Bouncing back with a vengeance from a crushing one-point loss on the road at Ripon on Oct. 20, the Escalon JV Cougars football team rolled past Modesto Christian on Oct. 27 by a final of 37-8.

“We were expecting a little more fight than we got,” admitted Escalon head coach Andrew Beam.

Modesto Christian was coming off a week where they did not get to play and there was a question whether they would have enough players to suit up for the contest against Escalon. They did, but couldn’t do much against a determined JV Cougar squad.

“We got a lot of guys involved in the offense and also on the defensive side of the ball,” Beam said, with the score allowing him to make sure every player suited up got to see some action on the field.

“We got 21 points in the first quarter,” he added.

That helped the Cougars establish the pattern and take control of the game early.

“The first touchdown was a nice pass over the middle from Wyatt McCune to Jacob Sizelove for an 11-yard touchdown,” Beam said.

It was the first catch of the season for Sizelove and his first touchdown; it was also the first touchdown pass of the year for McCune.

After the score, the Cougars kicked off to Modesto Christian but their possession was short-lived. Bryan Hale was able to strip the ball from his Crusaders opponent and returned it 30 yards for the score.

Another touchdown for the JV squad came on an eight-yard run by Kaidence Trejo to give Escalon a 21-0 lead as the first quarter came to a close.

“In the second quarter, we scored on a three-yard run from tight end Logan Webster; he also made a nice catch on that drive,” Beam said.

Leading at the half, Escalon kept their foot on the gas in the third quarter.

“We ran the ball 13 times, controlled the ball, controlled the clock,” noted the coach.

In the fourth quarter, Levi Hale got into the end zone for his first touchdown of the season, capping a 45-yard run and staking Escalon to a 37-0 lead. Modesto Christian got a late score and 2-point conversion for the 37-8 final.

Ricky Erazo tacked on some of the JV extra points for Escalon; they also had a couple 2-point conversions.

“I also want to give some kudos to Jack Fitzgerald, we lost our starting cornerback early and Jack stepped in and played the whole game at that position,” Beam explained. “Defensively, Kaidence Trejo had an interception, Bryan Hale had a fumble recovery, Luke Anderson had a sack and seven tackles, Roman Gonzales had seven tackles.”

Escalon had 231 yards of offense on the night, compared to just 61 for Modesto Christian.

The win leaves Escalon at 7-2 overall and they now get ready to finish the season with a home game against Hughson on Friday, Nov. 3. Game time will be 5:30 p.m.

“They’re a very good football squad,” Beam said. “They are a traditional TVL rival; that should keep the kids motivated.”