Friday’s game between two Bulldog teams — Turlock High and Tracy High — was wild, but in the end the ‘Dog Bone’ is coming back to Turlock after they defeated Tracy High from home in a 28-17 final, avenging both losses from last year and several others in recent years.

 “We needed the momentum but we stole it… took all night… I told these guys it would be a dog fight and we would be playing all night,” said Turlock head coach James Peterson.

The win gives Turlock its second straight victory as they are 2-1 heading into their fourth non-league game against a 2-1 Sheldon High team.

Before looking ahead, Turlock had some unfinished business against a familiar foe that had beaten them multiple times last season.

Last year Tracy won 29-22 in the regular season.  Then they met Turlock High in the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs. In that game back on Nov. 9, Tracy won 24-14, ending Turlock’s season.

Following their close encounter, Turlock High knew what needed to be done and how to achieve it.

The bulk of their squad from last season was back and they were hungry.

On Friday, Turlock forced Tracy to fumble in their first possession and that set the tone for the game.

The defense for Turlock was relentless, led by senior and San Diego State bound Garret Fountain.

Fountain was a catalyst after he finished Friday’s game with multiple sacks, one interception, a fumble recovery and over half a dozen tackles.

“We just came out and played with all our energy, that is what we did tonight… that is what we are doing and everybody is clicking and we are having a great time,” said Fountain.

Following their forced fumble, Turlock also turned the ball over themselves before giving the ball back to Tracy. The Turlock defense forced a three and out and got the ball back immediately.

It took two plays before Turlock scored as Lucas Curtis ran it in from 19 yards out to make it 7-0 with 3:12 left in the first.

To kick off the second, Turlock kept it going when Jonah Kosakiewicz connected with Cam Sherwood for a 51-yard score to extend the lead to 14-0 with 9:39 left in the second.

Tracy scored a touchdown and got a field goal just before halftime as the score read 14-10.

Turlock then came out and fired away in the second half, controlling the line of scrimmage.

Turlock’s defense finished the game with half a dozen sacks.

At the half, Tracy had just 61 rushing yards and 91 passing yards.

Turlock’s offense tallied 96 passing yards in the first half with 102 rushing.

Curtis scored on a four-yard run to open the third and the lead was extended to 21-10 with 9:36 left in the third.

Tracy notched their final touchdown of the game on the ensuing drive to cut the lead to 21-17 with 8:07 left in the third.

Following Fountain’s fumble recovery in the fourth quarter with 9:40 left, Turlock managed to secure the win, scoring on the following drive as Kosakiewicz ran it in from 10-yards out to make it 28-17.

“We got that Dog Bone back here and it feels great,” Peterson added.

Turlock will next travel on the road for back-to-back home games, taking on a 2-1 Sheldon High team at 7:15 p.m. Friday.