The last games of the season for the Escalon JV and freshman football teams were both shutouts … but one was a win and one was a loss.
The JV Cougars ran away from host Orestimba and took a 48-0 shutout win off the field Friday, Oct. 31 in Newman, while the freshmen hosted Tokay on Thursday, Oct. 30 and lost by a 6-0 final.
At Orestimba, the JV team played an efficient game, building up a 27-0 lead by half.
Dylan Machado scored on a 39-yard rushing play in the first quarter to get the scoring started, though the point after attempt was no good. Machado scored again on a 14-yard rush and Val Garcia took in the two-point conversion to go up 14-0.
Second quarter scoring was Machado on a one-yard rush, kick good by Juan Pablo De Luna, then Machado returned a punt 43 yards for the score, the kick was no good but it was 27-0 at the half.
Third quarter, Archer Sanders connected on a 15-yard touchdown pass to DJ Bass and De Luna’s kick was good; Carter Cummings then scored on a 44-yard run with the kick good in the fourth quarter and the final touchdown came on a Jacob Morales one yard rush with the kick by De Luna good for the 48-0 final.
“It was a nice win to end the season,” said head coach Brant Rose. “It’s always fun to have this type of game where everyone on the roster is able to be involved and to see contributions from so many different players.”
De Luna had a dominant performance on defense, recording multiple sacks, multiple tackles for loss and multiple passes deflected.
“We finish a great season with an 8-2 overall record, 4-2 in the TVL,” Rose added. “We were right there in contention for a league title this season; with two one-point losses. Our tenth-grade class showed this season how deep in talent this group is. Even with as many as six sophomores playing up at the varsity level at different points in the season, our JV team was still a league champion caliber team.”
The coach said he is looking forward to seeing the players progress from here.
“This is a really exciting group that will be section championship contenders the next couple of seasons at the varsity level,” Rose said.
FRESHMEN
Welcoming Tokay in for a non-league contest, the freshmen fell by a 6-0 final, and the only points of the game came on a pick six by the visitors.
“Not the way how everybody wished to end the season, but we were still happy how the boys played all year long without five of their freshman teammates (moved up to the JV level) and how they played without two starters who were injured,” said first year head coach Nate Caton. “We were able to handle Tokay, who had athletes, but we made one mistake and that was taken advantage of. We were physical the entire game and probably the most physical game we ever played.”
The coach said there was good blocking from the linemen and the backs, while back up center German Rodriguez did a good job filling in, and the squad also got great runs from Ty Caton, Adam Cordeiro, Johnny Van Dyk and Vincent Reis.
“Defensively, best game our defensive line has played with our defensive end Christian Camara and defensive tackle Alex Gomez each recording two sacks,” Caton explained. “Our defensive back Yandel Andrade and safety Kash Kuhlman had great coverage too.”
The freshmen did get a win this season, though they had hoped for more.
Realistically, the coach said, the season was a success for reasons other than the win-loss record.
“Our only expectations for these kids are to learn the game at a different level and grow within our system,” Caton said. “If I were to watch our first game with Los Banos and compare that to Tokay, there’s a night and day difference. We are proud of this group and excited to see what they can do for their upcoming high school years.”
