Haynes’ four touchdowns lead Downey past Turlock, one step closer to CCAL title
In the biggest game of the year, when Downey needed a rushing touchdown, a receiving touchdown or a deep pass to set up a touchdown, it turned to Elias Haynes.
This is nothing new. The junior on Friday night moved into second place in the school’s record book for touchdowns in a season. His four-score effort in a 29-26 win over Turlock gives him 21 on the season.
Nearly every season since the Central California Athletic League’s inaugural campaign in 2018, the Downey-Turlock showdown went a long way in determining the league champion, and Friday’s game was no different.
After a scoreless first quarter, Haynes scored three straight second-quarter touchdowns to give the Knights a lead over the Bulldogs, then put the game out of reach in the third with his fourth score of the game.
He flew around on defense, returned kicks and helped lead Downey (6-3, 4-0) to a narrow win over the visiting Bulldogs (4-5, 3-1). The victory gives the Knights at least a share of the CCAL title, which they can clinch outright with a win Thursday on the road against Enochs.
“He’s a great team player,” Downey head coach Jeremy Plaa said of Haynes. “He does whatever we ask him to do and he never complains. He’s obviously super talented and we’re glad he’s on our side, for sure.”
After falling into a 13-point hole, Haynes found the end zone for the first time, taking a tunnel screen 14 yards for a score.
Not even three minutes later, Downey took its first lead, powered by a nine-yard Haynes rushing touchdown.
After forcing a Turlock stop, Downey got the ball back with 42 seconds left in the first half.
A pair of penalties put the Knights behind the sticks. On second-and-20, Haynes found senior receiver Isaiah Hernandez behind the Turlock defense on a double pass for a 67-yard gain. A two-yard Haynes run and a two-point conversion pass from receiver Owen Sacuskie to quarterback Julian Masaniai gave the Knights a 22-13 halftime lead.
“Our focus was to drown out the noise,” said Sacuskie, who finished with six carries for 75 yards and two catches for 17 yards. “They talked a lot in July, we saw them at 7-on-7 tournaments talking, but real talking is in November and October. That’s where we got it done.”
After a Turlock touchdown to start the second half, the sides traded punts on their next possessions before Haynes capped a six-play, 40-yard drive with a 10-yard rushing touchdown to make it a two-score game.
In total, he finished with 16 carries for 72 yards and three touchdowns, 15 receiving yards with a score and completed a 67-yard pass.
“He makes my life so easy, man,” Masaniai said of Haynes. “He’s just a dog. I’ve been playing with him since middle school. He’s just a dog.”
Masaniai lined up in victory formation for the game’s final two plays, kneeling out the final 1 minute, 7 seconds to seal the win.
There was a lot on the line
Both teams knew that more than a CCAL title was on the line. So was playoff positioning in a brand-new Sac-Joaquin Section playoff system where only the top eight earn the chance to advance in the postseason and play for a section title.
While the playoffs expanded from the 12-team format it used the past few seasons to 16 this year, teams ranked No. 9 through 16 will play in a one-time bowl game to end the season.
The only way a CCAL team is guaranteed a spot in the bracket is to win the league.
Entering the matchup, MaxPreps had Turlock ranked just above Downey in the Division I standings. The Bulldogs were No. 8 in the Division, projected to take the final spot in the bracket, and Downey sat at No. 9.
A win for Turlock meant just one team — the Bulldogs — would likely make the bracket, and Downey would have to settle for a bowl. A Downey win meant the Knights guaranteed themselves a spot in the D-I bracket and, depending on final rankings, left the room open for two CCAL teams to make the postseason eight-team bracket.
If the Bulldogs were going to win, they were going to have to do it without starting sophomore quarterback Scout Silva. Head coach James Peterson said he realized Thursday that Silva, who has battled through elbow and shoulder injuries all season, would be out. He promoted junior backup Donnell Harmon III to the starter. Before Downey’s offense found its footing, it looked like Turlock would win by double digits for a third straight year.
Harmon scored on a 19-yard touchdown run for the first score of the game and the Bulldogs led 7-0 after the first quarter. A two-yard rushing touchdown by Kaleb Guinn gave Turlock its early double-digit lead.
By halftime, though, that lead was gone and Turlock needed to shift momentum coming out of the intermission. On the first play of the second half, Braiden Fuentes took a screen pass 61 yards for a touchdown to cut Downey’s lead to 22-19.
“A lot of Downey’s touchdowns were on misdirection plays, so what does that come down to? Discipline,” Peterson said. “Staying home on defense and doing your assignment. … Tonight we didn’t do that at times. At times we did, and it looked great.”
After Downey took a double-digit lead in the third quarter, Guinn scored his second rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs could not march the length of the field on their final drive to tie or take the lead.
There’s still work to be done for both teams as they do not have their playoff fate secured.
Downey needs one more win to fully lock up the outright league title and a spot in the Division I postseason bracket.
Turlock returns home next week for its regular season finale against Modesto.
“The standard at Turlock High School football doesn’t change,” Peterson said. “We’re going to prepare for this week just like we did the week prior. We’re coming out to win the game against Modesto, and we’ll see what happens after that.”
This story was originally published October 25, 2025 at 8:48 AM.
