On Friday night, the Pitman High football team will go up against a winless nonconference team that has suffered a few heartbreaks so far.

Does it matter to the Pride?

“We want to play faster, more physical and a lot more disciplined,” coach Brandon Harris said.

In other words, the 0-3 Franklin High Yellowjackets might be looking at their fourth loss in four games, especially since they’ll play at Pitman’s home field, Joe Debely Stadium, at 7:15 p.m. The Pride (2-1) are also coming off a week’s worth of rest, as they spent their recent bye week refocusing on fundamentals, such as executing plays.

“We lost a game this year because a lack of discipline,” Harris said, “so that’s been the focus since then.”

He’s referring to the Pride’s 48-36 loss to Modesto High in the season opener, though the final score doesn’t indicate that they were within 4 points before a controversial call turned the game around. Since then, Pitman captured two road wins over Antioch High and Skyline High in Oakland.

This week’s opponent comes to Turlock with no wins, though Franklin’s game against Stagg High two weeks ago could’ve had a different outcome. The Yellowjackets were up 14 before letting the game slip away in the fourth quarter.

Even so, don’t expect the Pride to take Franklin lightly.

“That never comes into play,” Harris said.

Turlock High is just one win away from the midway point of a complete turnaround from last year’s 0-10 debacle, as the Bulldogs are 4-0 after last week’s stunning 24-21 win over Modesto. But they’ll have to wait another week before going back to the gridiron.

Turlock has the week off.

Next week the Bulldogs will play at Franklin in Stockton before hosting Buhach Colony High in the Central California Conference. They will also have an advantage in preparing for the Yellowjackets, who will play Pitman at Debely Stadium at 7:15 p.m. on Friday.

To contact Chhun Sun, e-mail csun@turlockjournal.com or call 634-9141 ext. 2041.