Nichelson runs wild as Manteca rallies to edge Turlock in high-scoring game
If there’s any consolation for the Turlock High football team being 0-4, it’s this: The Bulldogs must be the best team in California that hasn’t won a game yet.
Turlock has played a difficult nonleague schedule, and the Bulldogs ran into another buzzsaw on Friday night.
Junior running back Blake Nichelson ran for four touchdowns and caught a TD pass as Manteca defeated Turlock 44-38 in an entertaining nonleague game at Joe Debely Stadum.
“We just gotta keep going,” Turlock coach James Peterson said. “I feel like we’re getting better every week.”
So far the Bulldogs haven’t been quite good enough to get a victory, but that shouldn’t give any comfort to their upcoming opponents in the Central California Athletic League.
The Bulldogs feature a strong running attack — JT Foreman had 174 yards and two TDs in the losing cause against a stout Manteca defense— and their passing attack can be dangerous once it gets into rhythm.
Junior Cole Gilbert, the Bulldogs’ strong-armed lefty quarterback, showed flashes of brilliance against Manteca, despite being hobbled by a sprained knee suffered late in the second quarter.
Gilbert’s two first-quarter TD passes and a 30-yard TD run by Foreman put the Bulldogs up 21-8.
But Manteca rattled off 36 unanswered points, most of them scored by Nichelson, to take a 44-21 lead.
“We play four quarters, man,” Manteca coach Mark Varnum said. “That was the first time they’ve handled adversity (this season), and I’m super proud the way they handled it and bounced back.
“With the playmakers we have and the way our defense is flying around — keep it close, keep staying alive and good things will happen.”
The best things happen for the Buffaloes (4-0) when Nichelson has the ball.
The junior is a 6-foot-2, 205-pound steam train, who balances power and speed. He’s also a standout linebacker for the Buffaloes, and — according to his Twitter feed — is being recruited by some major Division I college programs.
Nichelson finished with 232 yards on 16 carries and his three third-quarter touchdowns — a 27-yard reception, a 40-yard run and a 91-yard rumble to the house — put the game out of reach.
Of the Buffaloes’ slow start, Nichelson said “I wasn’t expecting that kind of intensity right off the bat, but our team came back from that ... we just got the job done.”
The Bulldogs, despite being down by 23, never gave up and at least made it interesting with two fourth-quarter touchdowns.
A Gilbert-to-Joshua Weatherbee TD pass got Turlock within one score with just under a minute left, but Manteca recovered the Bulldogs’ onside kick to close out the victory.
Things don’t get any easier for Turlock next week — the Bulldogs will host Fresno-area powerhouse Clovis West next Friday at Joe Debely Stadium. The Bulldogs open CCAL play Oct. 1 against crosstown rival Pitman.
Manteca opens Valley Oak League play next Friday at Sierra.
This story was originally published September 10, 2021 at 11:53 PM.
