Falcons erupt in second half to defeat Central Valley

Atwater quarterback Frank Cocio connected on two long touchdown passes in the second half as the Falcons scored 27 consecutive points on their way to a 34-20 win over Central Valley in a season opener on Friday night at Ceres High.

Cocio scrambled out of trouble and found Avery Smith open for a 71-yard touchdown pass that tied the score 14-14 late in the third quarter. He then hit a scoring strike of 50 yards to Josh Wilson to give the Falcons their first lead of the game with 7:44 left in the fourth quarter.

“Frankie gave us a spark,” Atwater coach Bob Valladao said. “We couldn’t get in a rhythm. (Central Valley) was slanting and stunting up front, and it took us about three quarters to figure it out and get the kids settled down.

“Frankie made a nice play, and somehow Avery got open.

The special teams and defense played a big part in the win. The defense intercepted four passes, including two by Noah Torres. Atwater also blocked two Central Valley punts and two extra-point attempts.

The second blocked punt put the Falcons at the Hawks’ 3-yard line, where Efrain Perez punched the ball in the end zone to extend the lead to 28-14 with 6:02 remaining.

Fullback Michael Vargas added a 5-yard touchdown run with 1:38 left to build the lead to 34-14.

“I think we just wore them down,” Valladao said. “Central Valley is a good team, and I think they’ll have a good season. We played well defensively. It was a hard-hitting game. We got a lot of good hits on them. I think we finished with four sacks and five hurries.”

The Falcons will hit the road again next week to face two-time state champion Central Catholic.

This story was originally published August 29, 2015 at 12:44 AM with the headline "Falcons erupt in second half to defeat Central Valley."