The Turlock High School varsity football team sat and listened closely as Scott Ricardo paced back and forth between in front of them inside the campus gymnasium.
“You are no longer a loser,” screamed Ricardo, a decorated student-athlete at THS up to his graduation in 1972 and the founder and president of professional development organization Summer Institutes. “We flush that. That stops today… You get mad and treat the dude access from you like an enemy. You don’t like him. Hit people with that kind of intensity.”
Although there may not have been any genuine animosity with Enochs, the Bulldogs certainly played angry and cruised to a 45-8 homecoming victory under the lights of Joe Debely Stadium in the first Central California Athletic League contest of the season.
It was as if the Bulldogs were blowing off steam from a non-conference slate that saw them start the season 0-5 and be outscored by opponents 240-42.
The script was flipped immediately.
After being joined on the sidelines and at midfield by Ricardo and his 1970 football teammates, as well as star baseball players Kevin Kramer and Brett Cumberland — who will all be inducted into the THS Athletics Hall of Fame on Saturday evening — senior Logan Homen took the opening kickoff 73 yards to the house to make it 6-0 in the blink of an eye.
The Eagles had no counters to the early blow. And the Bulldogs, particularly Braiden Fuentes, piled on.
Fuentes, the reigning CCAL Offensive Player of the Year, finally had his breakout game of the 2026 campaign. Following a quick Enochs three-and-out, he capped a nine-play drive with a 2-yard touchdown rush.
Sophomore Knyco Garcia helped give the Turlock offense the ball right back following a bruising tackle behind the line of scrimmage on fourth-and-1 attempt by the Eagles, and Fuentes completed an 8-yard drive with a 3-yard rushing score.
A rushing touchdown by senior Noel Garcia midway through the second quarter extended the lead to 28-0, and a key sack from senior Michael Cardoso and an interception by junior Isaac Jeffcoats kept the Eagles scoreless heading into the half.
Fuentes then scored again midway through the third quarter to secure his hat trick, while junior Bobby Hernandez ran in the final score of the Turlock avalanche in the fourth frame.
“The mentally was that we had to start league off with a boom and show everyone that we are not a weak team,” Fuentes said. “It means a lot to go and show out for all the legends of Turlock, especially since it was homecoming. It was a big win to start league.”
Under head coach James Peterson, Turlock consistently has one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the region. With a MaxPreps strength-of-schedule rating among the best in the Sac-Joaquin Section at a whopping 48.1, the Bulldogs believe they are entering the league battle tested.
The Bulldogs will be back at home next Friday for what should be a strong test in a revamped Gregori program, which went toe-to-toe but fell short to defending CCAL champion Downey, 46-39. The Jaguars now sport a 2-5 overall record following the league-opening loss.
Having a positive attitude and trust in teammates was a major point of Ricardo’s nearly 20-minute pregame speech. And the message remained clear in Fuentes’ mind postgame.
“Everything has to get going,” Fuentes said of the road ahead. “The effort, the coaching and the attitudes have to be at an all-time high.”
With much work to do over the remaining four weeks of the regular season, the Bulldogs will enter the new week just as the former gridder predicted — as winners.
