Roundup: Golden Valley scores late to win thriller over Atwater. Los Banos, Pacheco win big.

Jose Orozco scored on an 8-yard touchdown run to give the Golden Valley High football team the lead with 2 minutes and 15 seconds left, and the Cougars defense stopped the Atwater offense late to hold on to a 27-21 win on Friday night at Dave Honey Stadium.

Golden Valley improved to 5-2 overall and 2-1 in the Central California Conference.

“We had enough time after they scored, we just had to pull together,” said Cougars coach Rick Martinez. “We were down two. Our kicker had already kicked two through. We were able to move the ball down the field. It was an exciting win. It was great play calling, the kids executed and it was a great team win.”

The Falcons (5-3, 2-2 CCC) took the lead late when Anthony Diaz connected with Nathan Knight for an 18-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion gave Atwater a 21-19 lead with 3:17 left.

Golden Valley got some big plays throughout the game.

Avery Townsel caught a 62-yard touchdown pass from Jonathan Peredia in the first half that gave the Cougars a 16-13 lead, which they took into the half.

Townsel also intercepted an Atwater pass in the end zone to stop a scoring drive in the third quarter.

After the Falcons scored two first-half touchdowns to take a 13-3 lead, GV’s Zack Fernandez returned a kickoff for a touchdown to pull the Cougars within 13-9.

“They had kicked the ball out of bounds two or three times and I made them kick again,” Martinez said. “Then we get the big time kickoff return. That was huge because it got some of the momentum back on our side. It was a little spark for us.”

Golden Valley will host El Capitan (0-7, 0-3 CCC) at Veterans Stadium next week. Atwater has a bye before closing with Merced and Buhach Colony.

Los Banos 47, Johansen 12 in Modesto – Dasani Tate completed 16 of 21 passes for 225 yards and five touchdowns to lead the Tigers to a bounce back win after a tough loss last week to Mountain House.

Tate connected with Landon Ramos for four touchdown receptions of 22, 11, 41 and 8 yards. Ramos finished with six catches for 88 yards.

Justin Incaprera finished with nine carries for 134 yards, including a 40-yard touchdown run in the second quarter that gave the Tigers (4-3, 3-1 Western Athletic Conference) a 27-0 lead.

Linebacker Patrick Nunes led the defense with 11 tackles and a fumble recovery.

Pacheco 59, Ceres 6 in Los Banos – Dom Gomez scored on a touchdown runs of 35, 32 and 18 yards as the Panthers won their four consecutive game to improve to 6-1 overall and 4-0 in the WAC.

The Panthers will square off against undefeated Mountain House next week.

Pacheco quarterback Marcus Ordunez ran two touchdowns in and also connected with Jerry Winters for a pair of touchdown passes.

Hilmar 49, Hughson 7 in Hilmar – In a game some felt could be close, the Yellowjackets (2-1, 6-1) had an easy time with the Huskies (2-2, 5-3). Hughson jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first quarter, but Hilmar dominated the rest of the way as running backs Isaac Sharp (170 yards, 2 TDs) and Justin Rentfro (2 TDs) had a big night. Wide receiver Bryan Millan had three receptions for 130 yard and two TDS.

The Hilmar defense limited the Huskies to minus-1 yard rushing. It was a second straight victory against a team with a winning record for Hilmar, which next week hosts Modesto Christian (8-0, 4-0).Bryan Millan hauled in touchdown catches of 55 and 48 yards and the Yellowjackets scored 49 unanswered points after falling behind 7-0 to the Huskies.

Modesto Christian 46, Livingtston 7 in Salida – Crusaders quarterback Hayden Sauser connected with receiver Johnny Williams for two first-half touchdowns to help Modesto Christian start fast. The Crusaders improved to 8-0 overall and 4-0 in the Trans-Valley League.

Modesto Christian travels to Hilmar next week in an TVL showdown.

Le Grand 39, Delhi 6 in Delhi – The Bulldogs (2-5 overall, 1-3 Southern League) scored a season-high in points as Tony Garcia led the way with 145 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries.

Five different Le Grand players found the end zone, including Michael Dinkins on a 66-yard punt return that gave the Bulldogs a 26-0 lead at the half.

Delhi dropped to 0-7 overall and 0-4 in the SL.

Ripon Christian 49, Gustine 0 in Gustine – The Knights built a 35-0 lead at the half with two defensive scores. Drew Van Vliet and Sean McGovern both returned fumbles into the end zone for scores.

Ripon Christian improved to 7-0 overall and 4-0 in the SL. Gustine dropped to 4-3 and 2-2 in the SL.

Waterford 42, Mariposa 14 in Waterford – Wildcats quarterback Michael Vivo helped Waterford build a 20-0 lead at the half with two passing touchdowns and another on the ground. Mariposa also turned the ball over three times in the first two quarters.

Chowchilla 27, Washington Union 20 in Easton – Cody Woolsey carried the ball 30 times for 153 yards and two touchdowns as the Tribe improved to 6-2 overall and 2-0 in the North Sequioa League.

Jordan Hornbeak added 94 yards rushing and a touchdown that gave Chowchilla a 27-7 lead in the fourth quarter.

The Panthers scored two touchdowns late to pull within seven points.

Other local scores:

Stone Ridge Christian 50, Turlock Christian 0

Dos Palos 46, Coalinga 14

This story was originally published October 6, 2018 at 12:29 AM.