Escalon got in the end zone quickly to start Friday night’s road game off strong … but host Orestimba was just as quick to answer and the teams were knotted at 7-7 just a little over a minute into the Oct. 31 contest.
“We scored in two plays and then give up a kickoff return,” head coach Andrew Beam said of the early exchange of points.
Dylan Ball ran in the first touchdown from 32 yards out – after a 35-yard hook and lateral that started with quarterback Logan Huebner sending the pass to Chase Cummings, who then tossed it to Ian Trejo for the big gain. Ricardo Chavez added the extra point on Ball’s touchdown run to put Escalon up 7-0 on their first possession. But Orestimba scored on the kickoff to get the game tied. Trejo, though, then went in on an 18-yard run and the kick by Brody Abbott was good for a 14-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.
“We had a great second quarter , we exploded for 21 points and had a 35-14 lead at the half,” Beam said.
A 59-yard touchdown pass to Ball from Huebner, kick good by Chavez and a 25-yard catch by Ball, kick good by Abbott, were sandwiched around a 73-yard touchdown pass by Orestimba. After an Ethan Butler fumble recovery, Chase Cummings pulled in an 18-yard pass from Huebner for the touchdown catch and the kick was good for the 35-14 edge.
“We scored seven in the third to make it 42-14,” Beam said.
In the second half he was able to rotate players in and out, getting everyone on the roster some playing time.
Orestimba was able to score two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter to make the game closer, with the final 42-28, but the outcome was never really in doubt.
The final Escalon touchdown of the night came on touchdown pass from Donovan Martinez to Kolton Kjellberg, a one-yard score.
“Honestly it felt amazing, I’ve been working at getting a touchdown,” the sophomore Kjellberg said. “I’ve never had the best hands so it was a great moment, first catch of my varsity career.”
He said as they now prepare for playoffs, the team has to come first.
“Focus as a team, make sure everybody is doing their part,” Kjellberg said.
For head coach Beam, it was a game where his players did a good job of staying disciplined, especially when their opponent tried to engage them after the play was over or managed to give a few shoves once the whistle had blown.
“I’m proud of our guys for not engaging, not retaliating,” Beam said.
For the game, Huebner was 10-for-18 passing for 221 yards and four touchdowns; he also had one catch for seven yards.
Ball had three catches for 103 yards, two carries for 47 and was 1-for-1 in passing, with three touchdowns on the night.
“Jeremy Grivette got some hard yards for us, 11 carries for 57 yards, and Ian Trejo had five catches for 73 yards and a touchdown,” Beam added.
Defensively, several players had sacks, including K’Oz Castro, Ethan Butler, Kolton Kjellberg, Preston Sizuela and Ethan Tellez, while Chase Cummings had an interception and Conner McDowell had five tackles.
“We just had to find a way to be way more physical than them, push the ball through, get more yards than them,” Grivette said, adding that he felt Escalon playing a clean game, especially in terms of sportsmanship, was a big factor in the win. And he said all players need to be more focused as they get ready for the second season.
“We’ve got to be good, starting from our training at pre-period in the morning and then, at practice, we just have to have a good practice every day, all week,” he said.
Escalon had 403 total yards of offense in the game, Orestimba had 204.
With the win, Escalon improved to 3-3 in Trans-Valley League play, 5-5 overall for the season. The Cougars received the number 7 seed in the Division 4 playoffs and will be heading out on the road for a Friday night, Nov. 14 game at number two Roseville, taking on the Tigers in the opening round with a 7 p.m. kickoff.
