VOL: Central Valley falls to Hilmar on final play

CERES -- Donovan Smith sprinted onto the field with four ticks left on the clock and one finger pointed to the sky.

The Hilmar High kicker was saluting his grandfather, Don, who passed away in March after suffering from a stroke.

Minutes later, Smith was mobbed by teammates after connecting on a 23-yard line-drive field goal as time expired to give the Yellowjackets a 10-8 victory Friday night over Central Valley.

"That guy was my inspiration for everything," Smith said of his grandfather who was a bruising running back for Hilmar in the 1960s, then attended all his grandson's games almost a half-century later. "I asked my gramps, 'Come on, let me make this one.' "

It was Smith's second made field goal of the season -- his first game-winner -- and it kept Hilmar unbeaten at 3-0.

The kick was set up by a 61-yard Yellowjackets drive that answered a Central Valley touchdown and go-ahead 2-point conversion with just under 6 minutes remaining.

Carlos Diaz returned the ensuing kick to the 39-yard line, and Hilmar converted three third downs to set up Smith with a chip shot between the hash-marks. The key play was Christian Azevedo's 15-yard screen pass to Hugh Ewing on third-and-1 that only stood because officials picked the flag on a potential holding call.

Hilmar took a second-quarter lead when Azevedo faked a handoff to his receiver and ran off-tackle for a 23-yard score.

Both teams' defenses controlled the game until early in the fourth quarter, when Central quarterback Trevor Mew took over. He led the Hawks to the Hilmar 5 before being sacked three consecutive times, fumbling away the ball on the third.

Central quickly got the ball back when safety Josh Worstell recovered a Ewing fumble at the Hilmar 40. Mew wouldn't let his second chance slip away, completing a 3-yard touchdown strike to Rick Rogers on an out-route and a 2-point conversion over the middle to tight end Stephen Fonsworth.

Mew finished the game completing 10 consecutive passes, 18 of 20, and totaling 205 yards.

But his late-game precision was nullified by Smith's kick.

"This was his dream, right there," said Dennis Smith of his father, Don, whom he named Donovan after, "to watch his grandson play his senior year."

CALAVERAS 48, CERES 13, at San Andreas -- Jake Mote scored two touchdowns for the Redskins (2-1), who opened the scoring with a safety and then added three touchdowns. Josh Edwards tossed touchdown passes to Martino Bertolotti and Devaun McGregor for the Bulldogs (0-3).

MANTECA 27, TRACY 21, at Tracy -- Marquis Miller (26 carries, 156 yards) was a workhorse for the No. 4 large-school Buffaloes (3-0), scoring on runs of 20 and 2 yards to beat the Bulldogs (2-1). Matt Barber's 8-yard TD pass to Reggie Bell gave Manteca a 14-7 lead in the second quarter, and Tracy never gained the lead.

Barber was 7 of 15 for 114 yards, while Bell caught five balls for 79 yards. The Buffs' defense was impressive as well -- Tracy had scored 56 points beating Los Banos just last week.

"We executed at a high level in all three phases of the game," Manteca coach Eric Reis said, "and had a very good win against a very talented football team."

TOKAY 40, WESTON RANCH 26, at Lodi -- Michael Piccirilli fired three TD passes to Chris Contreras, but it wasn't enough as the Cougars (1-2) succumbed to the Tigers.

PATTERSON 29, SIERRA 23, at Patterson -- Imani Brown scored on a 1-yard run with 3 minutes remaining to give the Tigers the lead. The Timberwolves (2-1) ran the ensuing kickoff back the their own 45, but Ramon Ellington intercepted a pass and returned it 50 yards to seal the victory for Patterson (2-1).

The Tigers overcame two blocked punts and another punt that was snapped through the end zone for a safety. Daniel Reza, Patterson's quarterback, was 14 for 29 for 244 yards, two TDs and one interception.