Ceres High’s and Central Valley’s varsity football programs co-hosted a four-team jamboree this past weekend at Bulldog Stadium.

The Bulldogs and Hawks opted not to play on Saturday because they’re scheduled to meet this Friday during the opening week of the 2018 season.

“We were both checking out how each other performed,” Ceres High senior running back/linebacker Felipe Martinez said. 

Ceres High and Central Valley ran offensive and defensive plays against Grace Davis and Hughson during the scrimmage. 

“We had some jitters and glitches early on, offensively,” Hawks’ head coach Scott Edwards said. “Eventually, we rebounded. Defensively, we played really well. We still have things to work on. I’m satisfied with the overall performance. We wanted to see how we matched up from a physicality standpoint. We answered the bell.”

The Hawks were led by Vince Bocanegra, Andrew Hernandez and Isaiah Hidalgo.

Thomas Carrillo, Tony Gaut, Chris Simental, Ryan Palecek, Mark Ramirez, Kyle Hendrix, Dylan Kong and Erick Martinez also contributed.

Hernandez and Hidalgo are Central Valley’s top newcomers.

Andrew and Isaiah helped lead the JV Hawks to an 8-2 overall record last fall.

Hidalgo will be Central Valley’s featured running back. He’s just a sophomore.

“He got better as the day went on,” Edwards said. 

“I have a lot of faith in Isaiah,” said Bocanegra, a senior lineman. “He’s going to prosper.”

Andrew, a junior, showed a lot of poise while taking the majority of snaps at quarterback.

“From a performance standpoint, he did fine,” Edwards said. “He was able to make some good reads.”

“He (Hernandez) treated it as if it was another practice,” Bocanegra said. “He wasn’t nervous. I’m comfortable with him being the quarterback. His passes are accurate. He’s not afraid to get hit.”

The Bulldogs were led by Martinez, Elias Saldana, Andrew Alcala, Josh Gonzales, Clayton Taylor and Isaac Vizcaino.

Taylor and Vizcaino took turns directing Ceres High’s offense.

 “We don’t know who’s going to start,” Felipe said. “Either way, I think we have two good quarterbacks. They both know the playbook in and out. They both have what it takes to be starters.”

Clayton and Isaac handed the ball off to Felipe, Andrew and Josh.

“This is what we’ve been waiting for—to finally go against another colored jersey,” Martinez said. “The whole team was excited. We started off slow. The intensity rose and we played like we should. If something good happened, he (Ceres High first-year head coach Matt Chachere) made sure it was known. He saw what we were capable of.”

Saldana anchored the Bulldogs’ offensive and defensive lines.

Ceres High and Central Valley both had respectable outings on Saturday.

“We’re satisfied with the overall performance,” Vince said. “There were more pros than cons. We scored some touchdowns. We got a lot of tackles. Defensively, we shut both teams down. We’re at a good place right now with schemes and plays. We can only get better.”

“We have a lot of new kids on the team,” Felipe said. “We have to learn to play together as one.”