When you light up the scoreboard with 65 points, you defeat a strong opponent and players like A.J. Banks and Sylas Austin turn in special performances, you’re going to draw some attention. That’s exactly what happened this week for the Atwater High football team as the Falcons were thrust into the spotlight after their thrilling 65-64 victory over Vacaville in the season opener.

 

Banks set a school record with his seven touchdown passes as he completed 23 of 32 passes for 466 yards to go along with 101 yards rushing and another score. Five of Banks’ touchdown passes were hauled in by Austin, which also broke a school record. Austin finished with 11 catches for 323 yards. 

 

The Falcons’ dynamic duo garnered statewide attention as Banks was named CalHi Sports Northern California Offensive Player of the Week. His seven touchdown passes are the second most in a game this year across the country. The senior quarterback also received a scholarship offer from Eastern Oregon this week. Meanwhile, Austin’s performance also raised eyebrows with college recruiters, including UC Davis. “It's been fun for the program and it’s been fun for the kids,” said Atwater head coach Seneca Ybarra. “So, that's what it's all about, in my mind. The kids are getting recognized for their hard work.”

 

The challenge for the Falcons now is to keep their momentum going as they face another tough test this week with Hughson (1-0) coming to Dave Honey Stadium on Friday night. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. In other MUHSD action on Friday, Golden Valley hosts Tokay, El Capitan travels to Central Valley, Merced visits Gregori, Buhach Colony is at Johansen and Livingston hosts Sonora.

 

Hughson comes to Atwater after a dominant 37-7 victory over Ceres last week. The Huskies have won back-to-back Sac-Joaquin Section championships the past two years. “They are athletic, fast, and well coached,” Ybarra said. “You can tell they’ve got a little moxie, and they've been there before. That’s where we're trying to go. I expect (Hughson) to play well every week, and that's the expectation we're trying to get to as a program.”

 

Banks and Austin weren’t the only players drawing an audience to their social media accounts. Atwater tight end Vinny Valladao also drew interest from college coaches after hauling in six catches for 95 yards and two touchdowns. Senior Durrell Morrison also chipped in with 59 rushing yards and a touchdown. 

 

Ybarra says facing a talented team like Vacaville was a good measuring stick for his program. Early in the season coaches want to learn as much as they can about their teams.”We don't know what we have yet,” Ybarra said. “That's the great thing about playing that first game. We don't know what we're going to be good at, we don't know what our calling card, our identity is going to be for the season. You have an idea based on the athletes you have, but the execution part matters the most. So what can you execute? What do we do well? What don’t we do well? Those are things we’re still trying to figure out.”

 

In other action:

Tokay (1-0) at  (Golden Valley (0-1) – The Cougars look to rebound after opening the season with a 48-26 loss to Ripon. The Golden Valley defense will have to contain Tigers running back Amire Fleming, who rushed for 136 yards and a touchdown in Tokay’s 13-7 win over Lodi last week. Tokay senior Alexis Casimiro finished with 107 yards receiving on four catches.

 

El Capitan (1-0) at Central Valley (0-1) – Gauchos senior Lorenzo Peters rushed for 100 yards and a touchdown and also caught a 27-yard touchdown pass in the Gauchos’ 27-13 victory over Hoover last week. Junior quarterback Jesse Morgan completed 2 of 3 passes for 54 yards and a touchdown. Morgan may see action against the Hawks if starter Gio Mendoza is unable to go with an injured ankle. 

 

Gregori (1-0) at Merced (1-0) – The Bears worked overtime in their 30-23 victory over Patterson last week as the Merced defense stopped the Tigers at the one-yard line on the final play of the game. Bears quarterback Vicente Cortez threw three touchdowns, including the go-ahead score to senior Hayden Czirban in overtime. 

 

Buhach Colony (0-1) at Johansen (0-1) – The Thunder had a strong defensive performance against Gregori last week. Mason Caetano recorded two sacks. Offensively, Buhach Colony was led by junior Blake O’Brien and his 102 yards rushing and 51 yards receiving. 

 

Sonora (1-0) at Livingston (0-1) – The Wolves are hosting a section-title contender in the Wildcats, who knocked off a very talented Oakdale team 32-14 last week at The Corral. Sonora had three different players score rushing touchdowns in Eli Ingalls, Cash Byington, Tommy Sutton. Livingston rushed for 259 yards and three touchdowns in a narrow 35-29 loss to Le Grand last week. Alexander Zuniga led Livingston with 82 yards rushing and a touchdown. Senior Julian Chavez led the Wolves defense with 10 tackles, including three sacks.

 

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

 

MUHSD Football Statistic Leaders

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Rushing

 

Recieving

 

Defense Tackles 

 

Sacks

 

Interceptions