Despite lopsided score, Turlock Christian football fights until the end

Trailing 49-0 and faced with a running clock, Turlock Christian took possession of the football with less than six minutes to play and 82 yards away from paydirt.

It would undoubtedly be their last possession of the contest.

After having gained less than 60 yards in the first 42 minutes of action, the Eagles put together their best drive of the night, capping a nine-play march with a 12-yard touchdown pass that made the final score 49-6 in a Central California Athletic Alliance loss to Millennium (Tracy) at Delhi High stadium.

“I can keep telling the guys, ‘We’re getting better. We’re getting better.’ But they don’t have the same perspective as I do; they don’t see what I see,” said Eagles head coach Jake von Scherrer, whose team falls to 0-8 for the season and 0-5 in the CCAA. “We’re all about getting better. That’s all we want to do, is get better. And I think in their heart of hearts, they know we’re getting better.”

Eagles freshman quarterback Jakob Skinner was dropped for a 3-yard loss on first down of that final drive, but junior running back Dominique Zendejas broke free for a 25-yard gain – the Eagles’ longest of the game – for a first-and-10 at their 40. After a short gain by Zendejas, Manuel Preciado gained 13 that took the ball to the Falcons’ 44 – the first time the Eagles had been that deep all night.

Two plays later, Preciado picked up another first down, at Millennium’s 25. With 1:45 to play, von Scherrer called timeout. Two plays later, after Skinner’s 10-yard burst took the ball inside the red zone, the TC coach used another timeout with 1:01 remaining.

“For me, that touchdown meant nothing,” said von Scherrer, in his first season coaching the Eagles. “But for the guys, it meant everything. It’s validation, if you will.”

After the timeout, Skinner took the snap and hit Drake Dutra with a pop pass in the right flat. Dutra did the rest, running back inside, and over a defender, on his way to the Eagles’ lone score.

Skinner completed three of his first five attempts for 41 yards. His toss to Dutra snapped a string of six consecutive incompletions, which included two picks.

Turlock Christian found it difficult to get anything going against the Falcons in the first half, punting on its first five possessions and totaling negative yardage on the ground.

Millennium tailback Kirk Truehill, a 6-foot, 200-pound senior, had no such trouble, carrying the ball seven times for 238 yards and touchdown runs of 5, 72, 60 and 77 yards.

Truehill carried just once after the break and broke loose for a 28-yard touchdown. He finished with eight totes for 266 yards and five TDs.

“We keep practicing our victory song every week,” said von Scherrer. “And when we win, we’re going to run over on those bleachers and belt it out.

“If not next game, then the game after that.”

DeLONG TOURNAMENT – Ripon High defeated Rio Americano (Sacramento) 11-10 in the fifth-place game of the DeLong Memorial Boys Water Polo Tournament on Saturday at the Tokay (Lodi) pool.

The Indians’ finish was the highest by a Stanislaus District school. After posting a 2-0 record on Friday, Ripon started play Saturday with a 13-11 loss to Lincoln (Stockton) and a 9-8 setback to Newberg, Ore., before topping Rio.

Granite Bay defeated Newberg 6-4 in the championship contest of the AA division, while Lincoln defeated Rocklin 12-7 for third place.

In the A division, Buhach Colony defeated Ponderosa 4-3 for first place. To see all the scores and final placings, see Scoreboard.

This story was originally published October 25, 2014 at 10:58 PM with the headline "Despite lopsided score, Turlock Christian football fights until the end."