Turlock rolls over rival Pitman in Harvest Bowl, continues dominance in CCAL
The 2021 Central California Athletic League football spring season was much like the 2018 and 2019 fall seasons.
Dominance by the Turlock High Bulldogs.
With a 49-7 win over rival Pitman on Friday in the Harvest Bowl at Joe Debely Stadium, the Bulldogs (5-0) have yet to lose a CCAL game in three years and only one win has been decided by 10 points or less.
Again, dominance.
“We have a great community that supports us and coaches who played here coming back to coach,” Bulldogs coach James Peterson said. “We are a family.”
The Turlock Quarterback Club was so confident the Bulldogs would win on Friday, they bought league championship hats for the coaches and players before the game and awarded the team after, much to the surprise of the celebrating players.
The win was extra special for the Bulldogs, who have beaten their rivals seven straight times and hold a 9-8 series lead.
“We all had a weird feeling all week,” Bulldogs senior running back Josiah Gonzales said. “We were joking we were having plenty of lasts during practice. Also, there was a lot of affection toward everyone.”
Sometimes in a rivalry game, emotions run high early and it takes awhile for one team to get momentum.
That wasn’t the case Friday as Gonzales had two rushing touchdowns in the first four minutes to give Turlock a 14-0 early.
“Momentum is huge in a game like this,” Peterson said. “We want to sock people in the mouth and our defense played great.”
The Bulldogs shut down the Pride’s Wing-T offense all night, forcing five turnovers.
Senior Cade Gilbert had a 18-yard touchdown run on a jet sweep with 5 minutes, 2 seconds remaining in the half and Turlock led 21-0 at half.
Peterson said plenty of young players saw action during the spring season, valuable experience they can take into the fall season, which starts in four months.
Sophomore running back Joey Stout had the lone touchdown for the Pride (2-3), a 73-yard run late in the fourth quarter.
Gonzales, who was accepted academically to UCLA and said he might try to walk-on to the football team, finished with 14 carries for 100 yards and three touchdowns.
Gonzales has kept a promise to his offensive linemen all season: If he has over 200 rushing yards or averages 10 yards per carry in a game, he will bring the entire group supreme burritos from his family’s restaurant, La Morenita.
“I’ve thought about this since my junior year,” Gonzales said. “You build a bond with your offensive linemen. and they love it.”
He said he is a little behind and owes the group three burritos.
“I have plans for Sunday afternoon to deliver them,” Gonzales said.
This story was originally published April 16, 2021 at 11:48 PM.
