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Road Victory Lifts JV Boys To 4-1 Record In Preseason
coach JV
With just a couple minutes left in the game, JV quarterback Steven Grossi and head coach Andrew Beam talk over the next play for the offense. Escalon got the win on the road against Liberty Ranch. Marg Jackson/The Times

 

Earning a 42-21 win on the road Friday night, the Escalon JV Cougars scored in three of four quarters, and used a strong second half to outdistance host Liberty Ranch.

“It wasn’t easy,” noted head coach Andrew Beam.

Liberty Ranch scored first, but Escalon answered back with two scores in the first quarter to lead 14-7. Liberty Ranch got the only touchdown of the second quarter to knot the game at 14-14 at the half. Outscoring the host squad 14-7 in the third, Escalon’s JV boys were up 28-21 after three and added two more touchdowns in the final frame, getting stronger as the game moved along.

“We had a huge run by Rex Robbins to get us into scoring position to tie the game in the third quarter,” Beam said of the play that saw the tide start to turn in Escalon’s favor. “He had a 53-yard run.”

That set up a 1-yard plunge from Mark DeHaven that tied the score and an Elliot Mello interception two plays later paved the way for a 24-yard scoring rumble from Hugo Alcala that put the JV squad in the lead for good.

Also figuring in to the game was what turned out to be a roughly 35-yard extra point attempt from Rodrigo DeMelo, a kick he made.

“It just energized our guys,” Beam said.

Liberty Ranch did get the first touchdown, with Mark DeHaven getting the score back on a 58-yard run. Tanner McCrary had the second JV touchdown on a 16-yard pass from quarterback Steven Grossi.

Third quarter action saw DeHaven score from a yard out, Alcala with the 24-yard run, and McCrary found the end zone twice in the final quarter, on a 6-yard run and a 33-yard catch.

“Tanner had three catches for 55 yards and scored three touchdowns, a couple of the catches was him making big plays after the reception,” said Beam. “Quarterback Steven Grossi was 7-for-11 for 76 yards and three touchdowns.”

Rushing, DeHaven had 15 carries for 99 yards, Robbins had nine carries for 65 yards, Alcala rushed six times for 70 yards and had two catches for 12 yards.

With the win, the JV boys improved to 3-1. They will be at home this week, Sept. 25, hosting Bear River to kick off the Homecoming Night festivities.

“It was a close game up there last year, we won 20-10,” Beam noted. “This is a really big game for us this week; we want to try to get into our bye week at 4-1.”

Kickoff is set for 5:30 p.m.