Down a trio of two-way starters entering the contest – and with their starting center nursing an injury that limited his mobility – Escalon’s varsity football Cougars were definitely outmanned on Friday night.
But a trip to Oakdale on Sept. 5 for a non-league clash saw a solid effort from the defense, holding an often-explosive Mustang offense to just 27 points on the night. Escalon, though, put up only 13 points as their offense couldn’t quite get on track. With the win, Oakdale maintained possession of the Mayor’s Cup, the trophy in the ‘Battle of 120’ that went to Escalon in 2023, the inaugural year; was captured by Oakdale in 2024; and now it stays for another year in the Cowboy Capital by virtue of the Mustang victory.
Host Oakdale took the lead in the first quarter on a one-yard plunge by workhorse Wes Burford and the kick was good for the 7-0 edge.
Escalon got it back, though, with a 26-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Logan Huebner to Chase Cummings. Ricky Chavez added the point after to get the Cougars even, 7-7, in the first quarter.
Two more scores for Oakdale – on a 16-yard run by Richard Flores and a 25-yard run by Chase Lopez – and one for Escalon gave the host team a 21-13 lead at halftime.
Cummings again was the receiver for Escalon on the second touchdown, a 17-yard pass from Huebner.
Head coach Andrew Beam said his quarterback was under duress on the throw but managed to get it off just before being taken down and Cummings “made a nice adjustment and got low” to practically scoop the pass off the turf and get the points on the board. Escalon tried the two-point conversion, kicker Brody Abbott running around the right side but he was upended just short of the goal line, so the Cougars had to be satisfied with 13 points in the first half.
“The defense played their butts off,” Beam said of his team.
That included several players who haven’t seen much time on defense yet this season, having to step in and step up in the absence of their injured teammates.
“I thought Logan Huebner, Ethan Butler, Kolton Kjellberg and Carter Yates all did a good job,” Beam said.
Neither team scored in the third quarter and Escalon had some chances to get back in the game, as the defense stopped one Oakdale drive deep, Dylan Ball getting credit for causing the fumble and Conner McDowell pouncing on it to give possession to Escalon when they trailed by just one score.
But the possession didn’t produce any points.
“Our offense was so anemic in the second half,” admitted Beam. “Our defense gave us opportunities.”
Oakdale’s final touchdown came on a 58-yard rumble from Burford to put the game out of reach, 27-13, with just a few minutes remaining.
Adding to the injury theme so far this season, Carter Yates suffered a dislocated shoulder late in the contest.
For Escalon, Huebner was 10-for-18 passing with two touchdowns and Cummings had three catches for 83 yards and a pair of scores. The running game was ineffective, the team rushing for just 63 yards on 22 carries. Oakdale, meanwhile, ran 58 rushing plays and rolled up 463 yards.
“Defensively, Ethan Butler had eight tackles at outside linebacker and Mason Haverkamp had 10 tackles at defensive end,” Beam pointed out. “Oakdale is a stacked team, they have 18 or 19 (starting) senior returners; we’re starting five sophomores and a freshman along with a boatload of juniors … we’re down three of our captains, down six starters; but our players rose to the occasion and I have no qualms with that.”
Escalon may have left Oakdale with a loss but they are hoping to turn their fortunes around on Friday, Sept. 12, as they return to Engel Field.
The Lodi Flames will come to town, having started their season 0-3 with non-league preseason losses to Tokay, Pleasant Grove and Los Banos. They will be eager for a win but Escalon – at 1-2 – is just as eager to get back in the win column before they start the TVL gauntlet.
“We played really well at home,” Beam said of the season opener, when the varsity Cougars defeated Rodriguez out of Fairfield. “We’re looking for a good week against Lodi, we want to get a lead and sub in some guys so they can get playing time … that’s the goal.”
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
JV/Freshmen
There weren’t that many points scored, and it was a tense, hard fought game at The Corral for Escalon’s JV team on Friday night. They escaped with a 15-14 victory.
“What a thriller,” said head JV coach Brant Rose. “The final 2:30 of the game was an absolute roller coaster.”
Escalon went up 7-0 in the second quarter on a one-yard rush from Dylan Machado and the kick good by Juan Pablo De Luna. There wasn’t any more scoring until the fourth quarter; Oakdale scored on a six-yard rushing play and got the two-point conversion to take an 8-7 lead.
Then, Val Garcia went in for Escalon on a one-yard rush; Archer Sanders ran in the two-point conversion to put Escalon back in the lead, 15-8.
“Oakdale responded with the kickoff return score,” Rose said, noting the JV Mustangs went 85 yards on the kickoff to get to within one point, trailing 15-14. Instead of the tie, they went for the win, but the two-point conversion try was no good, and the JV Cougars held on for the 15-14 win.
“All throughout the game we had different players come through and make big plays,” said Rose. “Archer Sanders connected to Ian Trejo for three big receptions that led to our first scoring drive. Val Garcia ran like a warrior the entire game, getting tough earned yards. Dylan Machado had the play of the game, forcing the fumble that set up our game-winning score.”
The coach added that it was a satisfying, thrilling win.
“Beating Oakdale is always a huge accomplishment,” he said.
They take on Lodi at home Friday.
The freshmen were shut out by Oakdale, hosting the frosh Mustangs on Sept. 4 and falling 31-0.
“On defense, we had good drives that allowed us to drive down the field but couldn’t score,” said head coach Nate Caton. “Our running back Lucas Trejo was able to move the ball for us along with our other backs, Ty Caton and Adam Cordeiro. Our blocking has slightly gotten better, but we need more improvement and will focus on that this week.”
The team’s last drive saw a nice first down run from Vincent Reis, said the coach, along with a “great throw” from quarterback Aeson Ramirez to tight end Rhett Jackson, good for a 30-yard gain.
Some good defensive plays were turned in by Alex Gomez, Christian Camara and Diego Garcia, Caton said, “but we let the big plays get away from us.”
The freshmen are set to host Salinas on Thursday night, Sept. 11.
