Merced outlasts Turlock to clinch CCC championship

Danny Velasquez was threatening to take over the game in the final minutes.

The Turlock star running back, who was playing quarterback in place of injured Peyton Dunseth, found running room on four consecutive plays to move the Bulldogs inside the Merced 40-yard line in the final minutes with the Bears leading by six points.

That’s when the Bears’ defense stepped up.

Merced stuffed Turlock’s Mark Flores on a running play and then forced two incomplete passes from Velasquez to set off a wild celebration as the Bears held on to defeat the Bulldogs 34-28 on Friday night at Veterans Stadium. The victory clinched Merced’s third consecutive Central California Conference championship.

“It was crazy,” said Merced running back/safety Paul Scoggins, who teamed up with Rayveon Slaton to deflect the final pass away from a Turlock receiver. “I was so scared, especially the way Danny was scrambling around. We did it as a team.”

It was a wild game, as players went down from cramps and exhaustion.

Both teams were without key players as Turlock (6-2, 3-1 CCC) played without Dunseth, who injured his shoulder last week against Atwater. The Bears (6-3, 4-0) played without star running back/defensive back Ulonzo Gilliam, who was in street clothes with a high ankle sprain.

Watching Velasquez, it was tough to tell he had only had a week to prepare at quarterback.

“It’s tough, but anytime you have a Danny Velasquez it’s an easier situation because he’s such a tremendous athlete,” Turlock coach James Peterson said. “I know he’s going to give me everything he’s got.”

Velasquez completed 7 of 17 passes for 119 yards and two touchdowns to tight end Allen Padilla. He also carried the ball 20 times for 95 yards.

Scoggins and Slaton again filled in nicely for Gilliam as they combined for 170 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Scoggins finished with 125 yards, including a 29-yard touchdown run.

“It was hard work, but we just trusted our line,” Scoggins said. “Some plays we didn’t get any yards. We just kept fighting.”

“Just keep fighting” was the rallying cry from the Merced sideline as the momentum continued to shift from sideline to sideline throughout the game.

After Jake Foss connected with Kaiser Fink on a five-yard touchdown to give Merced a 14-7 lead midway through the first quarter, it looked like the Bears had a chance to pull away.

Merced was at the Turlock 15-yard line when Turlock linebacker Mustafa Noel-Johnson stripped the ball from A.J. Stewart and sprinted 85 yards for a touchdown to tie the game at 14-14 early in the second quarter.

It was one of four Merced turnovers in the first half.

The Bulldogs almost picked up a second defensive score in the first half when Padilla intercepted Foss and looked headed for a pick six, but Stewart chased Padilla down, stripped the ball and recovered the fumble to give Merced the football at its own 12.

The Bears were able to drive down before the half, and Favian Prado connected on a 28-yard field goal to pull Merced within 21-20 at the half.

“That’s another keep-fighting, no-quit play by A.J.,” said Bears coach Rob Scheidt, whose team extended its conference winning streak to 17 games. “That’s a special play by him to get us the ball back.”

Merced ran 43 offensive plays in the first half to just 17 by Turlock, but because of the four turnovers, the Bears trailed by one point at half.

“We were so up and down,” Scheidt said. “We tried to do the up-tempo thing, but I think we tried to go so fast our own guys got tired. It might have worked against us.”

The Bulldogs took the second half kickoff and marched 90 yards on a 12-play drive that ended with Padilla out-jumping Merced’s Tim Miranda for a pass in the end zone that gave Turlock a 28-20 lead with 6:08 left in the third quarter.

Slaton then capped a 51-yard drive with a nine-yard touchdown run. Merced went for the two-point conversion, but failed to keep Turlock’s lead at 28-26 with 3:25 left in the third quarter.

The Bulldogs threatened to extend the lead on their next drive but Scoggins intercepted Velasquez near the goal line to end the third quarter.

Merced capitalized, as the Bears drove 55 yards on 10 plays with Foss finding Miranda open in the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown. Foss connected with Stewart for the two-point conversion to give the Bears a 34-28 lead with 8:39 remaining.

“That’s our team. I knew we would fight,” Scheidt said. “I didn’t know if it would be enough with injuries. Even our injuries during the game. (Gilliam) is such a multi-tool player for us. We use him everywhere. When you have guys cramping up or tired, you don’t know if that’s going to interfere with your chances to win because depth can become an issue. Our guys just kept fighting.”

In the end, the Merced defense was called upon to come up with the big stop to save the game, and they came through like they have so many times this season.

“It feels amazing,” said Merced defensive tackle David Perales, who recorded a sack and was big in shutting down Turlock’s inside running game. “It feels like all the weight is off our shoulders now. It feels like nobody can touch us now.”

This story was originally published October 31, 2015 at 1:31 AM with the headline "Merced outlasts Turlock to clinch CCC championship."