Bulldogs best RedHawks in soccer showdown

Los Molinos High freshman forward Jose Gonzales showed the RedHawks' just why he leads the Northern Section in goals and points per game on his home pitch Thursday.

Gonzales needed just the first half to notch a three-goal hat trick, but added two more goals in the second half of the Bulldogs' 8-3 win at McCamman Field in Los Molinos.

Gonzales upped his goal total to 27 and leads the section with 7.87 points per game.

Los Molinos scored in the first minute, when Gonzales headed in a corner-kick taken by Francisco Gamboa, but the RedHawks tied it in the 15th minute when freshman halfback Heraclio Lopez found himself unattended in front of the Bulldogs goal and tapped the ball into the low-left corner of the goal.

Gonzales scored again for Los Molinos when he patiently settled the ball and waited for Colusa keeper Fernando Amador to commit, before poking the ball past him and into the net.

The goal gave the Bulldogs a 2-1 lead and it was a lead they never gave up.

Gamboa made it 3-1 off a Gonzales throw-in that he managed to bury from a tough angle in the 24th minute, but Lopes pulled Colusa back within one when he lofted a ball over keeper Ramon Pena and watched as it bounded in for his second goal.

Francisco Langarica moved the mesh in the 31st minute, and Gonzales scored on a breakaway to make it 5-2 at the break.

The Bulldogs played an aggressive game that made good use of their speed, and they were able to keep steady pressure on the Colusa defense.

Gonzales scored the Bulldogs' first goal of the second half off a rebound, and Langarica added his second goal of the game before Gonzales capped the Los Molinos scoring.

The RedHawks' second-half goal came on a PK taken by Adrian Garcia, when he pushed the ball down the middle and past Pena, who had guessed and dove to his right.

"Heraclio kept the RedHawks in the game with his two goals," said Colusa coach Dan Kiely. "His ball skills are a key to helping the RedHawk offense move the ball."

Los Molinos (6-2-1, 5-2-1) plays at Williams on Thursday.

The RedHawks (6-8-1, 3-5) host Esparto on Tuesday.

CONTACT Craig Purcell at 824-1036 or cpurcell@tcnpress.com.