Taking a lead into the final quarter on the road at Buchanan High School in Clovis, the JV football Cougars ultimately found themselves on the wrong end of the 27-7 final score on Friday, Aug. 25.

It was a second quarter 11-yard rushing touchdown by Ben Gonzalez and the point after kick by Isaac Patino that put Escalon in the lead, 7-0.

The score stayed that way until the fourth quarter, when the host team Bears poured it on, tying it up on an 80-yard touchdown pass and PAT to knot the score at 7-7.

Then, Buchanan returned an interception 56 yards for a touchdown. The point after was no good but the home team took a 13-7 lead. They added a 58-yard rushing touchdown, two-point conversion good, to go up 21-7 and then converted a late 54-yard rushing touchdown, kick no good, for the 27-7 final.

JV head coach Brant Rose said it was a disappointing loss, after taking the second quarter lead.

“The final score does not represent the effort our players gave during this game,” he said. “We held the lead for most of the game until a fourth quarter collapse. Two red zone opportunities in the second half, we came away without any points and that came back to hurt us.”

In the final quarter, Buchanan was able to break through with some big play that the young Escalon defense had prevented prior to that point.

“Aided by two turnovers in that fourth quarter, Buchanan pulled away from us,” noted Rose. “Although the poor finish to this game is disappointing because it cost us a win, we are still really proud of how hard the players played against a team that physically outmatched them. The way our boys played showed that they can be contenders in the TVL.”

The freshmen, meanwhile, went on the road Thursday, Aug. 24 and faced off against El Capitan in Merced. It was a 12-12 tie between the two teams.

“Both of our touchdowns came via the pass,” said frosh head coach Joey Costa.

Quarterback Houston Sizuela connected with Cole Rattiewicz on both scores, one from 30 yards and the other a 40-yard strike.

“We missed both extra points, which was huge,” the coach added.

Escalon was down 6-0 at the half, came back to tie it and then took the lead. El Capitan scored the tying touchdown with one second left in the game.

“I’m proud of the kids, they were playing hard,” Costa said.

Connor McDowell intercepted a two-point conversion attempt during the game while other strong efforts came from K’oz Castro at running back and outside linebacker, center/middle linebacker Logan Castellanos and offensive guard/defensive tackle Tyler Powell. McDowell is a safety and wing for the freshman team.

The young Cougars will be in Lodi this week.

“I welcome it,” Costa said of facing off against larger schools. “A tough schedule makes us better.”