Turlock quarterback will miss Harvest Bowl against Pitman with a shoulder injury

Peyton Dunseth won’t play in the Harvest Bowl against rival Pitman.

The Turlock High senior quarterback will miss his second straight game with a shoulder injury. Head coach James Peterson said Dunseth hasn’t been able to throw a pass without pain and continues to have swelling in his throwing shoulder.

Junior Danny Velasquez will start in place of Dunseth, the maestro in the Bulldogs’ attack. Dunseth has completed 57 of 89 passes for 772 yards and nine touchdowns. He’s also Turlock’s third-leading rusher with 476 yards and nine touchdowns.

“He’s getting close to throwing the ball again,” Peterson said. “I think it will be right by the playoffs.”

Dunseth was injured on a hit just before the half in a 30-7 victory over Atwater on Oct. 23.

The timing couldn’t have been worse for the Bulldogs, who had a five-game winning streak snapped with a 34-28 loss at Merced last week.

With the victory, the Bears (6-3, 4-0) clinched at least a share of their third consecutive Central California Conference crown. Merced can claim the outright title on Friday with a win over rival Golden Valley (4-5, 1-3).

“If we’re 100 percent, we beat those guys,” Peterson said.

Once the chic pick to win the conference, the Bulldogs (6-2) would tumble into third place with a loss to Pitman (6-2). The two teams are tied for second at 3-1. The Pride has won eight of the 11 meetings, but was overwhelmed by Turlock 41-10 last fall.

Velasquez had 110 yards of total offense and a touchdown in that victory, and it’s his presence that gives Peterson and the coaching staff confidence this week.

Velasquez leads the team in rushing (681 yards, nine touchdowns) and receiving (270 yards, three touchdowns). On Friday, he’ll lead the Bulldogs’ huddle.

“We blew those guys out last season and we want to do that again,” said Peterson, who played for Pitman coach Tom Tyler as a senior at Turlock in 1998. “It’s time to walk that walk.”

Velasquez nearly led a last-minute game-winning drive against the Bears, but the drive stalled inside the Merced 40-yard line. Velasquez was 7 of 17 for 119 yards and two touchdowns to tight end Bear Padilla. He also had 95 yards on 20 carries.

With another week under his belt, Peterson believes, Velasquez has a better handle of the position and the playbook.

“It’s a lot different this week than last,” Peterson said. “In terms of just raw emotion and nerves, I can see a change. He’s accepted the position now. He’s knows, ‘I’m the starting quarterback.’ I’m excited to see what happens.”

There is no mystery between city rivals.

With Dunseth on the sideline, Turlock doesn’t have the luxury of moving Velasquez around the field. The Pride knows where to find the versatile conference MVP candidate – under center.

“With Peyton out of the game, now you can go and take care of a Danny Velasquez. If you stop Danny Velasquez, you beat the Turlock Bulldogs,” Peterson said. “It’s a lot like when we had Kevin Kramer and Ricky Fuentes, a guy we moved all over the place. People had to scheme against those two.

“They’ve got us in a position that they know what we’re doing. They know where our best guy is … he’s right there under center.”

Turlock believes it’s equipped to stop Pitman’s wing-T offense. The Pride pound the football with a multitude of running backs, including Tyress Pope, Titus Schammel and Blake McBay.

Schammel scored two touchdowns in a 28-6 victory over Atwater last week. Pitman has won two straight.

The Bulldogs are no strangers to the wing-T. Turlock chased the fastest wing-T offense in the Stanislaus District in a 24-13 loss to Oakdale in Week 1.

“I don’t think they’ll be as polished as Oakdale. They won’t get off the ball like that,” Peterson said. “We’ve come a long ways since that game. Our defense has improved and learned a lot. They exposed our weaknesses. We’ve got it cleaned up and it’s shown throughout the season.”

This story was originally published November 5, 2015 at 10:27 AM with the headline "Turlock quarterback will miss Harvest Bowl against Pitman with a shoulder injury."