Lathrop’s Pablo Pena spearheaded a suffocating attack Friday night to help lead the Spartans to a second consecutive Western Athletic Conference football championship, and himself to a second consecutive 1,000-yard rushing season in a 42-7 win over visiting Central Valley at Bennie Gatto Field.

“This is two championships in a row,” Spartans coach Ryan Teicheira said. “We’re playing well at the right moment. We have a lot of heart.

“We had a lot of personal things happen to a lot of kids this week, and we battled tonight as a team. They are playing for each other tonight, which is what we want during playoff season. And we got everyone in tonight.”

Following a three-and-out drive to start the contest, Treydon Santos (seven carries, 41 yards) capped an eight-play, 58-yard drive for Lathrop (6-0 WAC, 8-1 overall) with his first of two touchdowns on a 4-yard run for a 7-0 Spartans lead.

“The O-line, Z and tight end opened holes for me,” Santos said. “They let me run behind them.”

Lathrop’s Santino Arranaga recovered the ensuing squib kick to set up a five-play, 27-yard drive with Pena closing it out on a 15-yard touchdown run in the final minute of the first period for a 13-0 lead.

“I just want to give props to my O-line, my Z and my tight end,” Pena said. “We started off a little slow to start the game, but then we came out firing, and we finished the game real strong.”

With Teicheira spreading the love around, offensive lineman Christian Erazo got a chance to carry the ball, and he made the best of his one touch with a 1-yard scoring plunge late in the first half to make the score 27-0.

“That was my first-ever touchdown,” Erazo said. “It was a surreal feeling.

“I’m glad everyone got their blocks. I had faith in everybody. It was amazing.”

In the second half Ekam Sohal scored on a 12-yard run for the Spartans and Humza Habibi capped the Lathrop scoring with a 2-yard touchdown run with 1:13 left in the third quarter.

Matthew Ontiveros (five carries, 52 yards) got the Hawks (2-4, 3-6) on the board on the game’s last play with an 8-yard touchdown run.

In addition to Arranaga’s squib recovery, the Spartans forced three other turnovers with fumble recoveries by Pena and Meelad Khairzadah and an interception by Eliseo Lopez.

Lathrop closes out the regular season next Friday in Modesto against Beyer at 7 p.m.