Atwater High’s new weapon shines in debut, catching two touchdowns in win over Pacheco

The Atwater High football team returns many of its key weapons on offense this season.

However, on Friday night it was a junior receiver making his varsity debut that stole the show.

Sylas Austin showed off his explosiveness with an 86-yard touchdown catch and the 6-foot-5 receiver also displayed his ability as a weapon in the red zone, coming down with a jump ball in the end zone for a second touchdown to help lead the Falcons to a 29-21 victory over Pacheco in the season opener for both teams at Dave Honey Stadium.

Austin hauled in six catches for 153 yards and the two touchdowns. Not bad for his varsity debut.

“You got a big guy that can run, you’re going to go ahead and put him in a position to to make plays,” said Atwater head coach Seneca Ybarra. “I told his dad last week that he’s going to get some nice film this year. We’re really going to make sure we’re going to use a bonus weapon.”

Austin comes from a football family, including his uncle Aaron Austin who played tight end at Dos Palos High School and in college at Arizona State University.

Austin gives the Falcons another explosive option, joining an offense that already features running Jeremiah Delarosa, who scored two touchdowns on Friday night, finding the end zone once on the ground and once on a reception.

Senior receiver Landon Perez delivered a couple of big plays in the passing game, finishing with four catches for 76 yards. Fellow senior Seneca Ybarra II will also be a big part of the offense, along with both quarterbacks AJ Banks and James Bell, who combined for 284 yards passing and three touchdowns.

“We showed our explosiveness,” said Austin. “I think we had a lot more explosive plays that we didn’t finish through.”

Banks and Bell rotated at quarterback and both played well.

During Bell’s first series at quarterback he connected with Austin on a long pass down the Falcons’ sideline and Austin raced 86 yards for the touchdown to give the Falcons a 19-7 lead with 5 minutes, 24 seconds left in the first half.

“Coach called a short route for me, and then he saw the defender, he called a fade, and then I burned him off the line,” Austin said.

Austin’s second touchdown came in the final seconds of the first half when Banks threw up a high lob into the end zone and Austin out-jumped his shorter defensive back and came away with the touchdown to extend the Atwater lead to 26-7.

“You’re going to see it a lot,” Austin said of the jump balls in the end zone.

Pacheco battled back as Brennan Watkins connected with tight end Peyton Mosley for a 16-yard touchdown to pull the Panthers within 26-14 with 3:05 left in the third quarter.

A late touchdown run by Isaac Valencia pulled Pacheco within 29-21 with 1:20 left in the game. However, Atwater was able to recover the ensuing onside kick attempt and run out the clock.

Ybarra said he would have liked to see a cleaner second half, but he’s happy to start the season with a victory. With a son who is playing his senior season, Ybarra is making a conscience effort to enjoy the moment.

“I’m learning how to kind of pull back and enjoy the ride a little bit,” Ybarra said. “I’ve been coaching quite a long time, 20-something years. I’m still a relatively young head coach, but I’m learning how to roll with the punches, and we had a lot of fun tonight.”