Ceres High’s girls water polo team defended its home pool while competing against Central Valley on Oct. 1.
The Bulldogs pulled way for a 19-9 win over the crosstown-rival Hawks.
“We have the same mentality going into every game,” Ceres High first-year head coach Emiliano Ortega said. “We want to win and show no mercy. We want to play to the best of our ability.”
The Bulldogs improved to 2-5 in the Western Athletic Conference.
The Hawks dropped to 1-6 in the WAC.
Ceres High took over sole possession of fifth place in the league standings.
Central Valley dropped to sixth place.
“Every game is important for us right now,” Ortega said. “There’s a chance we make playoffs. We have to win the rest of our games.”
“They know what the goal is,” he added. “They’re working towards the same thing. We went from a group of players to a functioning team. We’re one cohesive unit.”
Bulldog Jessie Blevins scored a game-high eight goals versus the Hawks.
Layla Abraham added six goals.
Heaven Vasquez had three goals.
Rhylie Houtchens and Jaelyn Silva both contributed one goal.
Central Valley’s Lilyanna Madrigal scored a team-high six goals against Ceres High.
Freshman Isabella Madrigal added two goals.
Sophomore Audrey Rhinehart collected one goal.
The Bulldogs had just one substitute on their bench.
“I’m glad our players were able to execute what we talked about,” Ortega said. “One thing we pride ourselves in is our conditioning. It’s a big advantage.”
“Us being able to swim up and down the pool gave us a lot of fastbreak opportunities,” he added.
Ceres High tallied seven goals en route to building an 11-5 lead in the opening half.
Central Valley kept the game close in the first quarter as it faced just a two-goal (4-2) deficit.
“We were able to pull ahead by so much because of our defense,” Ortega said.
Ceres High improved its head-to-head record against Central Valley to 3-0.
The Bulldogs beat the Hawks twice (17-7, 21-11) last season.
Ortega enjoyed watching his team compete against Central Valley.
The atmosphere was different compared to other league games.
“There was definitely more intensity,” Ortega said.
