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Story by John Devine, Monterey Daily Herald
SAN JOSE - As difficult as it was to stand on the sidelines as a spectator last season while dealing with a broken ankle, Emarrcis Turner never lost his faith.
“I just stayed positive,” the Salinas receiver said. “This year I show up every day like it’s my last practice. Positively and strength.
The hype is real.
Turner showed off his speed, hands and precise route running Friday, catching two touchdown passes in Salinas’ season-opening 24-7 win at Valley Christian of San Jose.
“It was a freak injury,” recalled Salinas football coach Steve Zenk. “Emarrcis was hustling in practice, blocking his butt off when it (ankle) got rolled on.”
The younger brother of former Hartnell College receiving yards record holder Ronnie Turner, the younger Turner is a version of his older brother with his hands and route running.
“He’s different than his brother,” Zenk said. “I don’t know if he’s faster. Maybe they’ll have to race. But Emarrcis has a bigger body. He has great hands and runs great routes.”
Not only did the win avenge last year’s loss to the West Catholic Athletic League powers, but it moved Zenk to within seven wins of 100 for his career.
“I wanted to see us compete and win every play,” said Zenk, who has guided the Cowboys to six consecutive Gabilan Division titles in the Pacific Coast Athletic League. “Who is the next great Cowboy? We found a few today.”
The preseason redemption tour will continue next Friday for Salinas when it hosts Clovis in what will become an annual rivalry, as the teams will play for a coveted larger-than-life belt buckle.
The two teams agreed to play the game for at least the next five years. The belt buckle was created in part, because Salinas and Clovis have the two oldest rodeos in California.
“No one plays a preseason schedule like we do,” Zenk said.
While Turner lit up the scoreboard with his two touchdown catches, Rico Maturino had a hand in it, tossing both touchdown passes to his teammate in just his second start as Salinas’ quarterback.
“Rico did a great job in getting him (Turner) the ball,” Zenk said.
Maturino found Turner six times for 101 yards, hooking up on scoring strikes of 31 and 32 yards - with the last touchdown putting the game out of reach for the Cowboys.
“It felt amazing,” Turner said. “I’m breathless. On the first one, Rico said ‘I’m throwing it to you.’ He closed his eyes and threw it up there. The second touchdown was the most important play of the game. It closed the game.”
Valley Christian, which reached the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs last fall, was coming off a season-opening 24-7 win over Wilcox of Santa Clara.
“When guys went down, others stepped up,” Zenk said. “It was nice to go two deep at several positions tonight.”
Zenk was speaking about losing an offensive lineman earlier in the week and another during pre-game warmups. Yet, the offense didn’t skip a beat as Maturino orchestrated three scoring drives.
“We moved the ball all night,” Zenk said. “We got stopped a couple of times in the red zone. But our kicker did a great job tonight. Good kickers win you games. We got another one.”
Zenk was referring to Matteus Mariscal, who kicked a 38-yard field goal and sent three kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks. He also averaged 45 yards on a pair of punts.
Yet, it was the defense that rose to the occasion with Gavin Flynn intercepting two passes, returning one 75 yards for a touchdown and a 17-0 Salinas cushion.
“He also converted a fake punt for a first down,” Zenk said.
The Cowboys linebacking corps of Jackson Scott, Alex Jarvis and Jake Mungaray shut down the Warriors run game, while Josh Na played with his hand wrapped in a protective club to protect a broken thumb.
Salinas forced three turnovers, as Flynn’s second interception led to a field goal, while Madden Edwards added an interception to stop a Valley Christian drive.
“Josh played a great game,” Zenk said. “Our defense might be better than last year. I thought last year was the best one I’ve had. It was a fun night.”
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