Central Valley’s girls flag football team leapfrogged Ceres High in the Western Athletic Conference standings last week.

The Hawks climbed to second place in the WAC after securing wins against Johansen and Livingston.

The Bulldogs dropped from first to third after getting upset by Pacheco and beating Grace Davis.

Central Valley has won its last six games, including five straight during the second half of the conference season.

“You can tell the girls want to win,” Hawks’ head coach Tony Cordova said. “They understand what they need to do to win. They want to make playoffs and compete for a league championship. The girls are hungry.”

“There’s no path to a league championship now,” Bulldogs’ leader Curtis Hulstine said. “We’re focused on ending the season strong and prepping for playoffs. If we win out, we’ll take second.”

Central Valley improved to a program-best 14-7 overall and 9-3 in the WAC following Wednesday’s 24-0 shutout of host Johansen.

The Hawks scored a touchdown in the final 30 second while edging out the Vikings 6-0 earlier this season at CUSD Stadium.

“They played strong from the beginning this game,” Cordova said. “They were focused.”

Central Valley quarterback Abigail Krauss passed for 157 yards and four touchdowns against Johansen.

The Hawks had four different players catch touchdown passes.

Mia Muniz totaled 67 yards and one touchdown on four receptions.

Jazmin Carmona hauled in four passes for 37 yards and one touchdown.

Ayleen Apreza grabbed two passes for 17 yards and one touchdown.

Ruby Medina had a 1-yard touchdown reception.

Apreza totaled four tackles, one interception and two pass deflections on defense.

Airieana Martinez had three tackles, one interception and one pass deflection.

Damaris Cisneros had two tackles and one interception.

Dulce Del Valle had three tackles and one pass deflection.

Mekenzie Buenrostro had one tackle and one pass deflection.

Central Valley exacted payback for a 20-13 loss with a 7-6 win over Livingston in the rain on Oct. 13 at CUSD Stadium.

“The girls are focused no matter what the conditions are,” Cordova said.

“Our preparation helped us,” Cordova said. “In warmups, I had water and I was soaking the football before every throw.”

The Hawks relied heavily on Apreza during the rematch.

She ran for 122 yards and one touchdown on 14 carries.

She also had one tackle, two interceptions and one pass deflection on defense.

“We know she can do amazing things,” Cordova said. “We needed her to carry the offense because of the weather conditions.”

Martinez had three tackles, one interception and one pass deflection.

Cisneros had one tackle and one interception.

Sophia Alvarez had one tackle and one sack.

Central Valley’s defense continues to shine.

Led by linebackers Del Valle, Alvarez, Giana Breshears and Alicia Espinoza, the Hawks allowed just 11.8 points per game during their unbeaten streak.

“The defense is the foundation of this team,” Cordova said. “We’ve been putting a lot of pressure on the quarterbacks.”

Bulldogs improve to 13-8

Ceres High improved to 13-8 overall and 9-3 in the WAC standings following Wednesday’s 50-7 blowout of Grace Davis at CUSD Stadium.

“The girls were laser-focused,” Hulstine said. 

Bulldog quarterback Presley Vierra turned in a career-best performance against the Spartans.

She threw for 400 yards with six touchdowns.

She also scored once on the ground.

“She’s not only a great player, but a great teammate,” Hulstine said. “She’s very coachable.”

Ceres High’s Lilly Staggs had 158 yards and three touchdowns receiving.

Jayden Garcia had 72 yards and two touchdowns.

Sovannary Carter had 97 yards and one touchdown.

Genesis Rodriguez led the Bulldogs’ defense with four sacks.

Staggs had two sacks.

Garcia and Adalene Luna both had one interception.

Ceres High dropped out of the race for the WAC title after losing 26-13 to Pacheco on a rainy evening in Los Banos on Oct. 13.

The Bulldogs won the previous meeting, 44-0.

“It was definitely a shock,” Hulstine said. “We didn’t play well at all. The weather got the best of us.”

Vierra passed for 255 yards and two touchdowns.

Carter had 67 yards and two touchdowns receiving.

Garcia, Staggs, Amaia Pritchett and Mariah Renteria had 63, 45, 42 and 27 receiving yards, respectively.

Staggs collected five sacks on defense.

Briona Bravo, Daisy Leon and Gabriella Ortiz all had one interception.

Central Valley and Ceres High will face off for the second time this season today at Ceres High.

Central Valley’s Senior Night game will get underway at 7 p.m. 

The second-place Hawks rallied for a 31-28 win against the Bulldogs on Sept. 29.