Turlock holds off Pitman’s fourth-quarter comeback attempt to win Harvest Bowl
Turlock High’s 28-14 victory over rival Pitman in the annual Harvest Bowl on Friday night was a landmark win for Bulldogs coach James Peterson.
With the victory, Peterson passed Les Ratzlaff for second on the school’s all-time coach wins list with 107. He trails only the legendary Joe Debely.
But the game will be noteworthy for another reason: It was actually close. After years of blowouts, this Harvest Bowl was one to remember.
The stands were packed and for the fist time in years and the game went down to the wire. But in the end, the Bulldogs earned their 12th consecutive Harvest Bowl victory at Joe Debely Stadium.
Peterson said he had heard that he would make history with the victory. But after it was over, he was pretty nonchalant about it.
“I always just tell everybody I’ve hired great staffs since I’ve been here,” Peterson said. “Those guys have done a great job of making our program one of the top programs in the area. And that’s what I’m proud of.
“The accolades, to me, I’ve never really cared about them. I’m excited for our football program; that’s a big win for us. And it puts us at the top of the (Central California Athetlic League) right now.”
The win sets up a CCAL showdown next Friday night in Modesto.
The Bulldogs (4-4, 3-0) will visit Downey (5-3, 3-0) at Chuck Hughes Stadium in a game that will likely determine the league champion.
“It’s going to be a tough game, they’re a good football program,” Peterson said of the Knights. “We kind of knew it was going to come down to us and Downey at the end of the year, and here we are.”
Strong start, big finish for Turlock
In order to beat Downey, the Bulldogs will have to clean things up.
Turlock committed a number of penalties and allowed Pitman to get back in the game with a sloppy second half, including allowing a converted onside kick.
Luckily, Turlock got off to a great start.
The Bulldogs built a 21-0 lead after one quarter behind two scores from sophomore quarterback Scout Silva: one a 5-yard touchdown pass to Landyn Fitzgerald and the other a 1-yard run. Silva, who has been battling injuries all season, played only the first half.
Kaleb Guinn’s first of two touchdowns, a 5-yarder, gave Turlock a 21-0 lead that lasted until the fourth quarter.
Pitman rallied, though.
Senior running back Mason Helwick rushed for touchdowns, from 7 and 6 yards out, pulling Pitman within a touchdown with 7 minutes, 33 seconds left in the game.
As Pitman’s crowd roared and the Pride felt the momentum on its side, Turlock’s Guinn came up with the game-deciding play.
The senior took a handoff, burst through the middle of the Pitman defense and ran 70 yards for a touchdown that put Turlock back up by 14 points.
The play helped Turlock snuff out Pitman’s comeback attempt.
“I didn’t even get touched,” Guinn said of the touchdown run. “I have to give major credit to my (offensive) line right there. They created the perfect hole and I just did what I was supposed to do.”
Encouraging performance from Pitman
Prior to Friday night, the last close Harvest Bowl had come in 2017, with Turlock winning 39-27.
Since then, the Bulldogs had won via blowout. The combined score for the previous seven matchups was 282 to 33.
And while first-year Pitman coach Braden Plaa wasn’t thrilled with losing, he was happy with his team’s effort, especially after falling behind 21-0.
“Going into halftime, my message to them was simple: You guys are down 21-0, but you can come out in the second half and you can compete,” Plaa said. “We knew if we could weather the storm, we could compete.”
Plaa’s first Harvest Bowl as head coach will be one he’ll always remember.
“You just like to say it’s just another game, but it’s a great atmosphere,” Plaa said. “It’s just unfortunate that it’s been one-sided for a long time. ... It’s really cool that the whole city comes out and it’s a great rivalry. And we’re trying to get it back to that point where every single year whole city comes out and it’s a great game.”
The Pride (4-4, 1-2) will be looking for its second CCAL win next Friday against Enochs (2-6, 1-2).
Helwick finished with 103 yards and the two touchdowns on 25 carries. Turlock’s Guinn finished with 157 yards and the two touchdowns on 20 carries.
This story was originally published October 17, 2025 at 11:58 PM.
