4 of 13 passes for 54 yards. He also had a rushing TD and caught two passes for 28 yards.
Jorge Arroyo gained 56 yards on 15 carries.
Mark Lerma and Damien Underwood rushed for 31 and 22 yards, respectively.
Adam Welsh tallied a team-high 12 tackles.
David Page and Brandon Arevalos both made six tackles.
The Panthers outscored the Bulldogs 20-7 in the second half, including 13-0 in the third period.
"They got the momentum going their way," Hurst said. "They ran their plays well."
Ceres High trailed 28-13 when Blake got knocked out of the game. Hurst was driven into the ground by one of Pacheco's defensive linemen.
"I fell on it wrong and tweaked it a little," he said. "I'll be fine. I'm expecting to play (against Central)."
The Bulldogs trailed 21-13 at intermission.
Pacheco prevented Ceres High from tying the game with a goal-line stand just before halftime. Ceres High turned the ball over on downs at the Panthers' 1-yard line.
"It could have been a total game changer," Hurst said. "But you live and learn."
Ceres High will play host to Central Catholic (3-2, 1-0) this Friday at 7 p.m.
"We just got to do whatever it takes to win," Hurst said.
JV team wins nail-biter
Ceres High's and Pacheco's junior-varsity football teams scored a combined 25 points in the fourth quarter during Friday's Western Athletic Conference opener.
The visiting Bulldogs tallied a touchdown in the final minute and escaped with a 27-26 victory.
"I love the way they competed," Ceres High head coach John Bussard said.
Ceres High improved to 3-2 on the year and 1-0 in the WAC.
The Bulldogs totaled 342 yards of offense.
Ceres High's Brad Bussard passed for 141 yards and two touchdowns.
Twin brother Brent Bussard caught a 60-yard TD pass and rushed for 17 yards and one score on seven carries.
Juan Anderson hauled in five passes for 81 yards and one touchdown.
Freshman Tyree Williams accounted for 147 of the Bulldogs' 201 rushing yards. He scored one touchdown.
"The offensive line did a great job," coach Bussard said.
Defensive end Tristen Day racked up a career-high four sacks.
Williams had a team-high eight tackles.
Tied at 14-all, the Bulldogs outscored the Panthers 13-12 in the final period.
Ceres High beat Pacheco on the strength of Brad's 60-yard TD pass to Brent with one minute to play, Caleb McDade's go-ahead point-after kick and Luke Corsaut's timely play on defense.
Pacheco got within one point when it scored on a 20-yard pass play with less than 30 seconds to play. The Bulldogs stopped the potential game-winning 2-point conversion. A Panther player ran a sweep to the left, fumbled the ball, recovered it and reversed field before being tackled by Corsaut.
"We were expecting a quarterback sneak," coach Bussard said.
Ceres High will play host to Central Catholic (3-2, 1-0) this Friday at 5 p.m.
Wolves 16, Hawks 14
Central Valley High School's junior-varsity football team appeared headed for a one-point victory over Livingston.
A bad quarterback-running back exchange with less than one minute to play proved costly. The Wolves recovered the fumble and Cole Brown booted a 21-yard field goal as time expired.
Livingston spoiled the Hawks' homecoming with a 16-14 victory on Friday at Bulldog Stadium.
"I'm mad," Central Valley standout Kenneth Campbell said. "We should have won."
Hawk all-purpose player Moses Ghiorso intercepted a Livingston pass at the 2:05 mark of the fourth quarter.
A little over a minute later, Central Valley turned the ball over on their own 33-yard line. The Hawks tried to run one last offensive play before punting.
With the loss, Central Valley dropped to 2-2-1 overall and 0-1 in the WAC.
The Hawks will play host to the Patterson Tigers this Saturday.
Freshmen lose 28-20
Ceres High School's freshman football team found itself in an unfamiliar position during last week's Western Athletic Conference showdown with visiting Pacheco.
Winless through their first four games, the Bulldogs held a commanding 20-0 lead midway through the first half.
"Everything I was calling was working," Ceres High head coach Scott Smith said. "We just didn't finish."
The Panthers rallied from a three-touchdown deficit and stunned the Bulldogs 28-20 on Thursday in Ceres. Ceres High lost 8-6 at Johansen the previous week.
"It hurts," Smith said. "That's the worse feeling, to have the game in your control and give it away. It all came down to execution. We didn't execute on offense or defense in the second half."
Ceres High dropped to 0-5 on the season and 0-1 in the WAC standings.
The Bulldogs outscored the Panthers 20-8 in the first half.
All-purpose player Seth Gibson delivered a 7-yard touchdown strike to Will Hilgen and caught a 52-yard TD pass from Cole Silva in the first quarter, and returned a punt 50 yards for a score in the second period.
"We controlled the tempo," Smith said. "It was the Seth Gibson show."
Pacheco shut out Ceres High 20-0 after intermission. The Bulldogs turned the ball over twice.
"We couldn't stop them," Smith said. "We tried everything we could. It's disheartening."
Ceres High will play at Central Catholic on Thursday.
"We got to put two good halves of football together," Smith said. "It's going to be tough. We didn't touch a football at practice on Friday. We ran."
