Roundup: Atwater dominates in win over Golden Valley; Hilmar scores late to defeat BC
James Thomas simply summed up what the biggest difference between the performance of the Atwater High football team this week compared to last week.
“I believe we just didn’t want to lose again,” the Atwater junior running back said.
It showed.
The Falcons ran the ball hard, were physical on defense and dominated on their way to a 40-7 win over Golden Valley on Friday night at Dave Honey Stadium.
Thomas led the way, carrying the ball 17 times for 118 yards and three touchdowns. The physical 5-foot-11, 200-pound back ran with a purpose, carrying defenders most of the night.
“I believe when I run, I run for the team, I run for a family, I run to win,” Thomas said.
Thomas scored on touchdown runs of 11, 2 and 1 yard as the Falcons (1-1) built a 40-0 lead.
“I knew we were going to be OK at that position,” said Atwater coach Seneca Ybarra. “Great kid, great character kid, runs hard, super physical. He is by far one of the most fun backs to watch in a football game because he’s like a mini Jerome ‘Bus’ (Bettis) out there.”
Atwater quarterback Julius Peacock added a 13-yard touchdown pass to Surinder Bhogal just before the end of the first half that helped the Falcons take a 20-0 lead into intermission.
It was a Falcons offense that rebounded after a turnover-plagued opener last week that saw Atwater lose 35-19 to Hilmar. Atwater didn’t turn the ball over against the Cougars (0-2).
It was also a strong night for the Atwater defense, which held GV scoreless until Cougars quarterback Eleazar Garza scored on a 1-yard run with 1:35 left in the game.
The Falcons limited Golden Valley running back Jabari Phillips, who rushed for 191 yards and three touchdowns last week against Dos Palos, to just 60 yards and 14 carries.
“This is going to be a special group,” Ybarra said “This will be a group I always remember my whole entire coaching career. Keeping these guys together, and loving on each other the whole time through was kind of tough so it’s great to see big smiles on their face at the end of the game.”
Hilmar 31, Buhach Colony 27 in Hilmar: The Yellowjackets scored 21 points in the fourth quarter to erase a 10-point deficit, including an 85-yard scoring drive with just 50 seconds left in the game and no timeouts.
Hilmar quarterback Seth Miguel found Derek Taylor in the corner of the end zone for a 12-yard touchdown with 7.4 seconds left to give the Yellowjackets (2-0) a 31-27 lead. The Yellowjackets had to convert on a fourth-and-23 to keep the drive alive.
“Seth was on fire during that drive,” said Hilmar coach Frank Marques.
Miguel completed 13 of 25 passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns. He also added a touchdown on the ground.
Hilmar sophomore Cannon Irelan also returned a kickoff return 85 yards during the fourth quarter to help propel the comeback.
Hilmar (2-0) will travel to Merced (1-1) in a Central California Conference showdown at Veterans Stadium.
Hughson 48, El Capitan 8 in Merced: The Gauchos’ lone score came on an 80-yard touchdown pass from Carter Haugen to Derrek Harris in the second quarter.
It was all Huskies the rest of the way as the Gauchos dropped to 0-2.
Le Grand 12, Livingston 7 in Livingston: Bulldogs quarterback Aaron Martinez scored on a 13-yard run with just under 6 minutes left in the game to give Le Grand (2-0) the lead.
The Wolves (1-1) drove the ball to the Le Grand 31 yard line with 51 seconds left, but Le Grand’s Louie Aguallo pounced on a fumbled snap to preserve the victory for the Bulldogs.
Central Valley 13, Los Banos 12 in Ceres: The Hawks stopped the Tigers’ two-point try with 34 seconds left in the game, tackling Los Banos running back Logan Borchard short of the end zone to hold on to the victory.
Tigers quarterback Gael Castillo had pulled Los Banos (0-2) within 13-12 with a 1-yard touchdown run.
Omar Mendoza and Isaiah Hidalgo scored on touchdown runs for Central Valley.
Julian Sanchez led the Los Banos defense with 15 solo tackles. Masten Milojevich and Joe Archutowksi both recorded 12 tackles for the Tigers.
Dos Palos 44, Mendota 38 in Dos Palos: Broncos quarterback Trent Calvert threw for 280 yards and five touchdowns to help Dos Palos improve to 2-0. Dos Palos’ Miguel Padeiro caught seven passes for 97 yards and a touchdown and William Montemurro caught two touchdowns.
Other Scores:
Washington Union 27, Chowchilla 6
Patterson 48, Pacheco 8
This story was originally published March 27, 2021 at 12:10 AM.
