Central Valley High School varsity football players Andrew Hernandez, Erick Martinez, Angel Porras, Mark Ramirez, Ryan Palecek, Thomas Carrillo and Xavier Alvarez earned honorable-mention recognition during the Central California Conference’s year-end coaches’ meeting.

Hernandez, Martinez and Porras were awarded for their contributions on offense.

Andrew, a junior quarterback, completed 112 of 210 passes for 1,393 yards with 12 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

He also had three rushing TDs.

“It’s faster on varsity,” said Hernandez, a first-year starter. “You have to make your reads quicker. I wasn’t worried about my production. I just wanted more wins.”

Angel, a senior, started at center.

Erick, a junior, was Central Valley’s top receiver.

He caught 29 passes for 467 yards and three touchdowns.

Thomas, Ryan, Mark and Xavier all chipped in on defense.

Ramirez, a senior safety, ranked first on the team in tackles (65), pass deflections (3) and fumble recoveries (1), and second in interceptions (2).

Palecek, a senior linebacker, had 61 tackles, two pass deflections, one sack, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.

Carrillo, a junior defensive tackle, collected 32 tackles and one sack.

Alvarez, a junior cornerback, led the Hawks with three interceptions.

He also made 22 tackles and deflected one pass.

Central Valley compiled a 2-8 overall record and finished sixth overall with a 1-5 mark during its first season in the CCC.

The Hawks averaged 19.1 points and 233 yards of total offense per game.

Central Valley allowed 30.2 points per game.

The Hawks collected victories against Ceres High (35-0) and El Capitan (23-16) this season.

“The CCC was a huge step up in competition,” Hernandez said. “It was more like a smack in the face. We had the right schemes. As a whole, we just needed to execute better.”

Hernandez and the Hawks will be striving for improvement in 2019. 

“I feel really confident about the upcoming season,” Hernandez said. “Now that I got a year of varsity experience, the game will slow down and the reads will be easier. My goal is to have fewer turnovers. I also need to be more of a leader. I want to be a good example to my team.”