The Turlock High School football program — already coming to terms with being put on a two-year probation period and the loss of a potential home playoff game this upcoming season following an investigation by the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section —  must now grapple with five of their players being ruled ineligible for the entire 2025-26 campaign and the suspension of an assistant coach.

The families of the five players were informed on Thursday that their student-athletes, who each transferred to Turlock High over the past two years, will be unable to compete for the Bulldogs this season as a result of the section determining that the program violated four bylaws between January and May 2025, including rules on eligibility and recruitment, pre-enrollment contact, and off-season activities.

Also coming down Thursday from school administration was a self-imposed sanction — a one-year suspension placed on assistant coach Darron Silva, founder of non-contact 7-on-7 and 5-on-5 offseason football program “The Lock” and the father of sophomore quarterback Scout Silva. As part of the section’s penalties was that Turlock High had to self-impose sanctions.

“What is most troubling is that these consequences impact our student-athletes who have worked hard and represented their school with pride. Regrettably, they must now bear the weight of this ruling. This is difficult for all, and we recognize the challenges moving forward,” Turlock Unified School District superintendent David Lattig said in a letter to community members on the ParentSquare platform on Thursday night.

“We accept the section's ruling and are already taking steps to prevent this from happening again.”

Later that day, with questions swirling and emotions running high, the Turlock QB Club invited players and parents for an “emergency meeting” at Crane Park following practice, where principal David Kline and head coach James Peterson fielded questions. In attendance was a majority of the varsity football team and roughly 20 to 25 parents.

The parents expressed frustration over the penalties and a lack of transparency between the section, district and school over the investigation, their findings and the precedent of the sanctions. Parents of those deemed ineligible consistently asked about the appeal process, and were directed to reach out to new athletic director Sean Gilbert, who was not in attendance. 

Strong support was also voiced for Silva from parents, players and fellow coaches. One student-athlete gave an emotional testament about Silva’s passion for coaching and mentorship off the field, going as far as calling him a “father figure.”

Silva himself was not at the meeting, but reacted to his suspension on Friday. He said that there was a lack of transparency regarding the decision, as he was called in for a three-minute meeting in which it was briefly explained that there were multiple complaints about his conduct, though he said he was given no proof or documentation.

“They didn't produce any documents for me, they didn't give me any specifics (on what) their reasons were,” Silva said. “They spoke with the superintendent and they thought that that was the best move for the program. They didn't go through and give me bullet points of why they were suspending me for a year. They said that they would produce the document to give to me later and have for me to sign.”

Many in attendance asked for an explanation regarding the decision to suspend Silva, but Kline, in line with district policy, repeatedly said he was not able to comment on personnel issues.

“Unfortunately, we are not at liberty to share specifics of the findings beyond what is publicly posted on the Section website due to student and employee privacy concerns,” said TUSD spokesperson Marie Russell on Friday. “As required by CIF, THS self-imposed sanctions to ensure that mistakes related to pre-enrollment contact and use of THS facilities/equipment during the off-season would not continue.”

The Lock is at the center of the controversy, as the program is run predominantly by Turlock High coaches. A handful of players participated in The Lock and transferred to Turlock High, which was deemed by the section as pre-enrollment contact, a violation of bylaw 510. The one year of ineligibility for student-athletes is the standard punishment for 510 violations.

Silva repeatedly pointed the blame squarely on district and school administration, particularly Kline, Lattig, Gilbert, assistant principals Aaron Mello and Joe Cusenza and former athletic director Mike Brown.

Just as Peterson told the Journal on Tuesday when the Section sanctions were handed down, Silva said there was a “clerical error.” Silva said that administration should be held responsible for incorrectly filing paperwork that listed the program as “limited” while the intention was to operate as “out-of-season” in order for players to participate in The Lock. That’s the reason, he said, why the terms of the sports calendar were deemed to have been violated and they were found in violation of bylaws 504.7 and 504.9.

“THS is currently weighing its options with respect to a possible appeal of the Section’s ruling,” Russell said.

Now that the sanctions have been handed down, Silva said he is frustrated with how the district and school are responding. He and many parents at Thursday’s meeting claimed that the participation of players and coaches with The Lock did nothing different from what other schools do in terms of offseason 7-on-7 and 5-on-5 programs. They also said that administration has not followed through with requests to report other schools, and that Turlock High is not pushing back against the section, only pleasing their demand to self-impose sanctions.

“Our school, we begged them for the last three to four months to file something about other schools with their pre-enrollment contact and things that they're doing, because they're doing far worse things than we are,” Silva said. “But our school won't do anything. They won't file a complaint against another school, and they obviously are not fighting for our kids to get sanctions removed. They're adding to it.

“The problem is the administration doesn't have our kids’ back, doesn't have the football program’s back. This administration is only worried about their image from the public and a few parents that have complained about our coaching style and the way our program is moving, and they're trying to accommodate those two or three parents. I said, ‘After this, you guys will see that  the positivity will come out, and you will see the movement of what we and our coaching staff in this program have done for these kids.’”

Student-athletes shared at Thursday’s meeting that they planned on speaking during the public comment section of the TUSD Board of Trustees meeting on Tuesday evening in support of Silva. The Journal also learned that letters of support are also being drafted by members of the program.

But as Silva acknowledged, he has his detractors. Multiple complaints have been made about Silva to the district and school, though details are unclear, and many made to the Journal, were anonymous.

Also as part of the section’s sanctions is that the school has to submit a Corrective Action Plan due by Sept. 1.

“THS administration and coaches will be working on a response prior to the deadline,” Russell said.

According to Lattig’s letter, steps to prevent any other infractions include “a thorough review of our athletic policies, enhanced training for coaches and staff, and renewed efforts to ensure complete compliance with all rules and regulations.”

He ended the letter: “We remain committed to providing our students with programs, including athletics, grounded in integrity, accountability, and fairness. We value your partnership and support as we work to restore trust and protect the experiences our students and student-athletes deserve.”