Senior quarterback Parker Borges and his Ceres High football teammates relished the opportunity to play for retiring head coach Brett Johnson one last time.
The Bulldogs traveled to Jackson last Friday to face Argonaut.
The Mustangs prevailed, 44-6, during the inaugural CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Bowl Series Game.
“It was pretty emotional,” Borges said while talking about the mood during Ceres High’s final postgame gathering. “We all love coach Johnson. He’s been a big role model for all of us. He’s one of the greatest persons I’ve ever met. He’s helped me become a better man. Whoever steps ups (as the next head coach) has big shoes to fill.”
“Knowing it was my final game, it was very emotional,” Johnson added. “I’ve always coached because I love the kids. I had the desire to make them better young men and football players.”
The Bulldogs had a 3-8 overall record and took sixth in the Western Athletic Conference standings with a 2-5 mark this fall.
The Mustangs finished 5-6 and fifth in the Sierra Valley Conference (3-4).
Ceres High squandered leads in losses to Johansen, Livingston and Buhach Colony.
“We’re not happy with how the season went,” Borges said. “There were a lot of ups and downs. Losing is never fun. But we’re happy we got to make memories with coach Johnson.”
Argonaut outgained Ceres High, 455-187, in offensive yardage.
Borges completed 9 of 17 passes for 95 yards with one touchdown and one interception while making his final start quarterback for the Bulldogs.
He was sacked three times.
Borges also rushed for a team-high 32 yards on nine carries.
“Their defensive line was fast,” he said. “There was a lot of pressure.”
Junior Malachi German gained 29 yards on six carries.
Senior Eric De Lozada starred at receiver as he grabbed nine passes for 104 yards and one touchdown.
Senior Adrian Carrillo caught one pass for 12 yards before exiting the contest with a back injury in the first quarter.
Senior Nathaniel St. Macias completed 2 of 3 passes for 28 yards, hauled in one pass for 7 yards and rushed for 5 yards on four carries.
Junior outside linebacker Caelen Eskridge did not return to the game after taking a hard hit to his helmet during the opening half. He totaled 42 tackles, one forced fumble, one interception and three pass deflections on the year.
Two-way starters Adrian Huesca (running back/linebacker) and Alex Alvarez (running back/linebaker) were also sidelined with injuries.
“They started finding the areas we weren’t as strong in,” Johnson said.
The Mustangs piled up 387 yards and six touchdowns on the ground versus the Bulldogs.
Errol Garner carried the ball 11 times for 212 yards and one touchdown.
Zander Castro gained 67 yards and scored two touchdowns on four carries.
Ceres High fell behind 17-0 in the first half.
Argonaut extended its lead to 37-0 in the third quarter.
Borges and De Lozada accounted for the Bulldogs’ lone touchdown. Borges tossed a 25-yard TD pass to De Lozada in the left corner of the end zone in the fourth quarter.
“We had a good feeling going into the game,” Borges said. “We felt we were going to win. At the end of the day, we didn’t. Stuff happens. They had the momentum because of a bunch of mess-ups. We tried our best.”
“I thought we matched up extremely well with Argonaut,” Johnson added. “We had our chances. We just made some mistakes that definitely hurt us.”
The CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Bowl Series was created this season. A total of 29 games were played.
The Bowl Series pairs schools that are competitive equals, matched by overall performance and strength of schedule during the regular season.
“It was a cool experience to get an extra game senior year,” Borges said.
