Merced beats Turlock, clinches share of CCC football crown

Merced head coach Rob Scheidt summed it nicely after the game, talking about tailbacks Ulonzo Gilliam, a sophomore, and Jabar Byrd, a senior.

For a sophomore, he’s a special guy,” said Scheidt. “And he’s learning from a special guy.”

Pupil and teacher each delivered opportune 40-yard dashes for the Bears, helping Merced to a 10-7 victory in rain-soaked war of attrition Friday night at Joe Debely Stadium.

Byrd’s big run came first, with less than 20 seconds to play in the first half.

Down 7-0 and facing a fourth-and-10 from the Bulldogs’ 40, the Bears were looking to run out the clock. Turlock had no timeouts remaining, so Merced was able to snap the ball just seconds before the horn sounded.

But on a cold and rainy night – it never stopped pouring during the contest – a simple handoff to Byrd wasn’t without danger.

“It was kind of a risk-reward play, but not with too much risk,” said Scheidt, whose team had an interception, a fumble, two bad snaps, and a few dropped passes in the first half due to the wet ball.

Quarterback Tyrone Williams took the snap with about 10 seconds left and handed to Byrd on a draw. The senior tailback then popped to his left and toward the visitor’s sideline where he outraced the Turlock defense to the end zone.

Favian Prado’s PAT tied the score as the teams headed for their respective locker rooms.

“It was a huge momentum boost,” said Byrd. “We started out slow, but that’s OK; we overcame adversity and that’s all I could ask for.”

Gilliam’s 40-yarder – actually only 39 yards – came with less than 7 minutes to play. On second-and-long from the Bears’ 26, Gilliam broke free around the right end of the line and up the visitors’ sideline before being pushed out of bounds deep in Turlock territory.

Though Merced failed to score and eventually turned the ball over on downs, Gilliam’s dash flipped the field at a crucial juncture. When Turlock did eventually get the ball back, it was faced with having to go 97 yards in 1:19 for TD, or about 75 yards in the same span for a realistic field goal attempt.

The Bulldogs never got close, advancing just 27 yards before being stopped on fourth-and-10 with 14 ticks remaining.

“I was a little disappointed with our execution at times tonight,” said Turlock coach James Peterson, whose team faces a virtual must-win situation against Pitman in next week’s Harvest Bowl just to make the playoffs. “We just couldn’t get our defense off the field in the second half.”

In the first half, Merced couldn’t get any offensive momentum with all of its miscues, while Turlock seemed to hardly notice it was raining.

The Bulldogs (4-5, 3-1 CCC) ventured inside Merced’s 25-yard line three times in the first half, but only scored once – a 9-yard TD run by Brandon Booz with 6:39 to play in the first quarter.

The other two trips resulted in a sack of quarterback Bubba Moreno on fourth-and-goal at the 4, and a deflected pass that was intercepted by Byrd in the end zone.

Merced (7-2, 4-0) turned the ball over on downs on its first possession of the second half, but forced a quick punt by the Bulldogs. On the Bears’ second possession they converted on two third-and-long situations: Gilliam ran for 20 on third-and-14, and receiver Brandon McKinney hauled in a 22-yard pass on third-and-12, taking it to the 25.

The drive eventually stalled, but Prado made good on a 27-yard FG for the winning margin.

“We just had to make a statement and get the W,” said Byrd. “It feels great! CCC champs: Merced High.”

This story was originally published October 31, 2014 at 11:39 PM with the headline "Merced beats Turlock, clinches share of CCC football crown."