Ceres High’s girls flag football team won a pair of games versus Western Athletic Conference competition last week.

Central Valley tasted defeat in league play for the first time.

“We’re finally starting to play well together,” Bulldogs’ head coach Curtis Hulstine said. “We’re showing what we’re capable of.”

“We’re at a turning point,” Hawks’ leader Tony Cordova said. “I think the girls are going to respond very positively. They know they need to be locked in more.”

Third-place Ceres High rolled to a 44-0 victory over visiting Pacheco on Wednesday at CUSD Stadium.

The Bulldogs (7-6, 3-1) remained in second place in the WAC standings.

The Panthers (5-6, 1-3) dropped to fourth place.

“We were firing on all cylinders,” Hulstine said. 

Ceres High edged Lathrop 20-14 at home on Sept. 15.

“It was a super competitive game. It came down to the last play. It was a nail-biter.”

Bulldog cornerback Gabriela Ortiz sealed the victory on defense when she tipped a pass in the end zone on fourth-and-goal late in the final quarter versus the second-place Spartans (8-2, 3-1).

“She played great the whole game,” Hulstine said. “They decided to test her one last time and she played it perfectly.”

Ceres High safety Sovannary Carter prevented Lathrop from scoring the play before.

“She pulled a flag at the 5-yard line,” Hulstine said.

Previously-unbeaten Central Valley dropped to third-place in the WAC after losing to Livingston and Beyer.

“I knew it was going to be a challenge,” Cordova said. “Overall, I thought we played well. We weren’t intimidated by either of those teams.”

The Hawks fell to 7-6 overall and 2-2 in conference play following Wednesday’s 20-13 setback at Livingston.

The Wolves (7-9, 4-0) took over sole possession of first place.

“Our offense played well,” Cordova said. “We moved the ball. We made two mistakes on defense and that cost us touchdowns.”

Central Valley quarterback Abigail Krauss completed 16 of 29 passes for 184 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.

Ayleen Apreza caught 10 passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns.

She also ran for 24 yards on five carries.

Jazmin Carmona rushed for 39 yards on five carries.

Jocelyn Rivera gained 33 yards on eight carries.

Hawk linebacker Giana Breshears collected five tackles and three sacks.

Airieana Martinez had two tackles, one sack and one pass deflection.

Apreza had three tackles, one interception and four pass deflections.

Alicia Torres had one interception.

Visiting Beyer pulled away for a 32-12 win against Central Valley on Sept. 15 at CUSD Stadium.

Ahead 19-12, the Patriots outscored the Hawks 13-0 during the second half.

“They’re beatable,” Cordova said. 

Central Valley had trouble covering Beyer’s Gabriella Garcia.

She totaled 154 yards and three touchdowns on 12 receptions.

“If we lock down No. 9 (Garcia), we win that game,” Cordova said. 

Krauss completed 21 of 32 passes for 177 yards with two touchdowns and one interception versus second-place Beyer (5-3, 3-1).

She also rushed for 17 yards on three carries.

Martinez caught six passes for 111 yards and one touchdown.

Apreza caught 11 passes for 68 yards.

Mekenzie Buenrostro caught two passes for 5 yards and one touchdown.

Apreza carried the ball 10 times for 59 yards.

Breshears and Dulce Del Valle both tallied six tackles on defense.

Damaris Cisneros and Sophia Alvarez chipped in with five tackles apiece.

Torres, Ruby Medina and Alicia Torres all contributed three tackles.

GIRLS TENNIS

Central Valley’s girls tennis team remained unbeaten in Western Athletic Conference play last week.

Ceres High dropped a pair of matches.

The 2024 WAC-champion Hawks have won their last 16 league matches dating back to last season.

“The hard work these girls put in through the course of the summer and preseason is paying off,” Central Valley head coach Nimrat Chahal said. “We still have a long way to go.”

The Hawks improved to 4-0 in the WAC standings after topping the host Livingston Wolves 8-1 on Thursday.

Central Valley swept all three doubles matches.

Genesis Velazquez Pedraza and Illyana Vidal prevailed 6-2, 6-4 in No. 1 doubles play.

Selena Cubillo and Valeria Sanchez prevailed 6-1, 6-3 in No. 2 doubles play.

Emily Carranza and Natalia Campos prevailed 6-1, 6-1 in No. 3 doubles play.

The Hawks won five of six singles matches the Wolves.

Aleena Higle prevailed 6-0, 6-0 in No. 1 singles play.

Harkiran Sandhu prevailed 6-3, 6-1 in No. 2 singles play.

Aaliyah Jauregui prevailed 6-0, 6-0 in No. 3 singles play.

Serath Birring prevailed 6-0, 6-4 in No. 5 singles play.

Roxana Orozco prevailed 6-2, 6-3 in No. 6 singles play.

Central Valley cruised to an 8-1 win over Beyer on Sept. 16 in Ceres.

The Hawks won all three doubles and five of six singles matches versus the Patriots.

Velazquez Pedraza and Vidal prevailed 6-2, 6-4 in No. 1 doubles play.

Cubillo and Sanchez prevailed 6-0, 6-1 in No. 2 doubles play.

Carranza and Campos prevailed 6-3, 6-0 in No. 3 doubles play.

Higle prevailed 6-3, 6-0 in No. 1 singles play.

Sandhu prevailed 6-4, 6-0 in No. 2 singles play.

Jauregui prevailed 6-1, 6-0 in No. 3 singles play.

Birring prevailed 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 in No. 5 singles play.

Orozco prevailed 6-0, 6-1 in No. 6 singles play.

“We played well last week in our two matches,” Chahal said. “There’s still room for growth but I’m proud of how hard the girls competed.” 

Ceres High fell to 1-3 in the WAC standings after losing 8-1 to visiting Pacheco on Thursday.

Tatiana Zamora accounted for the Bulldogs’ lone team point.

She prevailed by default in No. 4 singles play.

Zamora won the first set in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (7-4).

Ceres High lost 7-2 to Lathrop on Sept. 16 in Manteca.

Zamora prevailed 6-2, 6-1 in No. 4 singles play.

Martina Meglioli prevailed by default in No. 2 singles play.

CROSS COUNTRY

Members of Central Valley’s and Ceres High’s cross country programs traveled to O’Neill Forebay on Sept. 10 to compete at the Western Athletic Conference’s First Cluster Meet of the 2025 season.

“We have a young team,” Hawks’ first-year head coach Horacio Garcia said. “Today was a learning experience for us. The kids gave it their all.”

Central Valley’s and Ceres High’s varsity boys placed sixth and seventh, respectively, in the team standings.

The Hawks and Bulldogs posted scores of 139 and 171.

Enoc Reyes led Central Valley.

He took 22nd with a time of 19 minutes, 8 seconds on the 3-mile course.

Hawk teammates Frankie Klino (19:22), Jayden Pires (19:42), Carlos Castaneda (19:53), Alejandro Rodriguez (20:53), Maximiliano Mendoza (21:07) and Jayden Rodriguez (21:34) finished 26th, 31st, 32nd, 42nd, 44th and 49th, respectively.

Sergio Torres led Ceres High.

He took 12th (17:59).

Nickolas Albiani (20:12), Anthony Savala Alvarez (21:11), Elija Villamarin (22:01) and Christian Valadez (23:57) finished 35th, 45th, 51st and 55th, respectively.

Central Valley’s varsity girls totaled 129 points en route to a fifth-place finish.

Ceres High didn’t post a team score due to a lack of numbers.

Mia Muniz led the Hawks.

She took 20th with a time of 24 minutes, 26 seconds on the 3-mile course.

Central Valley teammates Karen Magallon (25:01), Simran Bains (28:57), McKenzy Crane (29:09) and Courtney Crane (35:15) finished 25th, 34th, 36th and 42nd, respectively.

Clarissa Rivera was the Bulldogs’ top finisher.

She took 18th (23:59).

Ceres High teammates Mariana Cortez (26:42), Isabella Sabala (28:15) and Marissa Pacheco finished 29th, 33rd and 39th, respectively.

In cross country, five runners are needed to post a team score.

“It’s unfortunate they can’t compete as a team,” Bulldogs’ head coach Owen Brown stated. “It’s a shame some of the athletes that were going to stay on the team didn’t.”

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

Ceres High’s girls volleyball team lost for the first time in Western Athletic Conference play this season last week.

Slowed by the stomach flu, Central Valley remained winless in league.

“Considering with what we dealt with, I think the girls did okay,” Hawks head coach Courtney Dayoff said. “They pushed through it.”

Central Valley dropped to 2-12 overall and 0-4 in the WAC standings following its 3-0 (25-13, 25-22, 25-22) loss to Livingston on Sept. 17 in Ceres.

Central Valley lost 3-0 (25-2, 25-12, 25-20) at Beyer on Sept. 15.

Ceres High dropped to 3-5 overall and 2-2 in the WAC after losing 3-2 (14-25, 25-21, 27-25, 23-25, 15-10) to Pacheco on Sept. 17 in Los Banos.

Ceres High lost 3-1 (25-12, 25-27, 25-17, 25-23) to Lathrop on Sept. 15 at Phil de la Porte Gymnasium.