Big second half lifts Turlock to win over rival Modesto

While it was not immediately clear what was said at halftime in the Turlock High School locker room Friday night, it was perfectly obvious that something was said.

The Bulldogs, looking like a different team in the second half, used their size and depth to wear down Modesto High for a 55-21 victory at Joe Debely Stadium in the 117th meeting between the schools.

“We definitely made … some adjustments,” Turlock coach James Peterson said, choosing his words carefully. “It was just a matter of ‘want to’ in the second half.”

While Peterson only hinted there was a halftime tirade, junior tailback Danny Velasquez didn’t mince words.

“Oh, it was bad,” said Velasquez a 6-foot, 190-pounder who rushed for 95 yards on 11 carries and caught three passes for 43 yards. “But we came out in the second half and muscled up on them.”

Turlock opened the third quarter by powering the ball through the center of the line and scored in 94 seconds – the capper was a 17-yard run by quarterback Peyton Dunseth – to make it 28-7. Less than four minutes later, the Bulldogs increased the lead to 35-7 when Velasquez broke free up the middle and then raced to the visitors’-side pylon of the south end zone with 6:36 left in the third quarter.

It’s hard to say if Turlock came out flat in the first half – Velasquez said the team was down after learning of a potentially serious knee injury to 6-1, 235-pound senior linebacker Jereicho Taamu – or if Modesto was just really pumped up.

Panthers coach Don Wallace had his opinion.

“I think you could tell during warmups that they weren’t taking us very seriously,” he said. “But we stood toe to toe with them. We just wore out in the second half.”

Down 7-0 after Dunseth hit Mustafa Noel-Johnson on a 34-yard strike between the hash marks, the Panthers tied the score when Kendall McNair hauled in a 15-yard scoring strike from Max McCabe with just over four minutes left in the first quarter.

Modesto jumped ahead for its only lead when McCabe found Dylon Jackson with a beautifully thrown 31-yard jump ball in the vistors’-side corner of the north end zone.

Turlock tied the score on a nine-yard run by Michael Linares with 3:35 to play and took the lead for good when Dunseth and Velasquez hooked up for a 21-yard touchdown pass with seven seconds to play in the first half.

“That was a big TD for them just before the half,” Wallace said. “If we don’t give up that one … who knows. But our kids fought hard.”

Dunseth, who led all rushers with 129 yards on 14 carries, helped the Bulldogs keep pace in the first half with his ability to elude the rush and get upfield for big chunks of yardage. The 5-10, 165-pound senior also completed 6 of 12 passes for 106 yards and two TDs.

Modesto ended Turlock’s 28-0 run when McCabe found Markus Brady for a 17-yard touchdown pass that made it 35-14, but the Bulldogs scored the final 20 points, getting touchdown runs from Velasquez (set up by an interception at Modesto’s 27 by junior linebacker Garrett Thompson), Mark Flores and Sean Arianeh.

Turlock, playing its first game since Sept. 4 due to the cancellation of last week’s game against Clovis West (Fresno) because of the Valley fire, rushed for 465 yards, with 341 coming after halftime.

The Panthers never could get anything going on the ground, tallying just 39 yards on 24 attempts. McCabe threw the ball 34 times, completing 16 for 185 yards with three touchdowns and a pick.

Toward the end of the game, following Arianeh’s touchdown with 5:02 to play, a bit of controversy erupted.

The Bulldogs kicked off using their backup, and it looked as though they went for an onside kick with a 34-point lead. Modesto’s coaching staff took umbrage.

“(Starting kicker) David Rios had a hip flexor so we put in the backup, who’s actually our third-string kicker,” Peterson said. “He’s our squib kicker; that’s just what he does.”

This story was originally published September 18, 2015 at 11:29 PM with the headline "Big second half lifts Turlock to win over rival Modesto."