ATWATER -- Perfection didn't come easy.
Buhach Colony's Joe Marquez scored on a 49-yard touchdown pass to cap a late fourth-quarter rally. The Thunder scored two touchdowns in the final 4 minutes, 25 seconds to defeat Atwater 28-21 in the Bloss Bowl on Friday night.
It's the second straight year the Thunder have gone 10-0 in the regular season, winning another Central California Conference championship along the way.
"It's a huge accomplishment to go 10-0 in any sport," Buhach Colony coach Kevin Swartwood said. "To do it back-to-back means a lot to these kids. It's a credit to them."
The Thunder had to come from behind against their crosstown rivals.
Playing for its playoff life, Atwater (1-4 CCC, 4-6 overall) came out firing.
Falcons quarterback Adrian Avila moved his team up and down the field against the Thunder in the first half.
Avila scored on a 3-yard sneak to give Atwater a 7-0 lead with 4:28 left in the first quarter.
He made big plays with his feet and made clutch passes when he needed.
"For as big as Buhach Colony is up front, I thought our kids did a good job," Atwater coach Bob Valladao said. "They're real aggressive, but we were still able to run our stuff. Our defense shut down their run inside and forced them to stick outside or pass the ball."
With the help of a diving catch by tight end Matt Parker for a 23-yard touchdown and a 5-yard run by Javier Lopez, Atwater took a 21-14 lead into the half.
Atwater twice drove the ball into the red zone in the second half and came away with no points as the Falcons missed a field goal and turned the ball over on downs.
Thunder punter Enrique Covarrubias helped turned the game around with a 65-yard punt that backed Atwater up to its own 10-yard line.
Still trailing 21-14, the BC defense held, setting up the offense at Atwater's 36-yard line.
The Thunder drove in and tied the game on a 3-yard run by Stefon Gold with 4:25 left.
Marquez then came up with a big interception on Atwater's next possession.
Three plays later, Marquez out-jumped an Atwater defender for a pass from Nick Datray, and raced 49-yards for the eventual game-winning score.
"I had been running those 10-yard outs, so I think my guy was anticipating that," Marquez said. "I told Nick to throw it up and let me go get it and that's what he did."
Buhach Colony oddly attempted an onside kick after the score and that set up the Atwater offense at the BC 48-yard line with 3:03 left.
However, the Thunder defense made up for the mistake to help close out the win.
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