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Junior Varsity Battles To Victory Over Ripon
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Junior varsity quarterback Donovan Rozevink, center, with the ball, refused to be stopped and got some push from his offensive line, scoring a fourth quarter touchdown that lifted the team to an 18-15 win over Ripon on April 10. Marg Jackson/The Times

Winning by a final of 18-15, it was an unusual game for the JV Cougars at Engel Field.

Not only was it a Saturday night, but the April 10 game was briefly interrupted when the sprinklers came on while players were in the midst of the contest.

Visiting Ripon went up 7-0 on a first quarter broken play, going 18 yards for the score on a failed field goal attempt. The extra point was good as well.

Escalon’s Ryker Peters scored on a 6-yard run in the second quarter but the point after attempt failed, with the host Cougars trailing 7-6. Peters found the end zone again in the third quarter, on a 7-yard run. This time, the JV team went for the two-point conversion but failed, going up 12-7.

Ripon countered with a 2-yard QB run, two-point conversion good, to jump back on top, 15-12.

Late in the fourth, Escalon scored on a 2-yard run by their quarterback, Donovan Rozevink. The point after attempt was no good, but the JV team held on for the 18-15 victory.

“We made a lot of mistakes throughout the game that resulted in most of Ripon’s points: fumbled a punt that Ripon recovered; they scored their first TD on a bad field goal attempt; gave up a kickoff return touchdown; they recovered an onside kick,” noted JV head coach Brant Rose. “Even with the sloppy play, we are really proud of the fight the team had. Even though they played from behind for most of the game, the players never quit and were able to show the will to win. We as coaches were really happy with their effort. They gave a winning effort.”