Attitudes have changed at Ceres High as Bulldogs look to turn program around.
If there is one thing Ceres coach Matt Chachere said he has seen during the summer football period from his senior class, it’s a sense of urgency.
“They haven’t ever had a winning season so it’s hard for them to envision what it feels like to be a winner,” Chachere said. “It is finally clicking in their heads that if they want to win, they have to work hard. Some of our quiet guys have started to be vocal leaders.”
Chachere said the two things his team worked heavily on during the offseason were getting stronger in the weight room and faster on the field.
The coaches put the team on a weight training program where the players could track their progress. The team also lifts as a team and Chachere said there has been plenty of “excitement” in the weight room.
On the field, the Bulldogs worked on making cuts and change of direction.
A couple of the seniors who will try to turn a program that went 1-9 last year and hasn’t made the playoffs since 2004 are senior wide receiver Fernando Sousa and senior offensive lineman Joshua Ofisa.
Sousa lines up in the slot position and is involved in fly sweeps and screens while Ofisa was a second-team All-Western Athletic Conference in 2018.
Senior Matthew Aveytia and sophomore Bryce Piatt are the two battling for the starting quarterback position.
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School: Ceres
Record: 1-9, 1-6 in Western Athletic Conference
Players to Watch: Senior wide receiver Fernando Sosa, Senior offensive lineman Joshua Ofisa, senior offensive lineman Diego Fernandez
Biggest Game: Sept. 20 vs Lathrop
Something special about school: Working on creating different promotions and specialty food items for each game.
Playoff appearances last five years: None all five years
Season Schedule:
| Date | Opponent | Time |
| Aug. | ||
| 23 | Central Valley | 7 p.m. |
| 30 | at Lodi | 7:15 p.m. |
| Sept. | ||
| 6 | Bye Week | |
| 13 | West | 7 p.m. |
| 20 | Lathrop | 7 p.m. |
| 27 | at Beyer | 7 p.m. |
| Oct. | ||
| 4 | at Johansen | 7 p.m. |
| 11 | Pacheco | 7 |
| 18 | at Los Banos | 7 p.m. |
| 25 | Mountain House | 7 p.m. |
| Nov. | ||
| 1 | Davis | 7 p.m. |
This story was originally published July 30, 2019 at 5:00 AM.
