It was 35-6 after the first quarter. It was 55-14 when the final seconds ticked off the clock.

Escalon pushed its way to the lopsided win in varsity football action on Friday night, Oct. 6 at Modesto Christian. It was considered a home game for the Cougars and it featured recognition for senior players, cheerleaders and their families; the players honored prior to the game, the cheerleaders at halftime.

“I was very pleased with a lot of guys; we all know we’ve been in tough, close games so we haven’t been able to play everyone,” said head coach Andrew Beam. “To get that early lead, it was pretty important.”

Escalon wasted no time in scoring on the Crusaders, putting it in the end zone five times in the opening quarter. Beam started pulling his starters late in that first frame, and players in the second unit seized their opportunity.

Sam Jimenez got the scoring started, pulling in a 9-yard pass from Donovan Rozevink, and Talan Reider added the extra point for a 7-0 lead. Derek Silva then got a pick six, taking it in from about midfield, kick good, to make it 14-0.

Then it was a 3-yard run from Josh Graham; a 3-yard run by Reider, a 1-yard run by Austin Cullum, Reider adding the point after each time. MC scored one touchdown in the first quarter but the extra point failed, so the Cougars had a 35-6 lead after one.

“Thirty-five points in the first quarter, that’s got to be up there with some kind of record,” Beam said of his team. “It was a lot of fun to see a ton of guys shine; Austin Cullum, Matthew Rangel, Preston Berhorst, and Christian Becerra did a really nice job at quarterback, Dom Arauza got a start on defense and played really well.”

Matthew Rangel scored in the second quarter on an 18-yrd rush, with senior Francisco Ontiveros adding the point after. Jimenez closed out the first half scoring, on a 55-yard pick six with 2:12 to go in the second quarter; Ontiveros added the point after and it was a 49-6 lead at the half.

Modesto Christian scored a touchdown and added the 2-point conversion in the third, trailing 49-14 as the game featured a running clock in the second half.

Escalon’s final score came on the game’s last play – after the MC coach had called back-to-back time outs with a running clock late in the fourth – prompting Beam to put his first defense back in. Once that happened, the next play saw Jamin Miller pick off the pass and return it some 40 yards for the score as time expired, leaving Escalon with the 55-14 win.

Other Cougar seniors making big contributions on the night were AJ Cerasi, Jadon Gutierrez and Luke Maxwell, getting in to the mix on both sides of the ball.

“It was good to see the sideline getting behind the guys on the field,” added Beam.

The game featured six sacks by the Cougar defense, three interceptions for pick sixes, and two fumble recoveries. Ryan Lewis, Logan Dooley, Nathan Belletto, Cruz Snow, Nico Franzia and Matthew Rangel had the sacks; John Konradi and Nathan Belletto had the fumble recoveries.

Rangel had four carries for 63 rushing yards and a score, along with one catch for 28 yards. Cullum had 10 carries for 61yards and a score, Reider had four carries for 55 yards and a touchdown. Miller had two carries for 52 yards, Graham had two carries for 15 yards and a touchdown.

Rozevink completed 2-of-3 passes for 33 yards and a touchdown, Becerra also had two pass completions for 39 yards.

“The only thing that presents this from being a great win is the injury to Derek Silva,” Beam said, as the senior suffered a knee injury, displacing his knee cap when he fell awkwardly while covering a Modesto Christian receiver.

“Our trainers, Nate Bartelink and Bob McCune were right there, shout out to our medical staff,” said Beam.

Senior Rangel, winner of the week’s Ball-Out Belt, said it was great to see several of his teammates get playing time.

“It was a lot of fun, a lot of guys had a lot of opportunities, it was just a good time, I really enjoyed it,” Rangel said. “We got a lot of guys in today and we needed this win.”

For senior AJ Cerasi, the feelings were similar.

“It was wonderful, seeing everyone get to play just made me real happy, seeing all those faces,” he said. “When I make a play, it feels like just another play but … it feels wonderful seeing everyone get to play too, get their big chance to play.”

Junior Christian Becerra, coming in as the third string quarterback, stepped in as senior Rozevink went out after building up a big lead and in the absence of back up Logan Huebner, sidelined with a thumb injury.

“It just felt great; we basically prepared for this all week and it just felt good to finally step on the field today and have fun with the boys,” Becerra said. “Felt confident, felt calm, had my team behind my back, trusted my O-line and we kept scoring.”

Fellow junior Preston Berhorst made his presence felt as well, especially on defense.

“It felt fun, I like this kind of game; I don’t get to play a lot,” he said, adding that he was glad to have the opportunity to contribute. “It feels good to get that power to do that now, because we’ve been working hard, going to practice every day and now we get to show everyone what we can do.”

Senior Jamin Miller, who was active in the first quarter and then was subbed out for the second unit, came back in for the final play of the game, putting the exclamation point on the win with the third pick six of the night for the Cougars.

“It was surreal, honestly, knowing that the seconds got to go in, do their job and we just had to put them (MC) in their place at the end, making the plays as we should,” Miller said, adding that he couldn’t be happier for the second unit guys making the most of their opportunity. “They’re awesome, honestly; they work hard at practice, they get us better, they prepare us for every game so for them to get a chance like this to play against a very athletic team, it’s awesome to watch and it’s really fun, seeing those guys get touchdowns and making plays.”

Escalon’s toughest game of the season so far lies ahead; they will host Hilmar at Modesto Junior College on Friday night, Oct. 13 with a 7 p.m. kickoff time.