Patterson rolls past Central Valley of Ceres

PATTERSON — Patterson High senior George Garcia runs with chopping, powerful and nonstop strides, the embodiment of the football term "running downhill."

And if you were chasing your mammoth right guard Tim Tupuola, a virtual lunar eclipse, you would enjoy the field tilted in your favor, too.

Garcia carried 28 times for 225 yards and three touchdowns, more than enough to forge the Tigers' 33-0 Western Athletic Conference win over Central Valley. That he wasn't stopped once for negative yards illustrated Patterson's dominance. So did the Tigers' 397 rushing yards.

And Garcia, who's waited until his senior year to shine, knew who to thank.

"They (the opponent) can't see me behind him (Tupuola)," Garcia said. "He is a very athletic man. People think he is slow, but the dude can move his feet."

Tupuola seriously tests the fabric between the 7 and the 8 of his jersey. Sometimes, the Tigers switch him from the right side of the line to the left. Regardless, Central Valley (2-4, 0-2) was helpless to stop Garcia as he churned through huge openings.

"He (Tupuola) has got 400 pounds of mass to move people around," Patterson coach Nick Marchy said. "We're going to keep running behind him."

Patterson (4-1, 1-0) needed last week's bye after its physically punishing 14-7 loss to reigning state champion Escalon. The entire left side of its offensive line missed the Central Valley game, but the Tigers enjoyed a better-than-good counter-balance (Tupuola).

Pio Vatuvei, the Tigers' heralded defensive lineman-fullback who injured his left knee against Escalon, spent the game on the sidelines. Marchy hopes he will return for the important WAC games the next two weeks against Livingston and Los Banos.

Perhaps unsettled due to their missing starters, the Tigers staggered through the first quarter. Garcia lost a fumble, and the Hawks gained some traction behind shifty sophomore Ja'Quan Gardner (19 carries, 128 yards).

Central Valley failed on two gadget plays, however — one on the first play from scrimmage — and never got closer than the Patterson 26 yard line. The Tigers' size advantage, resulting in 397 rushing yards, produced touchdowns on five straight possession bridging the first and second halves.

"We know George (Garcia) will run north-south, and he'll cut straight ahead," Marchy said. "He's a beast."

Central Valley owns a bona fide in Gardner who could find more running room when quarterback Abraham Navarro (knee) returns to full strength after next week's bye. Navarro made a cameo appearance Friday night.

"We brought him in just to give the kids a spark," Hawks coach Tim Garcia said. "We knew what we were up against tonight. It was just a matter of time before they wore us down."

Indeed, Patterson simply followed the law of physics for its game plan.

"Run the ball," Garcia summarized. "Pound, pound, pound."