The game was there for the taking for the Central Valley High School varsity football team.
Clinging to a 21-13 lead, the Hawks seemed content to run the ball and play field position in the third quarter. It cost them in the end as they suffered a devastating 27-21 loss to the Chavez Titans on Thursday at Ceres High School.
"They were just the better team tonight," Central Valley coach Tim Garcia said. "When it was clutch time, they made the plays and we didn't."
"It's nothing to hold our heads down about," sophomore receiver/safety DeAngelo Williams added. "We'll come out and play harder next week."
Central Valley dropped to 1-1 on the year.
Chavez improved to 2-0 overall.
The two teams combined for 839 yards of offense and six touchdowns.
"We pretty much did anything we wanted," Garcia said.
The Hawks piled up 480 yards, including 161 rushing on 39 carries.
Senior tailback Joaquin Casas ran for 101 yards on 20 attempts.
Junior quarterback Trevor Mew completed 14 of 28 passes for 319 yards with two TDs and one interception. He also scored on a 1-yard run.
Williams caught six passes for 211 yards and one touchdown. DeAngelo had 136 receiving yards on six receptions during Week 1.
"He's just a tremendous athlete," Garcia said. "We're glad he's on our side of the ball."
Rick Rogers had three catches for 52 yards and hauled in a TD pass against Chavez.
The Titans rolled up 359 yards, including 118 rushing on 21 carries. Sam Houston scored on a 4-yard run.
Quarterback Andrew Quintal completed 17 of 23 passes for 241 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. He hooked up with Derick Graves and Chris McGinnis on scoring plays of 18 and 16 yards, respectively.
Central Valley held a 21-19 lead with a little over five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and appeared to be on the verge of producing a game-sealing TD.
Then disaster struck.
Defensive back Christopher Schneider intercepted a Mew pass at the Chavez 15 and returned it 85 yards for a TD. Quintal and Graves accounted for the two-point conversion.
The Hawks' last-gasp drive began with 5:00 left at the Central Valley 20 and ended four minutes, 48 seconds later at the Chavez 20. Mew's fourth-down pass fell incomplete.
"We knew it was going to be a battle from the get-go," Williams said. "We should have done better. I'm surprised that we lost. But we did make a lot of mistakes that we shouldn't have made."
"The kids played hard," Garcia added. "We just fell a little short in the end. That's football."
Central Valley will play at Escalon High School Friday night at 7.
Clinging to a 21-13 lead, the Hawks seemed content to run the ball and play field position in the third quarter. It cost them in the end as they suffered a devastating 27-21 loss to the Chavez Titans on Thursday at Ceres High School.
"They were just the better team tonight," Central Valley coach Tim Garcia said. "When it was clutch time, they made the plays and we didn't."
"It's nothing to hold our heads down about," sophomore receiver/safety DeAngelo Williams added. "We'll come out and play harder next week."
Central Valley dropped to 1-1 on the year.
Chavez improved to 2-0 overall.
The two teams combined for 839 yards of offense and six touchdowns.
"We pretty much did anything we wanted," Garcia said.
The Hawks piled up 480 yards, including 161 rushing on 39 carries.
Senior tailback Joaquin Casas ran for 101 yards on 20 attempts.
Junior quarterback Trevor Mew completed 14 of 28 passes for 319 yards with two TDs and one interception. He also scored on a 1-yard run.
Williams caught six passes for 211 yards and one touchdown. DeAngelo had 136 receiving yards on six receptions during Week 1.
"He's just a tremendous athlete," Garcia said. "We're glad he's on our side of the ball."
Rick Rogers had three catches for 52 yards and hauled in a TD pass against Chavez.
The Titans rolled up 359 yards, including 118 rushing on 21 carries. Sam Houston scored on a 4-yard run.
Quarterback Andrew Quintal completed 17 of 23 passes for 241 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. He hooked up with Derick Graves and Chris McGinnis on scoring plays of 18 and 16 yards, respectively.
Central Valley held a 21-19 lead with a little over five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and appeared to be on the verge of producing a game-sealing TD.
Then disaster struck.
Defensive back Christopher Schneider intercepted a Mew pass at the Chavez 15 and returned it 85 yards for a TD. Quintal and Graves accounted for the two-point conversion.
The Hawks' last-gasp drive began with 5:00 left at the Central Valley 20 and ended four minutes, 48 seconds later at the Chavez 20. Mew's fourth-down pass fell incomplete.
"We knew it was going to be a battle from the get-go," Williams said. "We should have done better. I'm surprised that we lost. But we did make a lot of mistakes that we shouldn't have made."
"The kids played hard," Garcia added. "We just fell a little short in the end. That's football."
Central Valley will play at Escalon High School Friday night at 7.
