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Pride, Bulldogs prepare for Harvest Bowl 15
harvest bowl preview
The Turlock High Bulldogs and Pitman High Pride varsity football teams will meet on the gridiron Friday in Harvest Bowl 15 (CANDY PADILLA/The Journal).

Every time Turlock’s two public school teams meet on the football field it’s memorable. This year’s contest between the Pride and Bulldogs, however, will see the teams battling for more than just bragging rights. The victor of Friday’s crosstown matchup will come away with the first-ever Central California Athletic League title.

The best thing about this year’s rivalry game is that both teams could easily come away with the victory, setting the stage for a great night under the lights of Joe Debely Stadium.

Pitman’s strength is in its running game, which they use often and effectively. But the Pride are also excelling at passing, which has helped them on occasions when their run game is limited or starting off slow and they have quarterback Treyton Fair to thank for that.

BY THE NUMBERS

Pitman

Pitman leads all-time Harvest Bowl series 8-6

CCAL Record: 4-0

Points Per Game (league): 30

Points Per Game Against (league): 13.75

Total Yards: 3,710

Passing: 1,350

Rushing: 2,360

Players to watch: Denzel Steckwren, Treyton Fair, Jakob Partida, Payton Bass, Jaron Azevedo, Marcus Garza

 

Turlock

CCAL Record: 4-0

Points Per Game (league): 42.5

Points Per Game Against (league): 17.75

Total Yards: 3,869

Passing: 1,631

Rushing: 2,238

Players to watch: Lucas Curtis, Garret Fountain, Jake Dirkse, Anthony Frias, Jonah Kosakiewicz, Cam Sherwood 

He has tossed for 1,350 yards including 12 touchdowns to just one interception.

The weakness for Pitman at times has been the run defense, with the pass defense holding their own, forcing a completion percentage against opposing quarterbacks of 53.27.  

Turlock’s strength this year has been their run game. In nine games played they have outrushed their opponents, 2,238 to 991. They have 30 rushing touchdowns to their opponents’ 12.

Of the 198 first downs earned by Turlock so far this year, 124 came by rushing the ball.

The weakness for Turlock has been penalties as they have accumulated 80 for the year for 845 yards. Their opponents have 38 penalties for 310 yards. They also have a turnover difference of minus 4.

The opposing passing game has also been more effective than Turlock’s, with opposing quarterbacks tossing 19 touchdowns to Turlock’s 14.

Whoever comes out a winner will have to play a clean, mistake-free game to come out on top.

If Pitman’s pass game is on, and Turlock’s pass defense is off, the Pride could take the night and the league title.

If Turlock plays how they did last Friday against Gregori, scoring nine touchdowns against last year’s MMC champs, there is a strong case for the Bulldogs to be the best and leave the field as undefeated CCAL winners.

Pitman leads the all-time Harvest Bowl series at 8-6, however, Turlock has won the last four meetings.

The CCAL title game is slated to be a home game for Pitman High as they host Turlock High from Joe Debely at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Unfortunately, tickets have already sold out for the crosstown matchup. Follow the Turlock Journal on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for game night updates. Visit turlockjournal.com for a complete game recap and video coverage on The Blitz.