Tracy’s sophomores closed their season with a loss at home against the Lodi Flames tonight.

Lodi took the initiative with a fumble recovery and went on take the 33-14 win, easily closing out the Bulldogs (3-2 San Joaquin Athletic Association, 5-5 overall).

Even with the loss, Tracy coach Jeremy Silcox said this year’s group of sophomores showed the most progress of any team since he’s been coaching.

“All the kids improved tremendously from where we were in the summer and where we ended up,” Silcox said.

That improvement showed tonight, even though Lodi’s offense executed its plays more consistently throughout the night.

The Bulldogs were driving at the start of the first quarter until Lodi caused and recovered a fumble deep in its own territory. Thought the Flames didn’t score after the turnover, it set the tone for the rest of the game.

Lodi got on the scoreboard in the second quarter on 47-yard pass play, as quarterback Jordan Lauchland pitched the ball to Tyler Wonnell in the backfield and Wonnell found Jeff Dickerson wide open on the left side.

Tracy responded with a drive that included quarterback Cody Daniel’s 33-yard run to get Tracy to the Lodi 5-yard line. From there, Daniel passed to Tyler Cox in the end zone, and Matt Loscavio’s point-after kick tied it at 7-7.

Lodi scored again at the close of the half on Josh Mastro’s 21-yard run. The Flames made the kick for a 14-7 lead at the half, and scored in the third on Mastro’s 13-yard run up the middle.

Daniel’s 57-yard pass to Loscavio on the right side highlighted Tracy’s next touchdown drive, capped by Bruce Russell’s 9-yard run up the middle for the score. Loscavio’s kick cut Lodi’s lead to 20-14.

Lodi’s Nick Mettier scored on a 12-yard run at the start of the fourth quarter, and then recovered the kickoff to immediately get the ball back on the Tracy 35-yard line.

Tracy went three-and-out one more time on offense before Lodi got the ball back and scored to ice the game on Mastro’s 5-yard touchdown run.

Freshmen: Tracy 20, Lodi 0

Tracy High’s freshman football team finished its season with a 20-0 win over Lodi on Thursday at Wayne Schneider Stadium.

The victory puts Tracy at 2-6-1 for the season. Coach Jay Fishburn said his team had to make up for some of the close losses it had during the season.

“They finally stepped up and played like a team. We have some individuals with talent and definitely have the ability to put them in a position to win, but just never finished,” he said. “They’re a better team than the record shows, but that’s the key — it’s a team, and if you don’t play like a team, you’re not going to win. They finally did tonight, and I’m proud of them for that.”

Tracy got on the scoreboard in the second quarter on DeAndre Wilson’s 51-yard run. Tracy got the ball to Wilson again in the third quarter for a series of runs to put the Bulldogs in position for quarterback Luke Hanna’s 5-yard run into the end zone. Wilson ran in the 2-point conversion to make it 14-0.

The Flames launched a comeback drive after that, but penalties and a stubborn Tracy defense held Lodi to the 5-yard line before Tracy took the ball back.

Wilson again led the charge with a 48-yard run to get Tracy back to midfield. Penalties pushed Tracy back, again, but Hanna passed to Wilson for a 58-yard touchdown to put the team up 20-0. Lodi had one more chance to get into Tracy territory, but still couldn’t make the final push to the end zone before Tracy got the ball back and ran out the clock.