Escalon’s youth football program, the Youth Cougars, have been busy on the gridiron for their season over the past few weeks. Here is a look at the most recent competition, on Saturday, Oct. 8.
Junior Novice
The youngest of the Cougar program played one of the toughest games of the day, back and forth battle between the Linden Lions. Escalon struck first with a score by Jase Govia. At the end of the half the two teams found each other a match as it was tied 2-2. Great blocking all day by the offensive line Eric Cardenas, Logan Lanza, and Trenton Kjellberg to free up quarterback Andres Jimenez for four touchdowns. On the defensive side Zackaria Doty and Andres Jimenez led the team in tackles. The final score of the game was EYC 5 and Linden Lions 4; Junior Novice scores are kept in single digits.
Novice
The Novice team came out ready to play on Saturday, holding their opponent to no scores. The team went up early in the second quarter 21-0 as this would end up being the final score. Alexander Murga, Kaleb Butler and Julian Cruz each had rushing touchdowns to put the Cougars up. Defensively, Colton Faria led the team in tackles followed by Brodi Moorman and Mathew Fenton. Moorman also had a fumble recovery as did Ivan Valencia to keep the Lions offense from getting a chance to get on the scoreboard.
Junior Varsity
The JV squad was also victorious in their game against the Lions. It was a close game in the first quarter 8-0 but Escalon was able to give themselves some breathing room in the second quarter going up 28-0. Scorers for the Cougars were Ryker Lial tallying up two touchdowns for the day, Adam Cordeiro and Lucas Trejo adding one of their own. Michael Achterberg was 2-for-3 on the day on the point after touchdown kicks. Defensively, Trejo and Jaxon DeGruy lead the team in tackles. Lial and Archer Sanders had interceptions in the game to add to the outstanding defensive effort. Final score Escalon 28, Linden 6.
Varsity
A tough 5-2 Lion team came to Engel Field in hopes to add to their win column. With the score 0-0 at the end of the first quarter, it was a preview of the type of challenging game ahead. Linden scored first in the second quarter but Escalon responded with their own rushing touchdown by Noah Dooley. The difference, Escalon PAT snap was unsuccessful. Score Escalon 6 Linden 8. It wasn’t until the fourth quarter that Escalon was able to add to their score with a 56-yard pass from Ethan Butler to Dylan Ball for a touchdown. This time Damian Morales’s point after kick soared through the uprights. Linden would get their chance on offense when Escalon fumbled with 4:16 to go in the game. But it was a defensive stand that would end with Butler intercepting the Lions pass and sealing the win for the Cougars. Outstanding defensive performances from Leo Marrufo, Noah Dooley, K-Oz Castro, Conner McDowell and Ethan Butler led the team in tackles and Dylan Ball with two interceptions in the game. Final score Escalon 14, Linden 8. The Cougars hope to carry their confidence as they meet their longtime rival Ripon at Engel Field on Saturday, Oct. 15 to end their regular season and then look to start their playoff campaign.
