Sickening.

That’s the word head coach Andrew Beam used to explain Escalon’s 37-30 loss in varsity football on Friday, Aug. 29, on the road at Chavez High School in Stockton.

But it wasn’t the final score that had the coach throwing out that word … it was the fact that several Cougars went down with injuries, including some key two-way starters for the squad.

“It’s sickening because these are potentially some very devastating injuries to seniors that have poured their soul into this program for four years,” Beam explained of injuries to Ben Gonzalez, Ben Ferreira, Rylan Koops and Lorenzo Teixeira.

And despite all those players going down, Escalon never trailed in the game until Chavez put the last touchdown on the board late in the fourth quarter to escape with the non-league win.

Gonzalez suffered a broken collarbone late in the game; Ferriera separated a shoulder on a late tackle attempt; Koops sustained a foot fracture early in the game but played through it and also was diagnosed with turf toe; while Teixeira suffered a knee sprain. Of the four, only Teixeira is expected back this week, though he will be in a brace. Return dates for the other three are uncertain.

“These are all senior leaders for us,” Beam added.

On the field, there were troubles as well, with Escalon leading late but unable to hold on and then, unable to get a score on their final possession.

“We were up nine (30-21) with 6:30 to go,” the coach said.

Chavez scored and got the two-point conversion to cut the lead to one, 30-29, but Escalon went on a drive that seemed certain to end in a touchdown to give them a little breathing room.

“We had a first and goal on their 10-yard line,” Beam explained. “Nine out of 10 times we walk away with a touchdown there … what could go wrong did go wrong on that drive.”

A couple of penalties, an incomplete pass along the sideline and then an interception by Chavez on a fourth down play gave the home team the ball back. From there, it was a 97-yard touchdown run on the first play after the pick that gave Chavez its first lead of the game. Escalon couldn’t get it back, falling to the host team 37-30.

“There was a multitude of plays, offensively, defensively, on special teams, plays we didn’t make that kept them around,” Bema said, noting that even though the Cougars had the lead for most of the night, it “never felt good” and “nothing was easy” against the host Titans.

“They were a high-quality opponent and you could just feel the tension,” Beam said.

The game also had a rocky start, with the officiating crew blowing whistles and sending players off for a variety of reasons, from shin pads showing underneath pants to mouthguards not being put in properly. There were also three whistles before Escalon even got to kick off to start the game.

“That kind of threw everything off from the get go,” admitted the coach.

Each team was penalized eight times for 60 yards on the night.

The teams traded possessions in the first quarter, with Escalon finally getting on the board with a 15-yard pass from quarterback Logan Huebner to Dylan Ball, and Brody Abbott tacking on the extra point.

Chavez answered immediately with a 92-yard kickoff return and extra point to tie the game.

Ben Gonzalez then scored on a five-yard run and the kick by Abbott was good for a 14-7 lead; Chavez answered but the extra point was no good, so the Cougars had a 14-13 lead at the half.

In the third quarter, Huebner kept the ball himself to cap a drive and went in from five yards out, Ball caught the two-point conversion to put Escalon up 22-13.

Chavez again answered on a 37-yard pass play and the two-point conversion to cut the lead to 22-21.

After a fumble recovery by Lorenzo Teixeira, Escalon capitalized with a 24-yard pass from Huebner to Chase Cummings, then Huebner took in the two-point conversion to give Escalon a 30-21 lead late in the third.

“They outscored us 16-0 in the fourth quarter,” Beam said, with Chavez getting a touchdown with 6:52 to play and then taking the lead for the first time with 2:16 left in the game.

Escalon’s final drive fell short, though they had some pass completions, they also took some penalties.

Chavez took over on downs with 42 seconds left in the game and was able to kneel it out.

For the game, Huebner was 15-for-29 for 201 yards and two touchdown passes along with rushing 10 times for 75 yards and a touchdown.

Ball had six carries for 50 yards and a touchdown, four catches for 109 yards and had two kickoff returns for 72 yards.

Cater Yates had four catches for 35 yards, Cummings had two catches for 35 yards and a touchdown.

K’Oz Castro had four tackles, Mason Haverkamp added three, while Teixeira and Ball had the fumble recoveries.

The main weapon for Chavez on the night was Joel Donnell, a senior running back/free safety transfer from McNair, who put up 267 yards rushing against Escalon, averaging 20 yards a carry.

“A dogfight until the end, a tough loss but we’re going to get back in that film room, we’ve got Oakdale next and that’s a really big game for us, a big rivalry,” said senior and team captain Rylan Koops following the game, walking off the field with a noticeable limp. “Chavez played a good game tonight; they’re a good all-around team. We’ve just got to do better; strengthen some of our small situations, get guys realigned, figure some stuff out and we’ll go from there.”

For team captain Teixeira – who was injured on his fumble recovery as he was tackled – he said it was a couple of plays that didn’t go Escalon’s way that made the difference in the tough contest.

“We just need to stay together, stay strong as a group, lots of good games coming up, we just have to keep pushing,” Teixeira said.

Senior running back and defensive end Mason Haverkamp had a busy night, flying around the field, in on several key stops.

“We started out strong, it was going great and then we just let a few plays slip,” Haverkamp said, noting that they let their guard down a little bit against Chavez. “We’re going to take this as a lesson and do better … we’ve got to step it up, keep our heads high. This is just a lesson for us to keep grinding.”

He said the team has plenty to work on in practice, including making sure everyone is aware of their assignment and stays in their lane to work cooperatively and get the job done.

“We’ve got a good team here,” Haverkamp added. “Great things are going to happen and I’m very excited for this season.”

For the coaching staff, they have to make sure that all healthy players are ready to go.

“Nobody’s feeling sorry for us,” Beam said, noting that Escalon has to jump right back into it this week, as they travel to Oakdale.

Both teams come in at 1-1; Oakdale getting a 70-30 win at Lincoln of Stockton on Aug. 29 and earlier falling to Sonora.

“We have to get guys to step up and fill in some roles and some spots; we have some really physical teams ahead of us in Oakdale, Lodi and Sonora,” Beam pointed out. “We’re just trying to get as healthy as possible with the guys we have.”

He also said despite being unable to go this week, he anticipates that Ferreira, Koops and Gonzalez will all be on the sidelines supporting their team as they kick off the game at Oakdale.

JV Boys

Host Chavez took the early 6-0 lead on a 30-yard passing play on Friday but that was all they got, as the Escalon JV Cougars steamrolled them by a 41-6 final.

After the initial score by Chavez, Ian Trejo returned the kickoff 59 yards for a touchdown to pull Escalon even at 6-6.

From there, Val Garcia went in on a six-yard rushing touchdown in the first to extend the lead to 12-6. In the second quarter, Jake Ferreira threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Huebner and Carter Cummings took in a two-point conversion for a 20-6 lead.

Garcia scored in the third on a 45-yard rushing play, Juan Pablo De Luna put the extra point through for a 27-6 edge and Cummings went in from two yards out with the De Luna kick good, making it 34-6 after three.

Final score of the night came from Cade Riesenbeck on a one-yard plunge, the kick by De Luna was good for the 41-6 victory.

“Our coaching staff was happy to see the players settle and put together a dominant performance after they gave up a score and fell behind on the opening drive of the game,” said head coach Brant Rose. “Our defensive line controlled the line of scrimmage and cancelled the Chavez run game from the start.”

Escalon recovered two fumbles, got a blocked punt from Erin Vanderwerff and an interception from Jake Ferreira.

Freshmen

On the home field Thursday, it was a solid effort for the youngest Cougars, but they came up short against Chavez, 19-6. They got their lone touchdown in the third quarter, while Chavez found the end zone in the second, third and fourth quarters.

“I thought the kids played a lot better compared to last week’s game,” said first year head coach Nate Caton. “We had a good week of practice and the kids came out more confident. However, there were big plays that Chavez made and were able to capitalize.”

Lucas Trejo got in the end zone for Escalon and the offensive line did a good job blocking, said Caton.

“Before half, receiver Kash Kuhlman made a huge play by catching a pass and running it down the sideline to put us in a position to score, but we were unable to capitalize.”

The team did get through in the second half, but Chavez was able to take the win.

“Our defense did a great job and battled throughout the game,” added Caton. “Great plays were made with Alex Gomez making plays including a sack and another big play from linebacker Vince Reis with an interception.”

He said the team focus this week will be on making “small corrections that will make a huge difference” during games.