The Ceres High varsity boys water polo team had its hands full in Modesto Metro Conference play last Thursday.

The Bulldogs defeated upset-minded Grace Davis 17-14 in Ceres.

"They got tired," senior Kevin Fliflet said. "It's not their fault. They don't have a lot of subs."

Ceres High improved to 5-3 in the MMC.

Davis dropped to 1-7 in the league standings.

Fliflet led the Bulldogs with four goals. George Polovin, Shane Nunes and Chris Rossi had three goals apiece. Zachary Brooke scored twice. Bastiaan Weststeyn and Raul Massie chipped in one goal each.

Tyler Bolton led the Spartans with six goals. Blake Bryan tallied three. Josh Delgado and Gregor Krzyminski each had two. Andrew Glines added one.

"We had a lot of good offensive movement in this game," Fliflet said. "That really helps."

Facing a 12-11 deficit, the Bulldogs outscored the Spartans 6-2 in the fourth quarter. Fliflet had two goals. Rossi, Nunes, Massie and Polovin added one each.

"The first quarter they came out strong," Fliflet said. "And we had to adjust our defense. We looked for their shooters and pressed up on them."