For the third and final time in 2024 — the inaugural girls flag football season for local high schools — the Pitman Pride and Turlock Bulldogs met on the 80-yard gridiron. And for the first time, the Bulldogs defeated their crosstown rivals, 7-6, in what was yet another defensive struggle under the lights of Joe Debely Stadium on Wednesday night.
The difference in this chapter of the crosstown rivalry was in the extra-point attempts.
Following a scoreless first half, the Pride struck early in the second half when junior Ashli Mendoza broke the end zone, but had the one-point conversion attempt batted down.
The Bulldogs answered shortly after when senior gunslinger Cadee Campbell found freshman Makenli Watt for a touchdown. They grabbed the lead when Campbell connected with another freshman, Mara Gemperle, in the end zone.
In flag football, there is no kicking. The added point after a touchdown is earned by cracking the end zone once more from the 5-yard line. Teams can try for a two-point conversion by snapping the ball from 10 yards out.
After Wednesday’s result, Turlock has played eight times in which the winner was decided by one score, including three of their six losses.
“You may think that one or two mishaps may not be a big deal, but we’ve seen just how big a drop here or there can be,” said Turlock head coach Aaron King said. “A of these one or two point games played out the way they did by not executing, but this time, we just made a few more play than Pitman and we got the job done.”
The Pride won the previous two matchups over the Bulldogs by 13-6 and 6-0 scores.
“We knew what we were getting with Pitman, with those first two games being so neck-and-neck,” King continued. “But these girls show time and time again that they can persevere and get the job done under pressure.”
Turlock is now 15-6 overall and 9-4 in Central California Athletic League play, which is good second place behind Pitman, who are 16-2 overall and 11-2 in conference competition. The Pride were undefeated until falling to Gregori by a 56-20 score on Oct. 7.
There are just two games remaining for each team in the regular season, which all take place next week on Monday and Wednesday.
The Bulldogs will start their week by traveling to Modesto for their shot at the 14-6, 8-5 Gregori Jaguars. They’ll wrap Wednesday against Enochs (8-12, 4-8) at home.
Meantime, the Pride can clinch the league title outright on Monday on their home field in north Turlock when they welcome a winless Modesto High team. Their season will end on the road at Gregori, where they’ll look to avenge last week’s loss. Each of the four games get underway at 7 p.m.
