Hundreds of community members flocked to downtown Ceres Saturday morning for the Crosstown Showdown Parade.
The annual event was established in 2022 to drum up additional interest for the Ceres High-Central Valley varsity and junior-varsity football games.
The parade started and ended at Third Street next to Whitmore Park.
It featured football players, cheerleaders, bands, color guards and dancers from both high schools.
"Everybody looks forward to the parade," Ceres Mayor Javier Lopez stated. "It really brings the community together. That's what the rivalry is all about."
"It was nice having everyone there being supportive," said Hawks' senior lineman/marching band member William Montez. "There were no negative feelings. It was one big family."
"Since it's a once-a-year thing, seeing all the support we get from the community is pretty special," Bulldogs' junior lineman Angelo Estrada said. "It's motivation."
"It's about bringing the community together," Ceres High football head coach Brett Johnson added. "The kids got a chance to be recognized. The mission was accomplished."
The city of Ceres created the Crosstown Showdown Parade with input from Ceres Unified School District four years ago.
"It keeps getting better and better," Hawks' head coach Derrick Goblirsch stated. "And the support is continuing to grow, too."
"We're going to continue this tradition," Lopez added. "We hope it gets bigger every year."
This year's crosstown varsity and junior-varsity football games will be staged at 7 p.m. and 5 p.m., respectively, on Thursday at Ceres High.
"It's the game the whole town is waiting for, not just us," Estrada said. "We got to play to the best of our ability because people are spending their money to watch us."
"It's going to be fun and competitive," Montez stated.
"I'd be surprised if it wasn't sold out," Johnson added. "Everybody has been talking about it."
Johnson will coach against the Hawks for the final time.
He's stepping down at the end of the season.
"Coach Johnson is retiring," Estrada said. "This is his last Crosstown Showdown game. It would be special to send him off with a victory. I'm glad I get to play one more game for him. It's going to be sad seeing him leave. He's had a special impact on the Ceres High football program."
Ceres High's varsity team claimed the Ceres Classic perpetual trophy with a 36-7 win against Central Valley in front of a sellout crowd last season.
The Bulldogs improved their all-time record versus the Hawks to 4-15.
Goblirsch and members of Central Valley's coaching staff have ties to Ceres High.
Goblirsch (class of 2005) played quarterback for the Bulldogs during his senior and junior years. He helped lead Ceres High to a share of the Modesto Metro Conference title and its second straight playoff berth in 2004.
Hawk assistant coaches Brian Borges (class of 2005), Ramon Coral (class of 2015) and Chris Lubinsky (class of 2017) also enjoyed success while playing football at Ceres High.
"You have to approach it like another football game," Johnson said. "You can't get overhyped. You just have to play your best."
"We try to treat it like any other game," Montez stated. "But we give it more importance because it's our rival. We want that trophy back."
Ceres High will look to make history against Central Valley this week.
The Hawks will try to prevent the Bulldogs from earning back-to-back rivalry wins at the varsity level.
"We have an opportunity to do something that has never been done," Johnson said.
"It's our biggest game of the year," Estrada said. "We'll be locked in. We need to play as a team and execute everything flawlessly. It's not going to be easy."
Montez wants to earn bragging rights against family members.
"My sister (Maddy) is a cheerleader at Ceres High and my mom (Sarah) is one of the coaches," he said. "It would be very special to win."
