FRESNO — They are now called the Central East Bengals. And though the Fresno high school has a new name, a new mascot and new uniforms, it produced the same result against regular non-conference foe Turlock High on Friday night.
In just their third game since realigning high school campuses and rebranding from the Grizzlies to the Bengals, Central defeated the Bulldogs by a 44-20 score at Deran Koligian Stadium. The loss marked Turlock’s sixth straight against the Central program, and dropped their 2025 record to 1-2.
The Bengals took advantage of early turnovers and penalties to lead for the entirety of the contest.
The Bulldogs fumbled on the fourth play from scrimmage, leading to an eight-play, 40-yard drive that was capped off by an 8-yard rush from running back Brandon Smith. It was the first of three first half touchdowns for the shifty 6-foot, 190-pound back. His second came on his lone catch of the night, a 17-yard strike from junior quarterback Jelani Dippel. He capped his hat trick with a 2-yard run up the middle immediately following a blocked punt.
Smith carried the ball 17 times, and not once was he tackled for a loss of yardage. By the end of the night, he had racked up 158 yards on the ground.
Dippel, a dual-threat quarterback, had his share of moments, as well, passing for 202 yards and four touchdowns. Many of the scores came on chunk plays. After connecting with Smith, he found Bayon Harris for an 8-yard strike midway through the second quarter. Harries was the target again for a 34-yard score midway through the third quarter. Titus Thomas hauled in the fourth touchdown from 18 yards out.
The Bengals capped off their scoring with a 64-yard rush by Andrew Garcia to open the fourth frame.
Turlock’s first touchdown came fairly early, just four minutes into play — a 7-yard bootleg from quarterback Scout Silva. But at that point, Smith had already found the end zone twice, and the deficit was cut to 14-7. After Smith’s third touchdown, the Bulldogs drove nearly 80 yards in under two minutes, but failed to cash in on points when Silva was sacked on fourth-and-6 as the first half clock expired.
The Bulldogs finally added to their points total on their first drive of the second half when junior Alex Ventura scored a touchdown from five yards out. They did not score again until just over three minutes left in the game on a 1-yard rush from Kaleb Guinn, who split carries with Braiden Fuentes after Ventura exited the game in the third quarter with an injury.
Ventura ran for 26 yards on nine carries before his departure. Guinn had 44 yards on six tries. Meanwhile, Silva was Turlock's leading rusher with 124 yards on 15 attempts. Through the air, he completed 14 of 22 passes for 154 yards and an interception. His top target was Landyn Fitzgerald, who hauled in four catches for 55 yards.
Friday’s game was a battle of two of highly-ranked football programs. Turlock entered as the No. 10 in the Sac-Joaquin Section, while Central — the defending Central Section Division I-AA and CIF State NorCal Division I-A champions — was No. 1 in the Central Section.
The Bulldogs are not finished dealing with section and state champions, as they will welcome Sonora to Joe Debely Stadium next week for a 7 p.m. kickoff. The Wildcats are the defending Sac-Joaquin Section Division VI and CIF State Division 4-A champions, and improved to 3-0 on Friday night after a 62-12 dismantling of Antelope.
