Central Valley’s freshman football team was dealt a big blow in the first quarter of its crosstown-rivalry game versus Ceres High.

Forced to compete shorthanded after standout running back/free safety Harveer Atwal exited the contest with a dislocated left elbow, the Hawks regrouped and posted a 34-0 victory against the Bulldogs on Oct. 29 at CUSD Stadium.

“We had a devastating injury early in the game,” head coach Brent Bussard said. “I didn’t know how our kids would respond. Luckily, everybody stepped up and did their part. That’s the mentality we preach—next man up.”

Central Valley compiled a 5-4-1 overall record and finished in second place in the Western Athletic Conference standings with a 5-1-1 mark.

Ceres High finished 2-8 and last in the WAC standings (1-6).

The Hawks bounced back following an 0-3 start to the season.

“We went through a tough stretch at the beginning of the year,” Bussard stated. “People were saying we were going to go 0-10. It was motivation. That fired us up. We didn’t finish the season how we started.”

“A lot of our kids never played football before,” he added. “Learning and growing was a big thing. We spent a ton of time in the weight room. As we got more practice time, we started to see things click.”

Central Valley’s Dominic Hernandez had two touchdowns, including one passing and one rushing, versus Ceres High.

Braylon Alvarez had two rushing touchdowns.

Mikey Garcia had one rushing touchdown.

Brayden Chauhan had one receiving touchdown.

Bulldog Jackson Horton completed 7 of 14 passes for 42 yards with no touchdowns and one interception against the Hawks.

Ramon Diaz caught two passes for 21 yards.

Lucas Arechiga caught two passes for 15 yards. 

Diego Martinez caught two passes for 7 yards.

Central Valley scored 22 points in the second quarter on its way to building a 28-0 lead in the first half.

The Hawks shut out the Bulldogs 6-0 during the second half.

Atwal suffered his season-ending injury during Central Valley’s first offensive possession of the game.

“He’s a big piece of our team,” Bussard said. “He scored basically every touchdown through our first nine games.”

“We had a game plan and stuck with it,” he added. “Players executed. They wanted to win the game for him (Atwal). A loss would have broken his heart.”

Central Valley didn’t underestimate upset-minded Ceres High, which entered the rivalry contest with just two wins.

The Hawks took care of business against the Bulldogs.

“It’s a rivalry game,” Bussard said. “It doesn’t matter what your record is going into it. You can’t overlook your opponent.”