Thursday and Friday saw winning efforts on the gridiron for both the Escalon JV and freshman football teams.
For the JV team, they were in action in Hughson on Friday night, Sept. 29 and came away with a 28-7 victory.
“The way our offense controlled the ball was a key factor in this game,” said head coach Brant Rose. “Our opening game scoring drive took nearly nine minutes off the first quarter. Hughson only ran one offensive play in that quarter.”
Escalon got the first quarter score on a 1-yard rush by Ben Gonzalez and the point after by Isaac Patino. Hughson was able to tie the game in the second quarter, on a 14-yard pass play and the point after was good, knotting the score at 7-7.
But the JV Cougars proved to be better than the host JV Huskies on this night, and took a 14-7 lead on a 22-yard rushing touchdown by Gonzalez with the point after kick from Patino.
Escalon had the 14-7 lead at the half and added one more score in each of the third and fourth quarters for the big win.
“The entire game our offense put together long, sustained drives that found the end zone each time,” noted Rose. “We did not turn the ball over. This was the type of game that supports the phrase ‘the best defense is a good offense’.”
Jeremy Grivette took in both second half scores for the JV team. He scored on a 3-yard rushing play in the third quarter and a 4-yard carry in the fourth. Patino added the extra point each time.
Also, said the coach, Mason Haverkamp had an important QB hit that resulted in an Isaac Petalio interception, putting Escalon in great field position for the final score that put the game out of reach.
“This was a great win to start TVL play and gave us the inside track to compete for the league title,” Rose said. “It was also really satisfying to knock off a team that entered the game with an undefeated record of 5-0.”
The JV team will travel to Big Valley for a non-league game on Friday night, Oct. 6.
Freshmen
A close, hard-fought game saw Escalon’s freshmen take a 12-6 win over host Hughson on Thursday, Sept. 28. It was the TVL opener for both squads.
Escalon won the toss and deferred, but was able to capitalize in the first quarter when Hughson fumbled and the young Cougars recovered. That led to a 25-yard rushing touchdown by Damian Morales. The point after attempt was no good, but Escalon went up 6-0.
That was the score at halftime and, getting the ball to start the second half, Escalon turned that in to a scoring drive.
“Noah Dooley had a great game, he scored our second touchdown and he had over 25 carries, he ran like a beast,” said head coach Joey Costa.
The frosh squad went for the 2-point conversion after the third quarter touchdown but it was unsuccessful, though they extended the lead to 12-0.
Hughson was able to convert after recovering a Cougar fumble but was stopped on the 2-point try, leaving the game at 12-6 in the fourth.
Ater an Escalon drive was stopped on the one-yard line, just short of a third score, Hughson started to move the ball but time ran out on the home team, falling to the visiting Cougars by the 12-6 final.
“Our defense played very well, K’oz Castro had two huge picks,” Costa said. “The offensive line played well. We still made some mistakes but I was proud of their effort.”
Defensive leaders were Dooley, Castro, Connor McDowell and Izzy Rodriguez.
The freshmen will next travel to Sonora for a Thursday, Oct. 5 non-league contest.
