Closing out a difficult season on the gridiron, Escalon’s varsity flag football girls lost their final two contests this past week, one on the road and one at home.
“We played at Orestimba on Tuesday (Oct. 20) and lost 19-0,” head coach Danelle Hagen said. “However, it was an improvement over the last time we played them.”
In that earlier contest, it was a 27-0 shutout loss for Escalon so they were able to limit the points for the Warriors this time around but still couldn’t get in the end zone themselves.
Thursday, Oct. 22 on the home field, Escalon again lost via shutout, this time to visiting Hughson. All of the scoring came in the first half, with the visiting Lady Huskies getting into the end zone twice and converting on one extra point, taking a 13-0 lead into the break.
Neither team got in the end zone in the second half, so the final was Hughson 13, Escalon 0.
“We played in the rain,” added Hagen, with heavy rain at the start of the contest and a steady rain continuing through much of the first half, then tapering off to mostly a misty rain after that.
It made the playing conditions tough for both teams, and the game was played on the varsity soccer field due to re-seeding work at the adjacent Engel Field.
Hagen said though the varsity girls were shut out by Hughson in the finale, it again was an improvement from the first time the two teams met in league action, when Hughson won by a 20-0 decision. The varsity was 4-16 overall for the 2026 campaign.
For the JV girls, they finished their season with a split, losing on the road but winning at home. They ended the season at 10-4 overall and were 6-2 in Trans-Valley League play, taking second place.
“We entered the last week of play with an opportunity to get a tie for the league title with Hughson if we won out,” said head coach Lisa Luis. “We were at Orestimba, a team we beat earlier in the season, and came out extremely flat on both ends of the ball. We were dropping passes, fumbling handoffs and tosses on offense, and getting beat and missing flags on defense.”
The final score in the Oct. 20 contest was 13-0 Orestimba.
“Every team has off games and this game was ours,” Luis said.
The team then hosted Hughson in the finale on Oct. 22.
“I wasn’t sure how we would respond as a team after the poor performance against Orestimba, but they answered the call,” the coach said. “We came out firing on all cylinders, playing like the team we are – prepared and disciplined. What made the win even more sweet, is we battled the cold and rain all game.”
Hadley Casazza opened the scoring on a long run to put Escalon up 6-0, with Abigail Perreira then running in the extra point to make it 7-0.
“Kyla Holback used her athleticism and ran in another score and found Lauryn Siegel for a touchdown pass,” Luis said. “To round out the scoring for the night, Hadley Casazza ran in her second touchdown of the game. We got big offensive plays from Abigail Perreira and Maci Woodruff; both girls made tough catches in the rain, to keep our drives going.”
Final score was 27-18, Escalon securing second place honors at the JV level.
Defensively, Perreira played tough at safety, including a diving play to save a touchdown, said Luis, with Woodruff coming back from injury to play tough at linebacker, and Casazza was “all over the field” pulling flags and breaking up pass plays.
“Lauryn Siegel, Eden Airola and Madilin Texeira all played well at the corner. The rain made pulling flags tough, but the girls got the job done,” said Luis. “I’m proud of the way the girls played all year, improving week after week, and had fun doing it. We had a great group of sophomores who will go on to contribute at the varsity level next year and a solid group of freshmen who will step in as leaders at the JV level next year.”
VOLLEYBALL
Senior Night was observed on the home volleyball court for Escalon on Oct. 20, with a trio of varsity volleyball girls recognized. Seniors on the team this year include Brynn Caton, Aniston Hunt, and Haven MacKinnon.
Facing off that night with Ripon, it was a loss for Escalon, falling to the visitors 20-25, 11-25, 24-26.
Hunt had 21 assists on the night to go along with six kills, four blocks and six digs. Emma Strong had seven kills and eight digs; Arie Paulsen, five kills, six blocks; MacKinnon, two blocks, four digs; Avery Bartelink, two blocks, 13 digs; Caton, 15 digs; Riley Titsworth, nine digs.
“Despite what the scores showed, these girls played incredibly,” head coach Stephanie Ceja shared. “Our defense kept us going in every set; blocking and digging were strong points for us.”
Thursday, the girls were on the road for the regular season finale and played at Sonora.
They won it by a 3-1 final, falling in the first set 23-25 and then coming back to take the next three, 25-18, 25-18, 28-26.
“Aniston Hunt had 37 assists, one ace, three kills, two blocks and 20 digs,” Ceja said. “Emma Strong had three aces, 19 kills, and 14 digs.”
Other big contributors were Bartelink with two aces, 11 kills, three blocks, and 14 digs; Paulsen added seven kills and four blocks; MacKinnon with two aces, six kills and three blocks, with two aces and 14 digs for Titsworth; Caton ended the night with 35 digs.
“Sonora’s defense has improved since round one, so we needed to step up offensively in this match,” said Ceja. “Avery Bartelink and Emma Strong really led the way at the net. And as always, our defense was strong. Brynn Caton really leads our backcourt during these tough matches.”
The varsity squad put together a 6-6 record in the Trans-Valley League and were 20-10 overall during preseason, tournament and league play.
“We finished third in TVL, earning a playoff berth,” Ceja explained. “We are seeded third in Division 4.”
That gave them a home game to open up the playoffs, which was scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 27 hosting the number 14 seed, River Islands, at 6 p.m.
A win there would see the varsity squad back on the home court on Thursday, Oct. 29 for a second-round game, hosting the winner of the first-round number six Union Mine-number 11 Oakmont first round clash.
The JV girls were 2-0 winners at home against Ripon, 25-23, 26-24 and then lost their season finale on the road at Sonora on Oct. 22, in a tough 2-1 final to the Wildcats.
Escalon’s JV girls finished 9-3 in league for second place and went 13-5 overall under the guidance of head coach Alysssa Cogburn.
The freshmen, with first year head coach Mya Scott, closed out their season with a 2-1 win at home against Ripon. They defeated the visitors in the Oct. 20 contest, 15-25, 25-23, 25-7.
GOLF
The end of the season golf tournament saw the Escalon Lady Cougars head to Micke Grove Golf Course on Tuesday, Oct. 20. All seven TVL schools sent a team, with just under 40 golfers competing.
“For seniors Samantha Bruns, Areli Herrera and Jayci Trimble, it would be their last time on the course as a high school golfer unless one of them qualified for the Division 5 playoff tournament,” noted head coach Chris Casazza. “It’s a bittersweet feeling for them, knowing their high school golf career has come to a close, but feeling good about giving their all over the course of a long season.”
Ripon won the tournament with a team score of 375, followed by Hilmar with a 403.
“Escalon came in with a team score of 49-, which put us in sixth place,” Casazza said. “It wasn’t the finish that we wanted. But because of illness, we were down to four girls instead of the normal six, which definitely makes a difference.”
It was Samantha Bruns who paced the team effort with a 112, followed by Areli Herrera, 117; Jayci Trimble, 124; and Kristina Mendoza, 137.
“In the end, Samantha Bruns ended up qualifying for the Division 5 playoff tournament as an individual,” Casazza noted. “We are all very proud of her. It’s a fitting culmination of her four-year high school golf journey. She joined the varsity team halfway through her freshman year and played every varsity match moving forward. She is the ultimate example of dedication and consistency.”
Bruns was to take part in the tournament on Oct. 26.
