Ceres High’s varsity football team tried its best to keep pace with Los Banos.

Competitive in the early going, the Tigers pulled away for a 56-14 win over the visiting Bulldogs Friday night at Loftin Stadium.

“We were motivated,” junior running back/safety Amare Padilla said. “We wanted to ruin Los Banos’ playoff chances. We failed to do that.”

Ceres High (0-8, 0-5) remained in a two-way tie for last place in the Western Athletic Conference standings with Mountain House.

Los Banos (4-4, 4-1) moved into a four-way tie for first place in the WAC standings with Beyer, Grace Davis and Johansen.

“We haven’t won,” Padilla said. “But it doesn’t mean we don’t play hard. We just have to play harder.”

The Tigers limited the Bulldogs to just 67 yards of total offense.

Bryce Piatt completed 4 of 11 passes for 50 yards.

Aaron Delgado had 49 yards on four catches.

Verlis Smith added 17 yards on two receptions.

Ceres High had just 1 rushing yard on 24 carries.

Montrell Block had minus-4 yards and one TD on five carries.

Padilla finished with eight yards on seven attempts.

He also returned a kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown.

The Bulldogs and Tigers both scored once in the first quarter.

Block had a 2-yard TD run.

Padilla’s 85-yard kickoff return touchdown cut the deficit to 36-14 with 34 seconds left in the opening half.

“We could have scored more points,” Padilla said. “We just needed to execute better.”

Ceres High will play host to Mountain House (0-8, 0-5) this Friday at 7 p.m.

The Bulldogs and Mustangs have identical records.

Ceres High will look to secure its first victory and snap a 13-game losing streak dating back to last year.

“They’re just like us,” Padilla said. “They haven’t won a game yet. Hopefully, we can get the win.”