Central Valley’s varsity football team headed to Ripon Friday night full of optimism.

The Hawks returned home disappointed thanks to a lopsided 42-7 loss. 

“I expected it to be more competitive,” Central Valley senior lineman Vince Bocanegra said. “We got to lick our wounds, fix what we got to fix and get ready for our next game.”

Central Valley dropped to 1-2 on the year.

Ripon improved to 3-0 overall.

The Hawks suffered their second straight loss.

Sierra rallied for a 22-10 win the previous week.

Ripon topped Weston Ranch and Sonora by identical 34-0 scores.

“Every game is a learning experience,” Bocanegra said.

Central Valley mustered just 93 yards of total offense against Ripon.

“They adjusted to our formations,” Bocanegra said. “They knew their keys and bumps.”

Hawk junior quarterback Andrew Hernandez totaled 57 yards while completing 10 of 18 passes.

Hernandez got sacked three times and hurried four times.

“We really need to step up on the line and give our quarterback time to throw the ball,” Bocanegra said. 

Central Valley’s defense allowed 419 yards of total offense, including 305 yards and six touchdowns on the ground.

“Ripon is a tough team,” Bocanegra said. “They’re fast and physical. Those are two of their best qualities. We tried to keep up with them.”

Central Valley allowed rushing touchdowns of 10, 42 and 41 yards en route to falling behind 21-0 in the opening half.

Ripon scored on runs of 72, 14 and 7 yards during the second half.

“They switched up their running game,” Bocanegra said. “On film, they ran more outside. Most of their long TDs were up the middle.”

Ripon nearly posted its third consecutive shutout. 

Central Valley tallied its lone touchdown off a turnover late in the game.

Hawk sophomore tailback Isaiah Hidalgo plowed his way into the end zone on a 1-yard run at the 1:24 mark. Christian Palomares added the point-after kick. 

Central Valley snapped a string of five consecutive scoreless quarters.

“We don’t need to dwell on the loss,” Bocanegra said. “We can’t change the score. We’ll learn from the mistakes and move past it. We have seven more games to focus on.”

Central Valley will look to bounce back against 1-2 Enochs this Friday at Ceres High.

The non-league contest will get underway at 7 p.m.

The Eagles edged the Hawks 14-6 last year.

“We’ve played Enochs before,” Bocanegra said. “It’s been pretty competitive. I have complete faith in my team. I feel like we’ll respond well. There’s definitely room for improvement.”

The Manteca Bulletin contributed to this report.