Ceres High School's varsity football team outplayed Hughson in the first half of Friday night's non-conference game.
Ahead 7-0, the Bulldogs mustered just one touchdown the rest of the way in losing 26-14 to the Huskies.
"It was a fun game to be a part of," said Ceres High head coach Bret Durossette, whose team challenged unbeaten Hughson for three-plus quarters.
The Bulldogs dropped to 0-3 overall.
The Huskies improved to 3-0.
Hughson forced two turnovers and limited Ceres High to 288 yards of total offense.
The Bulldogs mustered just 40 rushing yards on 22 carries.
Johnni Smith-Willis led Ceres High's ground game with 15 yards on nine attempts.
Brad Bussard threw for 248 yards with one touchdown and a pair of interceptions. He completed just 53 percent (16 of 30) of his pass attempts.
Juan Anderson caught seven passes for 112 yards and one touchdown.
Austin Stiles had 81 yards on six receptions.
Marcellus Boykins and Daniel Raya finished with 40 and 15 receiving yards, respectively.
Hughson had 19 first downs and 365 yards on offense.
The Huskies piled up 326 rushing yards on 50 attempts.
Cesar Cuevas rumbled for 181 yards and four touchdowns on 27 carries.
Aaron Black led Ceres High's defense with 13 tackles.
Ricky Valenzuela had 11 tackles.
Ramon Coral had one 10 tackles and one fumble recovery.
Caleb McDade had eight tackles.
Brent Bussard had six tackles.
Adrian Garcia had five tackles and one sack.
Anderson hauled in a 45-yard touchdown pass from Brad Bussard in the first quarter.
Hughson outscored Ceres High 26-7 during the second half.
Smith-Willis' 4-yard TD run and Anderson's second point-after kick gave the Bulldogs a 14-12 lead with 9:45 to play.
The Huskies answered with a score of their own as Cuevas broke free for a 10-yard TD run at the 6:14 mark of the fourth quarter.
Facing an 18-14 deficit at its own 21-yard line, Ceres High called three consecutive pass plays.
Brad Bussard had one incompletion and was sacked twice.
Hughson increased its lead to 20-14 on a safety as the Bulldogs snapped the ball out of the end zone.
Cuevas' 20-yard scamper put the Huskies ahead by two scores with 2:42 left in the game.
Trailing 26-14, Ceres High's final possession ended with a turnover.
Devondre Stendardo intercepted Brad Bussard's 30th and final pass attempt.
"We just need to learn how to finish games," Anderson said. "We have all this talent. It's a tough loss. I thought we were going to get the win. We got tired. Most of our players play both ways."
Ceres High will play at Johansen on Friday. Kickoff slated for 7:30 p.m.