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Bulldogs post banner year
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The Ceres High fall sports season is officially over.

More than 100 game were played. Just about every team made history and/or improved.

Football

Led by Derrick Goblirsch, Cruz Flores, A.J. Ball, Brandon Gresham, Brian Borges, Luis Malagon, Rafael Valencia, Ray Robles, Adam Kent, Nick Eudy, Zack Wiedenbeck, Daniel Smith and Ryan Leazer, the varsity football team won a share of the MMC title with a 4-1 record and made the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I playoffs for the second year in a row thanks in part to a come-from-behind victory over Downey.

"We had a tremendous year," said Ceres coach Bret Durossette.

"We had gone 18 years without a championship."

The last time Ceres won a league title was in 1985, when the Bulldogs went 5-1 in the Golden Valley League. Durossette was the starting quarterback.

"This is one of the greatest teams we've had at Ceres High School," he said. "Only three teams have won a league title since 1968."

Added Ceres receiver Charlie Cunha: "We don't have one superstar on this team. We just have a bunch of guys who love to play football."

First-year head coach Josh Leslie and the Ceres High freshman football team won the MMC title outright with a perfect record. Led by Zack Atchison, Tony Marquez, Sam Sanchez, Rigo Guerra, Rafael Torres, Andrew Segmiller, Mayiauk Kumer, Zak Muller, Sean McLeod, Colton Gaede, Kenny Brickey and Thomas Vanderlaan, the Bulldogs compiled a 5-0 mark in league and went 8-2 overall. They won their final seven games.

Water polo

Members of the boys water polo team set three goals prior to the start of the season.

The Bulldogs didn't go undefeated. But they did win a share of the league title and make the playoffs for the second year in a row.

Led by Joey Rossi, Eric Scudder, Justen Harper, Mike Polovin, Kyle Fliflet and Cody Frampton, Ceres tied for first with Beyer in the MMC at 13-2.

The Bulldogs would have had to settle for second place if they didn't beat Beyer, co-league champion. The Patriots won the first two meetings.

Rossi scored seven goals in leading the Bulldogs to a 10-8 victory over Beyer during the third-and-final meeting.

Coach Lesley Willems didn't expect much from the girls water polo team.

Led by Lauren Griffin, Katie Griffith, Tristin Long and Amanda Arrollo, Ceres surpassed last year's win total.

The Bulldogs finished fourth in league with a 6-9 record and would have made the playoffs if they won their final regular-season game against Davis. The Spartans edged Ceres, 8-6.

"They surprised me," Willems said. "I didn't think we were going to do as well as we did."

Volleyball

Three seniors, Elisha Ferguson, Meghan Franksen and Krystle Brown, guided Ceres High to a fourth-place finish in the MMC and into the playoffs for the first time since 1998. Juniors Jessica Hunter, Jessica Mazza, Jennifer Arnold and Monica Hall also contributed.

The Bulldogs compiled a 7-8 record in conference play. They dealt the Beyer Patriots, the MMC champion, their first-and-only loss in league.

Ceres upset Benicia, the Monticello Empire League champion, in the first round of the playoffs.

"I always knew this team had the potential to do quite well," said Ceres coach Sue Garcia.

Girls tennis

Ceres High managed to compile a winning record in league despite losing five of its starters to graduation. Amanda Guajardo, Ashlee Moring, Logan Harden, Haylee Adrian, Melissa Gonzales, Kamie Machado and Karolina Munzova led the way.

"The players all got better as the season went along," said Ceres coach Bryan Harden. "That's the reason we finished as strong as we did."

Ceres won its final four matches to secure a third-place finish in the MMC with an 8-7 record. The Bulldogs went 10-7 overall.

Cross country

Approximately 10 Bulldogs, including Karrah Brown, Andrew Chipponeri, Henry Shamoeil, Nicole Laranjo, Caitlin Cerny, Heather Jones, Vicki Morales, Katie Lutes, Melanie Casey and Nicole Caselli, qualified for the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II Meet in Folsom.

Brown placed 21st in a field of 65 in the varsity girls division.

"That's the most I've ever had advance," said Ceres coach Glenn Driskell. "I had eight kids go in 1996."

Shamoeil and Chipponeri placed 28th and 33rd, respectively, in the sophomore boys division.

Laranjo, Cerny, Jones, Morales, Lutes, Casey and Caselli led the JV girls to a second-place finish. They also placed second at the sub-section championships.

During the regular season, the varsity girls tied for second in league with Davis at 7-3.

The varsity boys finished fifth in the MMC with a 3-7 record.

Boys soccer

The varsity soccer team compiled a winning record in league for the third year in a row.

Led by Victor Perez, Fernando Vargas, Genaro Arana, Eduardo Aguilar, Luis Olivares and Melky Calderon, the Bulldogs tied for third in the MMC with Modesto High at 8-6-1.

The top two teams, including Johansen, which Ceres defeated twice, and Beyer, made the playoffs.

The Bulldogs closed out the regular season with a 2-1 win over the Patriots. The victory against Beyer came less than 24 hours after coach Joe Byrne announced his retirement.

Under Armando Martinez's guidance, the JV team went undefeated in league for the second year in a row. Ceres went 13-0-2 in the MMC and extended its unbeaten streak to 33 games. The 2004 Bulldogs had just three returners.

Winter sports

Winter sports teams started practicing on Nov. 1.

The girls basketball team hasn't missed the playoffs since Shawna Nunes took over head coaching duties in 1993-1994. Expect another successful season as Ceres returns a host of players, including Krystle Brown, Heather Mazza, Meghan Franksen, Jennifer Arnold, Jessica Mazza, Kelsey Sayad and Heather Jones.

The boys basketball team had a forgettable season in 2003 as it finished eighth in league at 2-11 and went 6-20 overall.

"We're better right now than we were at the end of last season," said Zack Wiedenbeck, Ceres High's center.

The Bulldogs open league play against Modesto High in January.

The wrestling program has a new coaching staff, Hughson's Steve Vierra and Oakdale's Josh Leslie.

The Bulldogs lost the majority of their top wrestlers to graduation, including team captains Ryan Rodriguez and David Burris.

"We're young," Vierra said.

Johnny Bridges is Ceres' top returner. The senior advanced to the sub-section meet last season in the 103-pound weight class. - By DALE BUTLER / Staff Reporter of The Ceres (Calif.) Courier