In the final regular week of the season, the varsity and JV Outlaws youth football teams found the going tough, while the Novice squad was able to craft an important victory.
Varsity
The Escalon Outlaws were on the road this past weekend visiting nearby Ripon for their yearly clash with the Chiefs. Escalon, having lost last week to Calaveras, needed a win to build momentum for the playoffs next weekend. Unfortunately it would not be Escalon’s week.
Ripon would set the tone of the game returning the opening kick-off for a touchdown. The point after kick was missed, but Ripon would have a very early 6-0 lead. Ripon would add another scoring drive after an Escalon punt. The point after kick again would be missed, but Ripon would enjoy a 12-0 head start.
Escalon would break onto the scoreboard when Josh Miller stepped up in the pocket to avoid the Ripon pass rush to find a wide open Alfonso Gonzalez behind the Chiefs defense. The play would cover 65 yards for the touchdown. The point after kick would not be converted, but the lead would be cut in half at 12-6. Ripon would add another score before the halftime intermission without the point after kick stretching the lead back to 12 points at 18-6.
The score would remain 18-6 until the fourth quarter. Ripon would add two more touchdowns without a point after conversion to bring the score to its final of 30-6.
The Varsity Outlaws will be on the road for the first round of the MVFL playoffs.
Junior Varsity
The Junior Varsity Outlaws were also looking to build momentum for the upcoming playoffs to make a deep run towards the MVFL League Championship.
The JV Outlaws would come out of the gate strong, but would stumble in the second half. The final score would be 33-16.
Donovan Rosevink would supply the scores on short quarterback dives into the end zone. Jacob Martin would knock through point after kicks to account for all of Escalon’s scoring.
Cameron Ruiz, Omar Serrano, and Aiden Wilson turned in solid efforts on defense in the loss.
The JV Outlaws will also be on the road to play the first round of the MVFL playoffs.
Novice
The Novice Outlaws needed a win against the Ripon Chiefs to secure a first round bye in the upcoming MVFL playoffs. The Outlaws would be victorious 28-14.
Jacob Cavanaugh would have rushing touchdowns from 10 and 15 yards out, Kyrin Barajas would outrun the Ripon defense from 70 yards, and Austin Cullum would punch in a score from 5 yards away.
Giovanni Chavez, Frankie Rodriguez and Hezekiah Griffin controlled the line of scrimmage on defense with forced fumbles and multiple tackles for loss.
The Novice Outlaws will have two weeks to prepare for their second round playoff game. The location will be determined as the Outlaws are one of the host sites for the second round of the MVFL playoffs.
