Ahead comfortably, Patterson High School varsity football head coach Nick Marchy changed his offensive philosophy and personnel during the second half in an attempt to show mercy against his alma mater.
The Tigers scored five touchdowns in the first half and rolled to a 38-8 win over Ceres High Friday night at Patterson Community Stadium.
Marchy, a 1997 Ceres High grad, has been coaching varsity football at Patterson since 2011. He left Ceres because he couldn't find a full-time teaching position.
"Nick's done a really good job keeping those guys successful," Bulldogs head coach Bret Durossette said. "They're one of the better teams in the area. They have some great athletes."
Patterson improved to 6-0 on the year and 2-0 in the Western Athletic Conference.
Ceres High dropped to 2-5 and 1-2.
"We've been able to move the ball and score points," Durossette said. "Patterson did a great job of shutting us down. We just didn't execute."
The Tigers limited the Bulldogs' high-octane offense to a season-low 55 yards, including none rushing, and three first downs.
Ceres High junior quarterback Brad Bussard completed just 31 percent (6 of 19) of his passes with one touchdown and one interception.
Bussard and star receiver Dylan Canatsy combined for a 24-yard TD in the fourth quarter to prevent the shutout. Brad and Jimmy Bates accounted for the 2-point conversion.
Canatsy caught two passes for 33 yards.
Gabriel Solis hauled in a 12-yard pass.
Juan Anderson had one reception for 10 yards.
Harman Chung, Ceres High's 6-foot-4 tight end, missed the second half with a sternum injury. Chung wasn't a factor when he was on the field. He failed to catch a pass.
"He went to the hospital and is fine," Durossette said.
The Bulldogs had zero net rushing yards on 12 carries.
Ceres High punted six times for 215 yards.
Bulldog linebacker Mitchell Husong registered a team-high nine tackles and forced one fumble.
Defensive lineman Caleb McDade had eight tackles.
Defensive backs Domingo Bermudez and Isaiah Hernandez both made six tackles.
Haydon England chipped in with three tackles and one fumble recovery.
The Tigers built a big lead in the first half by dominating on both sides of the ball.
The Bulldogs trailed 32-0 heading into the third quarter.
"When you haven't been successful for a number of years, you revert to the past," Durossette said. "We didn't block well. We didn't run routes well. We didn't do anything right. It was terrible. We got to get better at everything. The kids need to believe in themselves."
Ceres High will play host to Pacheco (5-2, 2-1) this Friday at 7 p.m.
"Patterson figured out how to stop us," Durossette said. "We got to figure out a way to stop Pacheco. They're probably more athletic than (first-place) Central Catholic. They could have won that game. Maybe, we'll shock them. Last year, we competed against them."
