Holding a 27-0 lead with just over a minute remaining in the second quarter, Turlock senior linebacker Donovan Muirbrook crashed in on a third-and-13 at Modesto’s own 40-yard line to tackle tailback Anthony Varela. He not only stymied a Panthers drive, but he set a new school record of 113 tackles in a single season.

Muirbrook was a defensive force as the Bulldogs concluded the regular season with a 41-0 homecoming victory against Modesto at Joe Debeley Stadium on Friday night.

The previous record of 112 was shared between Erick Parsons and current assistant coach Johnny Padilla.

“It was an honor to break this record,” Muirbrook said. “It's honestly amazing. It's been in the works. Last year, I was in the low 100s, and I've been working to get to it this whole offseason. It means a lot.”

Muirbrook joked that overtaking one of his coaches gives him even more bragging rights.

“Breaking (Padilla's) record makes it even better because now I can talk some smack to him,” he said.

Padilla was more than happy to watch the career night from Muirbrook, who had three total tackles and three sacks.

"I love it," Padilla said of his player eclipsing his mark. "I’ve been rooting for him since last season to break it and he finally got it. We’ve been talking smack to each other about it all season, and I was telling him he wasn’t going to break it, but in reality, I was hoping he would. It’s all about the kids and I love seeing them all succeed. Especially Donny. He has the highest IQ on the team and works harder than anyone."

Also with multiple sacks was senior Levi Cook and junior Alex Ventura.

The Bulldogs scored on their very first play from scrimmage when junior Donnell Harmon III, playing under center in relief of the injured Scout Silva, tossed a lateral to Kaleb Guinn. Guinn showed off his arm by delivering a 33-yard pass to a wide open. Landyn Fitzgerald to put the ‘Dogs up 7-0.

Harmon tallied a touchdown pass of his own he found junior Braiden Fuentes on a quick screen, in which the running back took for a 43-yard score.

Guinn made it 20-0 with a 7-yard touchdown rush in the waning seconds of the first quarter. Senior Brayden Silva-Sousa added another rushing score early in the second frame from a yard out.

In relief of Harmon to start the second half, junior Owen King tossed a 35-yard touchdown to sophomore DJ Robertson to cap off the scoring.

The Panthers offense was kept silent thanks to interceptions by Silva-Sousa and fellow senior Blain Cooper.

The Bulldogs wrapped up the regular season with an 5-5 overall record and a 4-1, runner-up finish in the Central California Athletic League.

Until just a month ago, Turlock would have had nothing to worry about when it came to the prospect of playing postseason ball. With a revamped Sac-Joaquin Section’s playoff format implemented in October, nothing is promised anymore.

There is no longer an automatic berth to divisional brackets for non-league winners. Downey, who capped off an undefeated CCAL campaign Thursday with a win over Enochs, clinched the league title with a win over Turlock last week.

Playoff brackets for each of the section’s seven football divisions have decreased from 12 to eight teams. League champions are guaranteed a spot in the eight-team brackets in their respective divisions. Non-league champions like Turlock can still break into the bracket if they are ranked as a top eight team in D-I by MaxPreps computer rankings.

Turlock entered Friday’s contest ranked No. 9.

This is the first year that the section is determining postseason eligibility through MaxPreps rankings, as longtime partner CalPreps transitioned to a subscription model over the offseason.

If the current rankings hold, the Bulldogs will take to the gridiron for the final time in 2025 next week in the section’s first slate of regional bowl games, consisting of teams seeded nine through 16.

Matchups will not be determined by the rankings, though, and instead will be set by the section’s seeding committee, prioritizing regional matchups and competitiveness. Nevertheless, the committee will make efforts to avoid pairing teams from the same league in a bowl game. Additionally, bowl games may match teams from different divisions.

Playoff brackets and bowl game matchups will be released on Sunday during the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section football selection show, hosted by section assistant commissioner Will DeBoard, the Turlock Journal’s Joe Cortez and the Sacramento Bee’s Joe Davidson. The show will kick off at 12:30 p.m. and will be live streamed for free on the NFHS Network at www.nfhsnetwork.com/associations/cifsjs. The panelists, who have nearly 100 combined years of prep sports coverage under their belts, will provide analysis on the teams and standout players, as well as break down the matchups.

Candy Padilla contributed to this article.