Turlock bows to Franklin-Elk Grove’s Jackson

His name is Lamar Jackson. You will watch him soon on TV. On Saturdays.

Jackson, corner-turned-quarterback for Franklin of Elk Grove, passed over the heads of the Turlock Bulldogs, then danced around and past them.

He totaled four touchdowns, two passing and two rushing in Franklin’s 41-24 Sac-Joaquin Section Division I first-round game Friday night.

“You heard about their Division I athlete at quarterback. You have to get your team to get over the hump against him,” said Danny Velasquez, Turlock’s own transplanted quarterback. “He (Jackson) is pretty good, but he is human.”

Jackson is human, but it was clearly men-vs.-boys when it mattered on a chilly night at Joe Debely Stadium. He is a 6-foot-3, 205-pound senior, and he’s sought by 24 schools, according to Franklin coach Mike Johnson. A shutdown corner, he switched to quarterback three weeks ago after a season-ending injury to Jacob Lopez.

When Turlock (7-3) closed a 27-9 deficit to 27-24 in the fourth quarter, Jackson switched gears. He pounded ahead and converted a first down on fourth-and-4 and, two plays later, left two Bulldog defenders grabbing at air as he stepped 25 yards for a decisive score with 5:13 left.

“People are talking about him now,” Johnson said. “As a corner, he would just sit there and lock guys down.”

Turlock, the runner-up behind Merced in the Central California Conference, countered Jackson’s singular brilliance and scrapped all night. Velasquez, a junior, answered Jackson with artful scrambles. He rushed and passed for touchdowns and totaled 126 rushing yards to keep Turlock close.

“What a dogfight,” Johnson said. “I liked Turlock a lot better with ‘10’ (Peyton Dunseth) at quarterback.”

That was a compliment to Velasquez, but Dunseth – out since his shoulder injury Oct. 23 against Atwater – tried to go against Franklin (7-4). He lasted less than a quarter, however, and was done after he was thrown onto his sore shoulder after a 13-yard scramble. Velasquez, the pinch-hitter the last two weeks, again was summoned.

The Bulldogs, with Dunseth at QB, planned to pound the ball and keep it away from Franklin. Instead, their offense downsized mostly to improvisations by Velasquez, who shocked the Wildcats by ripping 58 yards for a second-quarter touchdown.

“It was definitely scary. Those guys are big,” Velasquez said. “I just like getting in open spaces.”

But ultimately, the game tilted toward Jackson. He opened the second half with arcing passes of 58 yards to Tarik Glenn and 37 yards to Donovan Hawkins, the latter beating double coverage. The section seeding committee planned an 8-vs.-9 matchup, not a 27-9 cakewalk, and the game suddenly tightened.

Turlock gathered momentum when Brandon Booz took a pitchout from Velasquez and scampered 11 yards for a TD. After a Franklin turnover, Velasquez bought time on fourth-and-goal and – near the sideline – tossed five yards to Landon Curtis in traffic in the end zone. Velasquez then darted for the two-pointer, and the Bulldogs closed to 27-24.

But Franklin marched 70 yards, capped by Jackson’s final sprint. Turlock’s consolation is a look ahead. The Bulldogs promoted seven sophomores from the 10-0 JV team, and several contributed.

“We want to be a program that wins every year in the playoffs,” coach James Peterson said. “We showed everyone that we’re building a program for years to come.”

Jackson’s future looks good, too.

This story was originally published November 14, 2015 at 12:51 AM with the headline "Turlock bows to Franklin-Elk Grove’s Jackson."