Merced, Atwater girls flag football remain tied atop CCC standings after victories.
The Merced High girls flag football team avenged an earlier loss to Buhach Colony with a 20-13 victory on Thursday night to remain tied atop the Central California Conference standings. The Bears improved to 17-3 overall and 7-1 in the CCC. Merced is tied with Atwater for first place with two games remaining in the regular season.
Antonnia LeJarde led the Merced offense with 259 yards passing and three touchdown passes. She also ran for 77 yards. The Bears’ only CCC loss was an 18-12 loss to Buhach Colony on Sept. 30. LeJarde said the difference this time against the Thunder was, “Our energy, attitudes and how the team carried themselves," she said.
Merced’s Ryann Perez finished with 83 yards receiving and hauled in two touchdown catches. Averie Steverson added 56 yards receiving and a touchdown reception. “The difference is we pulled flags and made catches,” said Merced coach Vic Nazario. “We had nine drops in our last game (against Buhach Colony), which really stalled our offense. Going into the next two games, we need to win out and really take one game at a time, play our style of football, like we have been doing all year.”
Atwater 67, Golden Valley 13 – The Falcons exploded offensively as quarterback Madi Hiler completed 13 of 17 passes for 141 yards and threw five touchdowns. Kaylee Gunnin also threw for 141 yards and a touchdown and rushed for two scores. Atwater’s Saige Harcksen caught five passes for 98 yards and a touchdown and Riley Leonardo caught two touchdowns. Natalia Melgoza, Makayla Ybarra, Olivia Bell, Luna Valenzuela all scored touchdowns for the Falcons.
Emma Flores returned an interception 80 yards for a touchdown for Atwater. The Falcons remain tied atop the CCC with Merced at 16-4 overall and 7-1 in the CCC. Atwater will play Los Banos on Tuesday before clashing with Merced for the CCC championship on Thursday at Cathie Hostetler Stadium.
El Capitan 32, Los Banos 8 – Aalliyah Simonian threw for 163 yards and rushed for 116 more yards and accounted for five touchdowns in the Gauchos’ victory. Bailee Moniz, Avnoor Bains, Leyonni Attkins and Tasha Dickey all recorded touchdown catches for El Capitan (17-4 overall, 5-3 CCC).
Girls Volleyball
Atwater 3, Golden Valley 0 – Falcons senior Amara Rhodes went over the 1,500 career assists mark as Atwater swept Golden Valley 25-21, 25-15, 25-22 to improve to 19-8 overall and 6-3 in the CCC. Rhodes finished with 19 assists and five aces.
Emma Rodriguez led the Falcons offense with eight kills and Caylor Gibson added three blocks. Genesis Velasquez chipped in with 11 digs.
El Capitan 3, Los Banos 0 – Sophie Fernandez recorded 19 assists, two kills, one ace, three digs and three blocks as the Gauchos defeated the Tigers 25-17, 25-17, 25-8 to secure career win No. 200 for head coach Chela Moreno. The Gauchos improved to 21-10 overall and 8-0 in the CCC.
Jordynn Middleton added 15 kills and four digs, Collette Collins finished with six aces, 11 digs and six assists and Bette Lua added 10 kills and three digs for El Capitan.
Boys Water Polo
Merced 15, Los Banos 0 – Eleven different Bears players scored goals as the Bears improved to 18-2 overall and 6-0 in the CCC. Cord McCall recorded three assists and four steals for Merced.
El Capitan 9, Buhach Colony 8 (OT) – Matthew Brown scored three goals, assisted on three others and added four steals as the Gauchos defeated the Thunder in overtime to improve to 13-5 overall and 5-1 in the CCC.
Girls Golf
Buhach Colony 251, Atwater 284 – Amanda Englert shot a round of 46 to lead the Thunder to victory. Ryen Cardoso shot a 48 for Buhach Colony. Praisley Garcia paced the Falcons with a 46.
Merced 261, Los Banos 306 – Maya Rodriguez led the Bears with a 46 and Abby Rosa finished with a 49.
Girls Tennis
El Capitan 9, Golden Valley 0 – Lia Garcia Del Castillo, Gabriela Garcia Del Castillo, Sarah Conrad, Amberly Her, Mikayla Santiago and Emma Weber all won their singles matches to help the Gauchos improve to 19-1 overall and 8-0 in the CCC.
Shawn Jansen is the MUHSD Program Manager Digital Media. He can be reached at Sjansen@muhsd.org.