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Ceres High musters just one touchdown in 21-7 league loss to Johansen
chs football homecoming
Ceres High’s varsity football team had its Homecoming spoiled by Johansen last week. The Bulldogs lost 21-7 to the Vikings Friday evening in Western Athletic Conference play. - photo by Contributed

Ceres High’s varsity football team broke into the win column for the first time this season on Sept. 21.

The Bulldogs ended a 10-game losing streak dating back to 2017 with a 44-21 victory over the Beyer Patriots.

Ceres High expected to turn in a similar performance against a similar opponent last week.

"We should have taken them more serious. Our playoff hopes got slimmer with the loss.”
Felipe Martinez

“We didn’t play like we should have,” Bulldogs’ senior running back/linebacker Felipe Martinez said. “Coming off the big win the week before, we underestimated Johansen. We should have taken them more serious. Our playoff hopes got slimmer with the loss.”

Johansen spoiled Ceres High’s Homecoming with a 21-7 result.

“From Beyer to this game, we took a big step backwards,” Martinez said. “We have to bounce back.”

The Bulldogs fell to 1-5 overall and 1-2 in the Western Athletic Conference standings.

The Vikings improved to 2-4 and 2-1.

“We have similar reputations,” Martinez said. “We haven’t had winning records in so long.”

Quarterback Isaac Vizcaino and receiver Angel Padilla accounted for the Bulldogs’ lone score.

Vizcaino tossed a 3-yard touchdown pass to Padilla in the first quarter.

Johansen returned a blocked field goal just before halftime to grab a 13-6 lead.

“That was a big momentum changer,” Martinez said. “At the same time, there was still a whole half of football to play.”

The Vikings pitched a shutout during the second half.

“We shot ourselves in the foot all game with turnovers and missed assignments,” Martinez said. “We could have done a lot better.”

The hungrier team won.

“They just played harder than us,” Martinez said. “They spoiled our Homecoming.”

Ceres High showed a tremendous amount of promise versus Beyer the previous week.

“We have a lot of potential,” Martinez said. “We have to figure out what team we want to be. Do we want to be the team that played against Beyer or the team that played against Johansen?”

Ceres High will travel to Los Banos this Friday to play first-place Pacheco (5-1, 3-0).

Kickoff slated for 7 p.m.

The Panthers routed the Grace Davis Spartans 61-40 last week.

“We have to step it up,” Martinez said. “We don’t want to lose no more.”

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Fernando Sosa and Ceres High will face Pacheco on the road this Friday at 7 p.m. - photo by Contributed