The members of Ceres High's and Central Valley's varsity football programs conversed and shared laughs on the sidelines prior to facing off this past weekend.
The Bulldogs and Hawks co-hosted a six-team scrimmage on Saturday at Ceres High.
Enochs, Modesto High, Modesto Christian and West also participated.
"Once we get on the field, we're rivals," Ceres High running back Johnni Smith-Willis said while talking about the crosstown matchup. "Everything changes."
"It's very competitive," Ceres High all-purpose player Moses Ghiorso said.
Ceres High battled Modesto Christian, Enochs and Central Valley last week.
Junior quarterback Chris Lubinsky directed the Bulldogs' offense.
Chris completed touchdown passes to Marcellus Boykins, Austin Stiles, Austin Crain and Conner Johnson.
Johnni also found the end zone multiple times.
Lubinsky, and offensive linemen Ryan Wolf, Oscar Galindo, Trenton Blanton, Arturo Barajas and Alejandro Rios, earned the praise of Smith-Willis.
"We had fun," Johnni said. "It felt great going against different schools. We mostly focused on practicing our plays. The offensive line did really well. Chris had a lot of time to throw the ball. He didn't throw a single interception. There were a lot of holes I could go through. Overall, we did great."
Central Valley competed against West, Modesto High and Ceres High.
Ghiorso and running back Jamarea Lumpkin were major contributors on offense.
Reuben Rodriguez took the majority of snaps at quarterback. "We had a good time," Ghiorso said. "We executed plays on offense. Our defense stepped up.
Overall, we did pretty well. We could have done better. We were overhyped."
Ghiorso had rushing and receiving touchdowns against Ceres High.
Smith-Willis (rushing) and Crain (receiving) accounted for the Bulldogs' TDs.
Ceres High and Central Valley players had hot dogs and soda after the scrimmage.
"Once we're on the field, it's not fun and games," Ghiorso said. "It's time to get serious. At the end of the day, we're still friends. We all get along."
