Five turnovers and missed conversion doom Turlock

Bubba Moreno’s pass angled close to the synthetic turf, where Danny Velasquez dove low and hard to control it in the end zone.

A catch by the promising Turlock High sophomore on the two-point conversion would have tied the score 21-21 with 3:37 left. The Turlock fans screamed, but only a few yards away, the nearest official signaled no catch.

And that was it Friday night – No. 7 Tracy 21, No. 10 Turlock 19 – in the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I playoffs. Tracy advances while Turlock packs the equipment.

“I came under and scooped it. 100 percent on my life I caught it,” Velasquez maintained. “I couldn’t believe he called it (incomplete).”

That play amounted to a painful metaphor for Turlock’s what-if season. Turlock (6-5) lost to Oakdale, Modesto, Merced and twice to Tracy by a combined 13 points.

And on this cool night at Wayne Schneider Stadium, Turlock turned it over five times – three fumbles and two interceptions – to Tracy’s zero.

“I thought he (Velasquez) caught it,” Turlock coach James Peterson said. “But we kicked and scratched and took three steps forward, and we put the football on the ground. You don’t even have to be a football fan to know you can’t turn it over five times.”

Turlock fought through the mistakes and rallied from a 21-7 deficit in the fourth quarter. Moreno eluded the rush and found Velasquez for the 40-yard touchdown that made it 21-13, but the conversion kick was missed.

Turlock then shocked the house. Moreno threw a quick hook to Jeffery Hines, who quickly pitched to Andrew Lopez, who sprinted past the delighted Turlock bench for a 76-yard touchdown run.

Turlock then positioned itself for the would-be game-tying conversion, denied by a judgment call fans will discuss all offseason.

Tracy (8-3), anchored by tailback Nate Jones (24 carries, 110 yards, two touchdowns), ran out the clock.

Later, Moreno accepted handshakes and hugs from friends while holding back tears. He passed for two touchdowns.

“The line was great tonight. They had a heck of a season,” he said. “Tracy was good. They took me out of my comfort zone.”

Turlock fumbled on the Tracy 19-yard line late in the first quarter when the Central California Conference runner-up could have built a two-score lead. Instead, it was the first of four consecutive turnovers as Tracy countered.

“It looked like the beginning of the season for us,” Peterson assessed. “We weren’t making those mistakes toward the end. They all came back.”

This story was originally published November 14, 2014 at 11:33 PM with the headline "Five turnovers and missed conversion doom Turlock."