Earning the 12th Section football title in school history – on their 18th trip to a Section final, the 2023 Escalon Cougars now set their sights on the NorCals. Fresh off the comeback victory, 36-35, over the Patterson Tigers in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division 4 title game on Nov. 24, Escalon will head back out on the road for their next contest.
They are scheduled to take on the North Coast Section Division 4 champion Acalanes Dons, in Lafayette, on Friday, Dec. 1 with a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.
Tickets must be purchased through GoFan and head coach Andrew Beam said fans should try to get them as soon as possible, as seating is somewhat limited on the visitors’ side of the field.
Acalanes comes in at 9-4, Escalon is 12-1 and Beam said the only disappointing thing about the game is the fact that the Cougars have to travel. They were hoping – on the strength of their preseason schedule and being both a league and Section title winner – they would be able to host a NorCal contest at Engel Field.
“I think we’ve earned the right to play that game at home,” Beam said.
But Acalanes took losses to three teams that are rated in the top 75 in the state, so they get to host and Escalon will fall back on their ‘road warrior’ experience that served them so well in the preseason and up through the Homecoming Game in late October, the first of the season contest played at the renovated Engel Field.
This will be yet another tough task, said Beam, as Acalanes has typically played Division 2 or Division 3 but got bumped down to Division 4 for the Section run. Now, both Division 4 Section champions meet, at the D 3-AA level.
“They are extremely athletic, they have two receivers committed to Division 1 schools; their quarterback has thrown for 30 touchdowns and over 3,000 yards,” Beam said. “They use a spread offense and they have both size and physicality.”
The Cougars, meanwhile, are riding high on the strength of the victory over Patterson. They faced deficits of 14-0 and 28-7 before coming away with the win, and players are eager to get back on the field.
“I just can’t compliment enough the heart we have on our team, you know, they just never give up,” said junior Sam Jimenez, who scored four touchdowns against Patterson. “We had to adjust, I’m so proud of our guys, this team effort, no one gave up.”
Senior quarterback Donovan Rozevink agreed that the team pulled together to battle back against Patterson, refusing to lose.
“At halftime, when we were down 14, we knew we had to go score, get a stop and go score again to tie the game up and that’s what we did,” said Rozevink, who threw for four touchdowns with no turnovers, as well as taking in the 2-point conversion that was the difference in the game. “We just had to trust our defense, trust our O-line and, at the same time, our whole team had to put trust in me and number 5 (Jimenez) and that’s what they did; and I’m just thankful for this win, I’m thankful for this … we’ve just got to keep grinding, I want another state title.”
The Cougars first have to get past the Dons, who stand in the way of a trip to the state finals.
“We were road dogs the first seven weeks of the season so we’ll keep that chip on our shoulder,” Beam said of getting into the right mindset. “It’ll be a long day with a lot of planning but we’ve got experience with this … we are excited.”
