In the 20 years of the annual Harvest Bowl between the Turlock and Pitman varsity football teams, eight games have been decided by one score, including four of their first five meetings. In each school’s inaugural season of flag football competitions, the girls are providing similar cinema.
When the Pride and Bulldogs met for the second time ever on the gridiron for flag football on Monday night at Pitman High School, one touchdown was all that was needed to determine the day’s winner.
Just like their first meeting on Sept. 11, it was the Pride who came out on top, 6-0, improving their record to 13-0 (8-0 CCAL) and dropping the Bulldogs to 11-5 on the year, including a 5-3 record in conference play.
It was a victory that was made possible with the help of freshman Emily Martinez, who served in an unfamiliar role as the team’s first receiving option in the absence of the injured Sofia Martinez (her older sister) and Ivy Butler. With just over four minutes to play in a scoreless contest, quarterback Lexie Pulido fired a sideline strike ten yards down the field to Martinez, who evaded multiple Bulldogs for a 37-yard touchdown.
“Emily Martinez, catching a big touchdown tonight, was huge,” said head coach Matthew Vasconcelos. “That's normally not her spot, so that's just one of those things that’s a testament to how this team is. I'm very proud of them. They're super resilient.”
In fact, Martinez revealed that it was her who called the play and alerted Pulido that she was wide open near the sideline.
“I called the play and I told Lexie I was open. Then she passed it to me, and I thought I wasn't going to catch it for a second because I saw two defenders coming right at me. But then I caught it, and just thought, ‘Oh my gosh,’ and just ran as fast as I could.”
The score came after 17 empty possessions between the two teams to open the game.
“That whole first half, I was kind of in my head, calling random things,” Pulido said of her adjustments amid the last-minute injuries. “But I kind of snapped out of it. And once Emily made that play, the whole momentum of the entire team shifted.”
The one-point conversion failed, leaving the score at 6-0. After each team had a three-and-out on the ensuing possessions, the Pride capped off their victory when junior Ashli Mendoza picked off Turlock quarterback Cadee Campbell with just over a minute left to play. It was her second interception of the game.
Mendoza also admitted to carrying some nerves within her, especially when the eventual game-clinching interception was floating right towards her.
“I was telling myself, ‘I gotta catch it, no matter what. If I don’t catch this…’ Oh man, that wouldn’t have been good,” Mendoza joked.
Not only did the Pride’s undefeated record stay alive with the win, but it maintained their nationwide ranking. According to MaxPreps.com, they are the No. 17 ranked team in the nation, the No. 12 ranked team in the state and the second-best team in the Sac-Joaquin Section. They’ll have a prime opportunity to improve on their record and rankings when they take on a winless Modesto High team on the road at 7 p.m. today.
“We just gotta keep getting better,” Vasconcelos said. “I know our team didn't put up very many points tonight, but I feel like we have the offensive personnel to really start scoring and moving the ball. We just played a really tough defense from Turlock tonight.”
The Bulldogs, meanwhile, can give themselves sole possession of second place in the CCAL when they welcome Gregori of Modesto to Joe Debely Stadium, also at 7 p.m. today. The teams have matching 5-3 league records.
