Turlock cruises past Franklin

TURLOCK — In so many ways, Turlock's 42-7 victory Friday night over Franklin was a perfect outcome for the Bulldogs.

Because the outcome was decided by the middle of the second quarter, a lot of Turlock reserves got to see significant playing time, giving all the players a chance to garner personal homecoming game memories.

As an added bonus, since none of the Bulldogs' top skill players and few starters in other positions saw much action in the second half, the team will be healthy and flying along with a 4-1 record as it enters Central California Conference play.

"That's a perfect game right there for me," said Turlock coach James Peterson. "We wanted everybody to play. We know Franklin has been down some, and we were just happy to have a great success."

And here's the flip side.

There were some very specific aspects of Turlock's offensive attack that needed attention heading into next Friday's CCC opener at league favorite Buhach Colony. Atop that list was finding a comfort level for quarterback Sean Downs.

Downs is an emerging talent for certain, but he's still a sophomore and entered the game having completed only 16 of 46 passes with two touchdowns against four interceptions.

But because of the way the score got out of hand early, there was no way Turlock could keep Downs throwing without risking the big blowout win.

He got off some throws, completing three of six passes for 97 yards and a touchdown, but overall the Bulldogs' passing game remains very much a question mark, and not only because of Downs' relative inexperience.

Turlock called 10 pass plays in the first quarter. Downs threw six passes, was sacked once and scrambled for positive yardage three times against the pass rush of Franklin (1-4,) perhaps the Yellowjackets' lone team strength.

The Bulldogs rolled to 241 ground yards in the first half, getting two rushing touchdowns from Bryce Simmons and one each from Dashawn Holcombe and Downs. Downs' final pass attempt came with 3 minutes, 16 seconds, left in the first half and resulted in a 36-yard touchdown to Tyler Cook.

The 35-0 halftime lead came as Turlock gained 338 yards to Franklin's minus-14 yards. By the time the game ended 13 different Bulldogs had at least one rushing attempt.

No, it wasn't much of a contest, but at the time it was scheduled Turlock was coming off an 0-10 season.

"We're healthy, and that's important to me because in the high school game you're always dealing with depth," Peterson said. "I know that caught up to us last year in the playoffs when we faced Lodi, coming off a very physical game against Pitman, and nothing gets our team as high as winning a Harvest Bowl.

"As far as going into next week, We're blessed with this schedule, so we'll make the most of it."