Central Valley’s football team faced little resistance in rolling to a 56-16 win over visiting Beyer during Friday’s Western Athletic Conference season-opening matchup.
Ceres High showed flashes of competitiveness while dropping its WAC opener, 46-28, to Grace Davis at Gregori High School.
“It’s good to get the win,” Hawks’ head coach Derrick Goblirsch stated. “But we’re ready to move on to the next one and keep the momentum going.”
“There was a lot of hope going into the game,” Bulldogs’ quarterback Anthony Santillan said. “Getting our first win of the season against Buhach Colony (the previous week) boosted our confidence. If we put in a little more effort (against Grace Davis), we could have won.”
Central Valley improved to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the WAC standings.
Beyer dropped to 1-3 and 0-1.
The Hawks have won three straight games since opening the season with a 29-14 loss to the Pitman Pride.
“We’ve cleaned up our mistakes since then,” Goblirsch said.
Central Valley racked up a season-high 490 yards and eight touchdowns on offense versus the Patriots.
“Our offensive line played really well,” Goblirsch said. “They dominated up front and put guys on their backs.”
Eight different players carried the ball as the Hawks rushed for 355 yards and six TDs on 39 carries.
Ivan Quezada ran for a team-high 97 yards and one touchdown on 14 carries.
Jeremiah Moreno ran for 80 yards and one touchdown on six carries.
Elizjha Casteel ran for 59 yards and one touchdown on four carries.
Damian Jackson had 25 yards and one touchdown on three carries.
Julian Perez had 20 yards and one touchdown on three carries.
Victor Altamirano added 12 yards and one touchdown on two carries.
Sergio Torres gained 45 yards on six carries.
Junior Gomez completed 6 of 8 passes for 135 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
Julian Gonzalez caught three passes for 93 yards and one touchdown.
Moreno caught one pass for 30 yards and one touchdown.
“We had seven different guys score touchdowns,” Goblirsch said. “It was fun to watch.”
The Hawks seized the momentum by outscoring the Patriots 28-2 in the opening half.
“The biggest surprise is we were able to keep their offense grounded,” Goblirsch said.
Central Valley will travel to Downey this Friday to face Grace Davis (2-2, 1-0). Kickoff slated for 7 p.m.
The Spartans are coached by former Hawks’ standout quarterback Trevor Mew.
“We hope to continue what we’ve been doing,” Goblirsch said. “It’s going to be a tough test.”
Ceres High fell short in its bid to spoil Grace Davis’ homecoming.
“We definitely could have won that game,” Santillan said.
The Bulldogs dropped to 1-3 overall and 0-1 in the WAC.
The Spartans improved to 2-2 and 1-0.
“We’re improving,” Santillan said. “We can show a lot more.”
Santillan led Ceres High with 213 yards and three touchdowns on offense.
He rushed for 126 yards and two scores on 10 carries and passed for 87 yards with one TD and one interception.
Running back Caelen Eskridge ran for 69 yards and one touchdown on 12 carries and caught one pass for 41 yards and one TD.
Tied at 7-7 at the end of the first quarter, Grace Davis outscored Ceres High 39-21 the remainder of the contest.
The Bulldogs trailed 28-14 at halftime.
Santillan’s 41-yard touchdown pass to Eskridge and Leonardo Ayala’s point-after kick cut the deficit to 12 points (40-28) in the fourth quarter.
Ceres High will play host to Beyer this Friday at 7 p.m.
“We have to play with heart and effort,” Santillan said. “We just have to execute.”
