It was a game where everybody got to play, everyone had the chance to contribute, and the varsity football Cougars walked off with a lopsided 54-6 win over host Modesto Christian.
The game on Friday night, Oct. 8 saw many firsts, as senior Tyler Medina got the start under center, Colton Page and Sawyer Mello scored their first varsity touchdowns and Jacob Dugo got his first varsity interception.
“It was what we wanted,” head coach Andrew Beam said of the big win that allowed him to get all his players some quality time on the field. “We practiced hard all week and the guys, when they got their chance, they were ready.”
Seven different players scored touchdowns, as the offense was spread out, and players that work hard in practice finally had the chance to shine on Friday night.
Escalon took a 14-0 lead in the first quarter on an 11-yard run by Logan Anderson (2-point conversion failed) and a 9-yard run by Matthew Baptista, with JP Lial running in the 2-point conversion.
In the second quarter, there were four more Cougars touchdowns.
“We ran six offensive plays in that quarter and scored four times,” Beam said.
Anderson went in on an 11-yard run; Lial a 3-yard run; Owen Nash pulled in a 78-yard pass from Medina and Christian Tinoco scored on a 25-yard run. The point after kick was good each time, the Cougars leading 42-0 at the half.
“In the third quarter, Sawyer Mello had his first carry of the game and he went 23 yards for a touchdown,” Beam said.
The 2-point attempt was no good.
Modesto Christian avoided the shutout with a fourth quarter score but the final was 54-6 for Escalon.
Capping the scoring in the fourth quarter for the Cougars was Colton Page on a 2-yard run.
“We knew it was going to be a pretty dominant game,” Page said of going in with a solid game plan against the Crusaders.
After scoring his first varsity touchdown in the contest, he said it was a feeling he won’t forget for a long time.
“It was great,” he said, noting the end result makes the practice “well worth it.”
“We just came in with an open mind, treated this as any other challenge,” Tinoco added of keeping the energy and intensity level high.
“Honestly, I was so excited to be out there, I’m at a loss for words,” Jacob Dugo said of his first career interception and the chance to see some playing time in the victory.
The Crusaders had eight total yards rushing, 98 yards passing. Escalon countered with 268 yards rushing and 112 yards passing.
Medina was 1-for-2 in passing for 78 yards, starter Donovan Rozevink came in during the second half and completed one pass attempt for 34 yards.
Defensively, Tate Christensen, Ryker Peters, Ryan Lewis, EJ Lewis and Matthew Baptista each had a sack. Javier Gutierrez, Owen Nash and Jacob Dugo had interceptions and EJ Lewis had five tackles. Also noted for top efforts were Colton Page, Christian Tinoco, Julien Harrison and Christian Rowe.
“We were beyond excited for the guys,” Beam said.
The Cougars travel to Riverbank for an Oct. 15 contest this week.
