There is never a shortage of emotions whenever teams from Turlock and Pitman high schools come together. But on Friday night at Joe Debely Stadium in the 21st installment of the Harvest Bowl, they ran higher than usual.

Amid the creative signs and outfits in the crowd, a banner hung along the bleachers on the away side of the field reading “JUST BLOCK” with “#SitalaStrong” typed out beneath it. On the helmets of each Turlock player were stickers with the same mantras. One of those players was Time Sitala Jr., a lineman who played most of the game with tears in his eyes. All of it gave an already-motivated Turlock team more reason to put on the most dominant performance in the history of the storied rivalry game — a 66-6 win.

The sentiments were made in honor of Sitala Jr.’s father, Time Sitala Tagomailelagi Sr., who passed away on Tuesday after suffering a heart attack the week prior. Sitala Sr. was a staple of the regional football scene, having been a line coach for Modesto Junior College and at Turlock High under head coach James Peterson for several years.

Peterson was proud of the way his team was able to come together in the aftermath of the tragedy.

“This really brought us together,” Peterson said solemnly. “So much has happened to this team this year, and this, of course, being the toughest of them all. There’s been so much negativity whether it’s injuries, guys getting in trouble for this and that, and now losing one of our own, I feel like we’re really becoming a true family.”

Peterson, who is always ultra-positive, was visibly stern when discussing the visible emotions flowing from Sitala Jr, who saw his first game action in 13 days.

“From the get go, he let me know he was playing in this game,” Peterson shared. “He reached out and explained what was happening, and that he wanted in no matter what. And it was one of the most special things I’ve ever heard. To read the text that that young man sent me was just heartbreaking. That’s a special kid.”

After missing last week’s 35-0 win against Gregori and multiple practices to be by his father’s side in the hospital, Sitala Jr. played nearly the entirety of Friday’s win over Pitman and seemed as if he had not missed a beat. He had five total tackles, including two for losses. And midway through the third quarter with his team up 43-6 and threatening to score again, the senior abandoned his usual position at guard and lined up in the backfield. The six-foot tall, 280-pounder was given the ball and rolled into the end zone.

Sitala Jr. was incredibly emotional after the game as he was embraced by family and friends on the field, though he had one simple message to share: “Everything I do is for him.” 

A GoFundMe has been set up to support the Sitala family during their time of grief. It can be accessed at https://www.gofundme.com/f/prayers-and-support-for-time-and-his-family. 

Freshman quarterback Scout Silva was happy to see his teammate that has helped protect him in the pocket throughout the season be able to find the end zone to honor his father.

“I’m glad everybody stuck together and didn’t let the emotions get the best of them. TJ kept a smile on his face in the huddle and was able to get that touchdown, so it means a lot.”

Sitala Jr.’s touchdown was one of nine scored by the Bulldogs on Friday night, a Harvest Bowl record. After six extra points were kicked in from Mateo Valencia and a pair of two-point conversions from Colten Mauksch and another from Alex Ventura were ran in, they built a 60-point lead, besting last year’s 58-0 win as the biggest blowout between the two teams.

Lighting up the scoreboard from the get-go was Silva, who completed 12 of 15 attempts for 314 yards and six touchdowns while only playing in the first half.

The first came less than three minutes into the game when he found junior Donovan Muirbrook wide open down the field for 48 yards. Midway through the frame, Silva connected with senior Leo Contreras, from 59 yards out. The third came early in the second quarter when he connected with senior Junior Silva for a 15-yarder. Two minutes later he found junior Landyn Fitzgerald for a 43-yard score. With just under three minutes left in the half, the Silvas (not related) connected again, this time for a 67-yard touchdown. Silva’s last touchdown of the game came in the waning seconds of the first half when Joseph Delte hauled in a pass from 13 yards out to extend their lead to 51-6.

“It was exciting seeing all the people in the crowd. It’s definitely the biggest crowd I’ve been in front of so far,” Silva said of the estimated 4,000 fans in attendance. “They brought the energy today, and we felt it. It was a fun game.”

Also finding the end zone for the Bulldogs was senior Jeremiah Stine on a 12-yard rush in the second quarter. Their final score came on a double-pass trick play that had Ventura catch a lateral and toss the ball 37 yards downfield to senior Elias Espinoza with two seconds left in the third quarter in what was a 52-point blowout at the time.

The Turlock defense also had its highlights, including recording eight tackles for loss, two sacks and forcing two fumbles, both recovered by junior Russell Spaulding. 

Pitman’s lone score came early on when senior Tristan Fuentes broke loose for a 40-yard touchdown rush to make it a 14-6 game with six minutes to play in the first quarter. It was Fuentes’ first of just four carries on the night. He was the team’s second-leading rusher with 41 yards, behind fellow senior Grant Day, who compiled 50 yards on eight carries. Junior Xadian Padilla was handed the ball a team-high 10 times for 32 yards. Junior Mason Helwick had 33 on nine runs. The Pride passed just three times in the game. Comparatively, the Bulldogs only ran 13 times while throwing over 30 instances between Silva and Spaulding.

The Bulldogs now have 11 straight victories over Pitman and extend their all-time lead in the series to 13-8.

Turlock, playing as the visiting team on Friday, will again be at Joe Debely Stadium next week to host Downey in a matchup of teams that have gone undefeated through the first two weeks of conference play. The contest will likely decide this year’s CCAL champion. After defeating Modesto 41-7 on Friday, the Knights are now 7-0 this year, while the Bulldogs improved to 4-3 overall after their lopsided victory.

With their recent loss, the Pride are off to their first 0-7 start in program history and are hoping to avoid their first-ever winless season. Pitman’s tumultuous campaign will also continue next week, where they’ll have a prime opportunity to grab to get in the win column when they travel to Modesto to take on a 2-5 Enochs team that is also searching for their first league win after losing to Gregori by a 34-30 score Friday.