Parks steps up for Pacheco in victory

LOS BANOS -- Despite losing its featured running back on the first drive, Pacheco High used a stable of runners to defeat Central Valley 30-20 Friday at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Pacheco sophomore Kalama Kamoku went down with a severe ankle sprain on his second run of the game, but Paul Parks picked up where he left off, running for 113 yards. His cousin, quarterback Jacob Parks, tossed a pair of touchdown passes and ran for another.

Maurice Harden broke a scoreless tie for Pacheco (5-3, 3-1 Western Athletic Conference) late in the second quarter when he made a shoestring catch and fell into the end zone.

"It was very important, it helped give this team some momentum," Harden said. "(The plan) was just to run, but it wasn't working, so we had to pass sometimes."

Ja'Quan Gardner struggled to advance the ball against a tenacious Pacheco defense, finishing with 67 yards on 16 carries on the ground for Central Valley (4-3, 1-2 WAC). He also suffered his first lost fumble in three years, according to CV coach Jason McCloskey, as the Pacheco defense keyed on stopping him.

“That’s what everybody’s doing — and it’s working, to some extent,” McCloskey said. “He’s a heck of a player, but we’re trying to play as a team, not be a one-man show.”

Central Valley quarterback Abraham Navarro overcame a pair of early interceptions to finish 9 of 22 for 129 yards — most of which came during a fourth-quarter rally which saw two touchdowns thrown to Micoh Uti and one to Gardner.

“We kind of let up there in the fourth quarter,” Pacheco coach David Snapp said. “I don’t think the game was ever in jeopardy, but I like to see us finish, too.”