Lucas Belo delivered two long touchdown catches and added a third score on the ground to lead the undefeated Hilmar High football team to a 30-14 victory over Atwater on Friday night at Dave Honey Stadium. 

 

Missing multiple starters due to injuries, the Falcons fought hard before the Yellowjackets (4-0) pulled away in the fourth quarter. Atwater is banged up four weeks into the season after playing a tough schedule that includes teams like Vacaville, Hughson and Hilmar. “The schedule's helped us, but it's just not helping us in the injury department,” said Atwater head coach Seneca Ybarra, whose team dropped to 0-4. “Our kids played hard. To compete with teams like this you have to play good ball and we had a few too many mistakes.”

 

Belo led Hilmar with a 40-yard touchdown catch to start the scoring in the first quarter. He added a 5-yard touchdown run later in the first half to give the Yellowjackets a 13-7 lead. After Atwater briefly took the lead in the second half, Belo hauled in a 69-yard touchdown catch to give Hilmar a 20-14 lead.

 

There were definitely some bright spots for the Falcons. Senior receiver Charlie Whitby hauled in six catches for 121 yards and a touchdown. Whitby turned a screen pass into a 44-yard gain in the first quarter. Two plays later, quarterback Tyler Curtis connected with Whitby on a fade route in the end zone for a 21-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7-7. Curtis completed 4 of 8 passes for 107 yards and added 37 rushing yards.

 

“I just had a long run, so I was pretty tired,” Whitby said. “I saw my coach call the play and I knew before I even scored that it was going to be a touchdown. It felt pretty great, for sure.”

 

Trailing 13-7 toward the end of the half, the Falcons had a touchdown wiped away. Curtis scrambled to his left and just before getting tackled he flipped the ball forward into the end zone and it was caught by receiver Easton Hart. As the Falcons were celebrating a go-ahead score, the referees announced Atwater was being penalized for a false start, which negated the highlight play. 

 

The Falcons opted to go for a touchdown instead of a field goal in the final seconds, but Curtis couldn’t connect with Whitby in the end zone on the final play of the half. The Falcons coaches argued that there should have been a defensive pass interference call, but couldn't convince the officials and the Yellowjackets took a 13-7 lead into intermission.

 

The Falcons opened the second half with a big play at Hudson Pimentel scored on a 57-yard run on the second play of the third quarter to give Atwater a 14-13 lead with 10:59 left in the quarter.

 

Hilmar answered quickly as Belo took a swing pass to the right and raced down the sideline for a 69-yard touchdown to give the Yellowjackets a 20-14 lead with 9:31 left in the third quarter. 

 

The Yellowjackets turned to their running game to grind the clock and chew up yards as running back Hunter Greunke finished with 103 yards on the ground on 18 carries. Kicker Blake Victorino tacked on a 44-yard field goal and running back Adam Branco punched in a 4-yard touchdown run for the final 30-14 final.

 

“Hilmar is the No. 1 ranked small school in the section and we held our own,” Whitby said. “Last week we were up 20 points in the first quarter and we let it get away. We’re just a couple plays away. We’re just making some small mistakes. We’re struggling with some injuries as well. We’re going to get through it and that’s all that matters.”

 

Pitman 28, Golden Valley 23 – The Pride scored a late touchdown to spoil the Cougars’ bid at a road victory. Golden Valley dropped to 1-3 on the season. Isaiah Welch carried the ball 22 times for 187 yards and a touchdown for the Cougars. Quarterback Gabe Richards added 88 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

 

Ceres 18, Buhach Colony 8 – The Thunder took an 8-6 lead into the fourth quarter in a defensive battle with the Bulldogs, but couldn’t close out their first win of the season. Julian Llamas scored on a quarterback sneak for BC’s lone touchdown and Dylan Newkirk scored the two-point conversion. 

 

Madera 56, Merced 33 – The Coyotes regained possession of the Mayor’s Hat with a shootout victory. Chris Jackson scored two touchdowns for the Bears (2-2). Israel Rodas, Anthony Tacheira and Dougie Andrews all added a touchdown for Merced. 

 

Patterson 46, El Capitan 6 – The Gauchos played without starting quarterback Jesse Morgan who was out with an injury. Four different players played quarterback in the game for El Capitan. Eli Hernandez threw a touchdown pass of 50 yards to receiver Austin Gooding for the Gauchos’ lone score. 

 

“We made some big plays offensively and showed flashes of what we can be, but ultimately we couldn’t overcome our mistakes,” said Gauchos head coach Xaiver Ramirez. “What I’ll remember most is the fight. Nobody quit, nobody backed down. These boys battled for each other until the end and tonight we grew as a football team.”

 

Shawn Jansen is the MUHSD Program Manager Digital Media. He can be reached at Sjansen@muhsd.org.