Atwater is 2-0 in the CCC for first time since 2008. Falcons have playoff hopes.

Atwater High running back Charles Jackson was seated on top of the training table getting his left ankle taped up before the game on Friday night.

The Falcons star has been nursing sprained ankles all season and only played sparingly against Central Valley. The Hawks did a good job of containing Atwater’s other big playmaker this season, Isaiah Deleon, limiting the Falcons quarterback to negative 4 yards rushing.

It was night where the Falcons depth would be tested and Nathan Knight and Albert Ramos answered the call.

Knight hauled in two touchdown passes and Ramos did the heavy lifting in the running game with 121 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries as the Falcons defeated Central Valley 28-14 at Dave Honey Stadium.

“Our second-string guys are always ready to step up when someone gets injured,” said Knight, who finished with four catches for 73 yards. “They come in and ball out like they showed tonight.”

Ramos had been sidelined himself with a knee injury since the Falcons’ preseason scrimmage. The 6-foot-1 senior did the bulk of his damage between the tackles against the Hawks, grinding out hard-earned yards that helped move the chains.

“It’s kind of the next-man-up mentality,” said Falcons coach Seneca Ybarra, whose team improved to 5-1 overall and 2-0 in the Central California Conference. “We like to run the football and (Central Valley) is good at stopping the run. Tonight it was strength versus strength.”

Jackson was still able to give the Falcons offense a spark when needed.

The junior scored on a 26-yard run that helped pull Atwater even with Central Valley at 14-14 with 2:27 left in the first half after a sluggish start by the Falcons offense.

Jackson then started the second half with a 40-yard run on the first offensive play in the second half to help set up a touchdown drive that ended with Ramos scoring on a 7-yard run to give Atwater a 20-14 lead with 8:47 left in the third quarter.

Jackson finished with 107 yards on just nine carries.

“He’s been dinged up all season,” Ybarra said. “It’s pretty impressive he’s been able to average that many yards this season with so few carries. Last week he got rolled up on so he’s giving us as much as he can.”

Knight turned in the big plays the Falcons needed in the passing game.

The junior receiver won a jump ball against a Hawks defensive back that resulted in a 32-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter that pulled the Falcons within 7-6.

Knight later pulled down a 29-yard touchdown from Deleon in the third quarter to extend the Falcons lead to 28-14.

“The first one, I got behind my guy and Isaiah threw a good ball,” Knight said. “It went right over him and I was able to get it. The second ball was a perfect pass. It was right there.”

The Falcons defense buckled down in the second half and kept Central Valley off the scoreboard after getting hurt by a couple big plays in the passing game in the first half. The Hawks couldn’t run the ball against Atwater, finishing with just 21 yards rushing. The Falcons also sacked Central Valley quarterback Andrew Hernandez four times.

The win was the Falcons’ fourth victory in a row. It’s Atwater’s first 2-0 start in the CCC since 2008. The Falcons are hoping to make the playoffs for the first time since 2012.

It’s a program looking to earn respect after suffering through an 0-10 season just 2 years ago.

“Ever since that 0-10 season we’ve been grinding away, working hard,” Knight said. “Especially this year, everyone is focused. We practice hard all the time. Each win means a lot to us. It would mean a lot to make the playoffs because we haven’t been to the playoffs in a long time. I know we would be proud and I think it would make a lot of people in Atwater proud.”

This story was originally published September 22, 2018 at 12:13 AM.