CERES – Pitman High spoiled the debut of Central Valley’s new $24.5 million (when all phases are completed) multi-phase football stadium Friday night with a 29-14 victory over the hosts in the 2026 opener for both schools.

An electricity was palpable throughout the stadium, which features a 1,850-seat home grandstand and press box, a 1,050-seat visitor’s grandstand, all-in-one ticket booths/ restrooms/concession stand, and yet-to-be-completed team rooms – situated at either end of the field – and a concession/restroom building on the visitor’s side, which will also serve the baseball field during the spring.

It's a true gem, and the Pride will also have that historical first victory.

“Yeah, that’s pretty cool,” Pride head coach Braden Plaa, whose team is now one of the few in the Sac-Joaquin Section that doesn’t have its own football stadium. “It was a great atmosphere here, and it’s something that we hope to have one day. When you see the festivities and the impact it has on the school and the excitement it brings, it’s a really cool atmosphere and it was really fun to play in tonight.”

Pitman got its season off to an impressive start with a 12-play, 75-yard march that was capped by a 7-yard scoring strike from junior quarterback Brayden Esparza to Jayden Machado, who did a nifty toe-tap near the sideline to make sure he came down inbounds. Pitman flubbed the snap on the point-after attempt but made the best of it when holder Victor Mendoza scrambled to find Machado in the end zone for a two-point conversion and an 8-0 lead.

Central Valley cut the lead to 8-7 on Ivan Quezeda’s 6-yard scamper.

The Pride stretched its lead to 15-7 midway through the second quarter when Esparza hit Santiago Flores from 8 yards out, but the Hawks countered on its ensuing possession when junior QB Roberto Gomez scrambled in from the 13 to make it 15-14 with just under 30 seconds remaining in the first half.

Not content to go into the locker room with a one-point lead, Pitman moved 68 yards in just 23 seconds, capping a four-play drive with Esparza’s third TD toss of the first half – a 45-yard bullet to Flores as time expired – to make it 22-14 at the break.

The lone score of the second half came with 8:51 to play in the third quarter when Esparza found Flores from 29 yards out to make it 29-14.

Pitman will host Franklin (Stockton) on Friday at Joe Debeley Field.