Central Valley's junior-varsity football team beat a scrappy Ceres High squad during the final week of the Western Athletic Conference season.
The Hawks pulled away for a 41-6 crosstown victory over the winless Bulldogs on Nov. 3 at CHS.
"I was pretty impressed with how Ceres High played early on in the game," Central Valley first-year head coach Rusty Price said. "They were challenging us. They wanted it more than us. They were doing some really good stuff. I don't think our guys expected that."
The Hawks amassed an 8-2 overall record and placed third in the Western Athletic Conference (3-2).
The Bulldogs finished last in the WAC standings (0-5).
"It's been a really fun year," Price said. "I knew from our first practice we had a good group. They were very talented. They executed at a pretty high level throughout the season. They worked together. They never pointed fingers. We didn't have any selfish players."
Central Valley amassed 300 yards of total offense versus Ceres High.
Hawk freshman all-purpose player Isaiah Hidalgo had three total touchdowns versus Ceres High, including one rushing, one receiving and one punt return.
"Isaiah can single-handedly take over a game," Price said. "He's an unbelievable athlete."
Central Valley quarterback Andrew Hernandez completed 4 of 6 passes for 137 yards with two TDS.
He rushed for 118 yards and one touchdown on 10 carries.
"Andrew is the leader of our team," Price said. "He's one of the smartest players we have as well."
Erick Stucchi and Dylan Kong had TD receptions of 45 and 11 yards, respectively.
"We never had to rely on just one guy," Price said. "We had so many weapons. It made my job easy."
Ceres High quarterback Joshua Pernetti completed 12 of 21 passes for 120 yards with one touchdown.
Bulldog tight end Jacob Backman hauled in three passes for 65 yards and one touchdown.
Ceres High running backs Isaias Jimenez and Izriel Jimenez gained 100 and 93 yards, respectively.
Jimenez collected 14 tackles, three sacks and one fumble recovery while starring at middle linebacker on defense.
Ramirez registered nine tackles at safety.
Joshua Ofisa and Edison Jimenez both collected two sacks.
Malachi Shimon tallied one sack.
"Central Valley has a very good team," Ceres High coach Darrell Long said. But the boys played them as hard as anybody else we played. They just made too many big plays."
The Hawks outscored the Bulldogs 27-6 in the opening half.
Hidalgo caught a touchdown pass from Hernandez and ran back a punt for a TD.
Hernandez and Stucchi combined for score.
Kong tallied a TD on special teams.
He snagged a failed Bulldog pitch attempt during a kickoff and returned it for a touchdown.
Pernetti's 9-yard TD pass to Backman cut the deficit to 13-6 with 39 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
The Bulldogs had a possession end with an interception inside Central Valley's 10-yard line just before halftime. "Eventually, we got it together and took over," Price said. "You don't want to lose to the other school from the same town. You have to live with that for the rest of the year."
