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Offensive woes
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Ceres High School's varsity football team hung tough for a half Friday night on the road before heavily-favored Sierra scored three times in the final 24 minutes to pull away for a 34-0 Homecoming victory.

"The kids played a lot better this week," Bulldogs head coach Brett Johnson said. "We saw a lot of improvement."

The shutout was the second in a row for last-place Ceres High, which dropped to 0-8 on the year and 0-5 in the Valley Oak League standings. The Timberwolves moved to 7-1 and 4-1.

"We have a great group of guys," Johnson said. "I just want to see them celebrate at the end of the game. I really want them to have that experience."

Ceres High has been outscored 201-40 in conference play this season, including 75-0 the past two weeks.

"I can't put my finger on why we haven't been able to generate anything on offense," Johnson said. "We haven't been very effective."

The Bulldogs have been plagued by injuries and turnovers for most of the year. Senior quarterback Josh Edwards suffered a career-ending knee injury during Ceres High's first league game.

"He had a strong arm," Johnson said. "He was mobile and a tough kid."

The Bulldogs have yet to find a capable replacement for Edwards. Sophomore Nick Welsh and junior George Borden have split time at QB.

Welsh completed 4 of 14 passes for 40 yards with one interception and one fumble last week. Borden's two completions covered 42 yards.

"We just got to go back to the drawing board and see if we can get our two quarterbacks up to speed," Johnson said. "If we can get our offense clicking, I feel really confident we'll get into the win column."

Ceres High tallied 12 first downs, 156 yards of total offense and two turnovers against Sierra. Kyle Cerny punted six times.

Justin Canatsy totaled 57 yards, including 35 receiving and 22 rushing. He also intercepted a pass on defense.

Hadon Lopez collected 14 tackles and one sack.

Lucas Baez had seven tackles and one sack.

Brandon Jolley and Zach Naylor added 10 and nine tackles, respectively.

Brent Ward registered a sack.

Nick Sandoval returned four kickoffs for 97 yards.

The Timberwolves racked up 18 first downs and 419 yards with just one turnover on offense.

"Our defense played really well in the first half," said Johnson, whose team trailed 13-0 at intermission. "We didn't give up any big plays."

Ceres High will play host to East Union (3-5, 1-4) this Friday at 7:15 p.m. The Bulldogs defeated the Lancers 30-14 last year.