For All the Marbles: Santa Fe Bowl 56 puts CCC title on the line

Two longtime rival schools, a conference championship on the line in the final week of the regular season…what more could Merced and Atwater high football fans ask for as the Bears and Falcons set to play in Santa Fe Bowl 56 on Friday night at Dave Honey Stadium.

 

“I think you always want to be playing for something meaningful at the end of the year,” said Merced head coach Rob Scheidt. “To have the Santa Fe Bowl in Week 10, this is really what high school football is all about. Hopefully we prepared well enough to take advantage of this opportunity.”

 

Both Merced and Atwater come into the Santa Fe Bowl undefeated in Central California Conference play at 4-0. The Bears (7-2) are trying to win their fourth consecutive CCC championship. Merced has dominated the conference, winning 25 CCC games in a row. This year has been no different with the Bears outsourcing their opponents 214 to 27 in their four CCC wins with each game finishing with a running clock.

 

The Falcons are trying to break through to win their first CCC championship since 1998. They turned around their season after an 0-5 start with four consecutive wins. Atwater had done with defense as the Falcons have limited teams to just seven points per game in the last four weeks.

 

“We're trying to get where they are,” said Atwater head coach Senecy Ybarra. “They're great every year, and we're starting to turn that corner as a program where we're competitive every year. I know it was tough at the beginning of the season, but hopefully we give them a great game.I'm looking forward to the challenge.”

 

The Falcons haven’t beat Merced since 2019 and have only two wins over Merced since 2009. The Bears hold a 45-10 all-time lead in the series against Atwater. 

 

The Santa Fe Bowl has taken a back seat to the Mayor’s Cup and Bloss Bowl recently, but with the CCC championship on the line in the regular season finale, there is excitement surrounding this matchup. The winner also earns an automatic playoff spot as league champion.

 

The Falcons have been able to move the ball on the ground with a rushing attack committee that includes Darius Hyde, Hudson Pimentel and Joseph Munoz. Merced has shown an ability to score on offense, defense and special teams. The Bears can run the ball with Dougie Andrews and Anthony Tacheira, who have combined for 1,107 yards and 16 touchdowns. Quarterback Raul Moreno has also thrown for 1,163 yards and 17 touchdowns with receiver Israel Rodas hauling in eight touchdown passes.

 

This will be the 31st time Scheidt has coached against Atwater, which is more games than any other team Merced has faced during his tenure. He says it’s a special opportunity for players from both teams to play in a championship atmosphere.

 

“We're hoping it's great,” Scheidt said. “We're hoping there's a lot of people there. It'll be the biggest game in town. This game, since I've been head coach, has not been set up this way. I think two years ago we came in undefeated. They had a loss, and so that set up that game. But we've never been in a situation since I've been head coach where both teams are undefeated and playing for the title in Week 10.”

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