In what was likely their busiest week of the season, the Escalon varsity basketball boys had four games and got a split, winning two and losing two. They were just one of the many winter teams in action this past week for EHS.
“Very busy week. Finals at school for the players and four games for our team,” head coach Nate Bartelink said.
The varsity squad captured victories against River Islands on the road and at home against Central Valley, while falling to Calaveras at home and to Kimball on the road.
They opened up with a Tuesday, Dec. 16 game at River Islands, winning in overtime, 59-56.
“We had played River Islands earlier in the season for our Foundation Game so there was some familiarity on both sides. We didn’t play particularly great as the game remained close throughout. Fortunately for us River Islands missed four straight free throws with under a minute left to go in regulation and we were able to capitalize,” Bartelink said. “Ben Ferreira had a big steal for a bucket, and the players executed a late game set on our final possession, and Jake Ferreira made a very difficult contested, reverse lay-up with five seconds left to tie the game.”
River Islands wasn’t able to score and the game went to overtime.
“Our defense held strong in overtime and Ben Ferreira hit a big three-pointer. I was proud of how we found a way to pull out a road victory, even when it seemed like the odds were slim with a couple minutes to go where River Islands had a six-point lead,” added Bartelink.
Pacing the Cougars were Logan Huebner, 22 points; Ben Ferreira, 12 points; Jake Ferreira, nine points, four assists; and Ryan Huebner, eight points, seven rebounds.
Thursday, Dec, 18 at home against Calaveras, it was another overtime contest, with the Red Hawks coming away with a 54-49 decision against the Cougars.
“Calaveras is always tough to play against. They are well coached and a good match-up for us. This was their first game having their football players, and their best player had a huge impact on this game,” the coach said. “We had a great second quarter defensively and held a 12-point halftime lead.”
However, it was a tough second half for the host team.
“Calaveras stuck to their 1-3-1 zone for the entire second half and we didn’t handle it well. We played into the zone’s hands and settled for too many three-point attempts and unfortunately weren’t able to make enough shots,” Bartelink said. “We trailed by three on our last possession, called a timeout, and drew up a set play for Jake Ferreira. The players did a good job executing it, and Jake made a great play to side-step a defender, and hit a fadeaway three pointer with three seconds left to send the game to overtime. That was his second clutch shot in three nights. That’s impressive for a sophomore. He wants the ball in his hands in those critical moments and he’s more than capable of getting it done.”
Escalon’s offense continued to sputter in the overtime period and Calaveras hit shots they had been missing earlier, leading to the victory for the visitors.
Logan Huebner had 17 points, seven rebounds and, said Bartelink, is “finding his offensive rhythm after healing” from some football injuries. Conner Jones had 13 points, Jake Ferreira had 11 points and five rebounds.
Friday, Dec. 19 hosting Central Valley it was an easy 69-25 win for Escalon.
“This was the first of two games where our starting backcourt, the Ferreira brothers (Ben and Jake), were out of state for their sister’s college graduation. I was interested to see how the remaining eight players would respond,” Bartelink said. “We had faced Central Valley in an early season scrimmage and I thought this particular game would have been more difficult. Our guys came out with a ton of energy and dominated physically. We got whatever we wanted offensively and shared the ball, getting a bunch of lay-ups. It was a fun brand of basketball to watch.”
Escalon ran out to a big lead and never looked back.
“I was proud of how Logan set the tone as a leader and his teammates followed suit. We scored 48 points at the half and cruised to a victory. Everyone got a good amount of playing time. I was extremely happy with how our shorthanded roster performed,” the coach said.
Logan Huebner had 17 points, nine rebounds, five steals, four assists; Conner Jones added 14 points, 16 rebounds; Donovan Martinez had 13 points, four assists.
Also, Ryan Huebner had 10 points, six rebounds; Issac Petalio eight points; Trevor Jansen had five points.
Closing out the hectic week at Kimball on Saturday, Dec. 20, the game was close but a tough fourth quarter doomed the Cougars. They fell by a 47-44 final.
“Second straight game without Ben and Jake, and I knew this one would be more of a challenge than the previous night,” the coach said. “We were playing well for three quarters, but in the fourth quarter we didn’t get it done. No excuses, but I think fatigue got the best of us in that quarter. With only eight available players, and six of them getting the bulk of the minutes, and games on back-to-back nights, I feel that took a toll on us physically and mentally.”
Logan Huebner, Ryan Huebner and Conner Jones had to play all 32 minutes in this game, and played very well. Kimball turned up the pressure in the fourth quarter and the Escalon backcourt didn’t handle it well, the coach added.
“Their best player hit a few timely shots and ultimately I feel we ran out of gas. If we had our full roster, I’m confident we would’ve closed this game out,” Bartelink said.
Logan Huebner once again set the tone, with18 points, six rebounds, four assists, and was 6-for-6 on free throws.
“Logan’s leadership this week really stood out. He had to do the bulk of the ball handling, and did so very well, to put his teammates in position to have success,” Bartelink noted.
Conner Jones had 18 points, 14 rebounds, stepping up big for his team in the past few games. Ryan Huebner had four points, seven rebounds.
At the end of the week, the varsity overall record stood at 5-5.
“We’ve only had two games this season where our entire roster was in uniform. I’m looking forward to having everyone available as we move forward,” said the coach.
The squad will take part in the Oakdale Rotary Tournament with games scheduled for Dec. 26, 27 and 29, opening up at 5 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 26 against Wood.
No JV information was available this week; the freshman scores reported were a 40-37 loss to Central Valley and a 69-39 win over Kimball.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
The varsity girls improved their preseason mark to 8-2 with a pair of victories this past week.
On Monday, Dec. 15, they hosted Downey and took a 46-35 win off the court. They returned for another game on Tuesday, Dec. 16 and defeated Pitman by a lopsided 55-22 final.
BOYS SOCCER
It was a pair of wins for the varsity soccer boys this past week. They hosted Calaveras on Tuesday, Dec. 16 and had a 2-0 lead at the half, winning by a final of 3-1.
Brody Abbott and Alessandro Velazquez scored in the first half for Escalon.
“We conceded (a goal) early in the second half but Alessandro scored his second goal of the game to seal the victory,” head coach Paul Silva explained. “We lost a couple of guys to injuries in the game and those injuries coupled with preexisting injuries to other players as well as illness to a couple of players left us shorthanded for our league opener versus Orestimba on Friday.”
But the Cougars found a way, putting the Trans-Valley League opener in the win column by a 1-0 final.
“Our goal came in the first half, scored by Alan Aton and was assisted by Anthony Cerceda,” said Silva. “We played really well in the first half but lost a bit of control in the second half but managed to hang on and preserve the shutout.”
The coach termed the game a “tremendous team effort” led by keeper Yair Valerio-Granados, who had eight saves in goal.
“A great way to start our league campaign,” Silva said.
The JV boys were winners to open league as well, shutting out Orestimba 2-0 on Dec. 19.
“Fidel Segura scored our first goal and Moises Cortes the second,” said JV head coach Polo Rodrigues.” The boys have been working hard together and are making some great things happen. Very pleased how our season is coming along.”
They finished preseason with a 6-1 record and improved to 7-1 overall with the win against the visiting Warriors.
GIRLS SOCCER
Making the road trip to Calaveras on Tuesday, Dec. 16, it was a hard fought 2-1 loss for Escalon’s varsity Lady Cougars on the soccer pitch.
“We were very short handed due to injuries and sickness,” said assistant coach Jim Ball. “Coach (Jeremy) Titsworth and myself were very proud of how the girls stepped up and fought the whole game. Calaveras is a good team that controls the ball well. Our girls stepped up to the challenge while missing three key players for the team.”
Escalon’s lone goal came in the first half, notched by Soraya Aguayo.
“She charged the net on a shot by Adriana Romero,” Ball said. “Aguayo was able to knock the deflection into the back of the net. Calaveras was able to score one before half making it 1-1.”
The teams continued to battle it out through the second half, both sides fighting hard.
“Calaveras was able to get twice the number of shots as us but our defense worked very hard to keep the ball out of the net,” Ball explained.
He pointed to the efforts of Kenadie Baker and Gwen Goodman as “holding down the middle” of the defense.
