Central Valley High School's varsity football team enjoyed an impressive start to the 2015 Western Athletic Conference season this past week.
The Hawks relied on their running game and defense in routing visiting Pacheco 38-21 Friday night at Ceres High.
"We were hungry," Central Valley senior running back Jamarea Lumpkin said. "That's not our full potential. We can excel a lot more."
The Hawks moved to 3-2 overall and 1-0 in the WAC standings.
The Panthers dropped to 1-4 and 0-1.
Winners of its last three games, Central Valley didn't face much opposition in racing out to a 31-7 lead in the opening half versus Pacheco.
"The bottom line is the kids know that we still have a lot of things to improve on," Hawks head coach Scott Edwards said. "That was my message. You can't look ahead on the schedule. We got a tough conference."
Added Lumpkin: "We want to be the best in the WAC."
The Hawks' two-headed rushing attack of Lumpkin and Moses Ghiorso combined for 280 yards and four touchdowns.
"They're fun to watch," Edwards said. "Jamarea's made the biggest strides as far as knowledge and understanding. He's extremely powerful and fast. Moses is a completely different animal. He can make plays when you get the ball in his hands and everyone knows that."
"It's not just us," Lumpkin said. "Everybody had something to do with it (the win). I give a lot of the credit to our offensive line. We wouldn't be able to do nothing without them."
Lumpkin, the younger brother of Humboldt State star tailback Ja'Quan Gardner, ran for 140 yards and three scores on 19 carries.
"There's no pressure at all," Jamarea said. "It's something I embrace. He's supportive. I'm just trying to do my own thing. We're two different types of running backs. There's not much advice he can give me."
Ghiorso, a third-year varsity player, rumbled for 140 yards and one TD on 12 carries.
Central Valley offensive linemen Justin Ramsdell, Cipriano Salazar, David Lezama, Noah Postley and Zeph Avila provided the blocking.
"They're doing a better job of communicating," Edwards said. "With only one returning starter, it takes a while to gel."
Hawk quarterback Reuben Rodriguez completed 5 of 11 passes for 85 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions.
Central Valley teammate Johnny Pittman gained five yards and scored once on two attempts.
The Hawks had a host of contributors on defense.
Alex Alvarado tallied eight tackles, registered one sack and forced one fumble.
Adrian Badillo had eight tackles and one fumble recovery.
Julian Gutierrez had seven tackles and one interception.
David Serrano had six tackles and one fumble recovery.
Erik Mejia chipped in with five tackles and one forced fumble.
Willie Soriano added four tackles and one interception.
Hawk kicker Angel Lopez made a 30-yard field goal. He also connected on all five of his PATs. Lopez totaled 341 yards and one touchback on six kickoffs.
"Our overall performance as a team was solid," Edwards said. "Our defense continued to get us the ball back. That put our offense in positive field position. I'm upset we didn't continue to perform that well in the third quarter. It was a nice, solid opening league win. We just need to continue to develop. We've taken steps each of the last three weeks. If we can continue to run the ball, I'll be happy. We're running a different style of attack. We didn't change any blocking schemes."
Central Valley will face unbeaten Patterson on the road this Friday. The WAC contest will get underway at 7 p.m.
"We go into every game with a lot of confidence," Lumpkin said. "It's going to be a challenge. It's going to take teamwork. We got the talent to compete with them."
"We have a great test ahead of us," Edwards added. "They're 4-0 for a reason. They have solid coaches and players. They're disciplined. They have a lot of speed."
