Football Game Preview: Downey Knights vs. Turlock Bulldogs

The Downey Knights will take on the Turlock Bulldogs at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Each of these teams will be battling to keep a three-game winning streak alive.

Downey is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They took their matchup on Friday with ease, bagging a 56-14 victory over Modesto. With the Knights ahead 36-6 at the half, the game was all but over already.

Elias Haynes

Rushing Yards

10/17/25 vs Modesto	185
10/10/25 @ Pitman	230
10/03/25 vs Gregori	101
09/19/25 @ Edison	113
09/12/25 @ Amador Valley	101
09/05/25 vs Merced	173

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Downey to victory, but perhaps none more so than Elias Haynes, who rushed for 185 yards and a pair of touchdowns on only 13 carries, and also picked up 31 receiving yards and one score. Haynes' rushing production has been exceptional as that marked his sixth straight game with at least 101 rushing yards. Another player making a difference was Isaiah Castillo, who threw for 125 yards and three TDs while completing 88.9% of his passes.

They were just one part of a punishing run game: Downey was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 341 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 169 rushing yards in seven consecutive contests.

Downey didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Sean Standley and Haynes. Josiah Welch was another major factor on D, picking up 1.5 sacks and making four total tackles (3.0 for loss).

Meanwhile, Turlock didn't have too much trouble with Pitman on Friday as they won 28-14. Given the Bulldogs' advantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 165th, while the Pride are ranked 472nd) , the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Downey's win bumped their record up to 5-3. As for Turlock, the victory got them back to even at 4-4.

Downey ended up a good deal behind Turlock when the teams last played back in October of 2024, losing 33-14. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of the Bulldogs' Scout Silva, who rushed for 106 yards and three touchdowns on only 15 carries, and also threw for 132 yards and a pair of TDs. Now that the Knights know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.